Fewer countries enjoy the popularity France does. Right from its stunning landscapes to fairytale châteaux, a love affair with romance to a loaded cultural history, there’s little about this European gem that does not catch a tourist’s fancy. The country is a hotspot of experiences and activities, so much so that it may even get overwhelming to decide to what to do and what not! Let’s help you a little. From an array of things that you can enjoy here, start with caving adventures in France. There are lots of these subterranean alleyways hidden amidst the vast expanse of the French Alps that you must head to. Scroll down for some of the best caving adventures in France.
1. Lascaux (from USD 188.12)
Located near the village of Montignac, Lascaux caves are a gem of prehistoric information. Lascaux is famous for its cave paintings that date back to c.17,000 - 15,000 BCE, making it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the part of the caves with the original paintings has been closed for public visits, replicas have been created for visitors. There are some 600 paintings strewn across the original as well as replica caves’ walls that you can marvel at. Paintings at the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery are a real visual treat, so do check them out.
From Sarlat-la-Canéda: Lascaux IV and Cave Art Full-Day Tour
Duration: 9.0 hour
2. La Grotte Chauvet-Pont d'Arc (Chauvet Cave)
Chauvet Cave is another excellent destination to admire prehistoric cave paintings. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well, with studies proving that humans and animals also inhabited the cave at some point in history. Along with the paintings, visitors can also see human and animal footprints. The Hillaire Chamber, rife with engravings, is a little further into the cave, but a complete no-miss. Panel of the Horses, Reindeer Panel, Panel of the Rhinos, and Panel of the Lions are some stand-out art scenes in the cave. Watch out for the bears painted in red right when you enter the cave. In the process of checking out the art, don’t forget to admire the cave’s gleaming stalactites too.
Chauvet Cave
Address: 07150 Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France
Website: Chauvet Cave
Price: 10 - 20 USD
3. Grotte de Niaux (Cave of Niaux)
Illuminated by yellow lights, Cave of Niaux is another supremely wondrous site to explore. Its underground passages and chambers boast, not just stunning geology, but signs of prehistoric life too. Numerous paintings, engravings, sketches, and footprints are up for display along the 14-km (8.7-mile) stretch of the cave. The Salon Noir chamber here is possibly the most famous part of the cave, where not only is the art spectacular, but also the acoustics – try making some sound and you’ll know what we mean. Cave of Niaux is an exceptionally well-preserved collection of prehistoric life, so do head over to check it out.
Cave of Niaux
Address: 09400 Niaux, France
Website: Cave of Niaux
Opening hours: 10am - 4:15pm (daily)
Price: 8 - 50 USD
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4. Grotte du Pech-Merle (Pech Merle)
Hidden within the hillsides of Cabrerets in the Occitania region is Pech Merle. It is one of the only prehistoric cave painting sites where visitors are allowed into the original cave. The cave’s seven chambers boast some of the most beautiful murals, paintings, engravings as well as cave geology and footprints! While here, don’t miss out on the most famous Dappled Horses of Pech Merle painting that is about 25,000 years old! You can hitch one of the hour-long multi-lingual guided tours. Advance bookings are also possible via the cave’s official website. The months of July and August see the maximum footfall, so early reservation is particularly advisable during this time.
Pech Merle
Address: 46330 Cabrerets
Website: Pech Merle
Price: 1 - 17 USD
5. Grottes de Lacave (Lacave caves)
While you may be on foot while visiting other caves, Lacave is different. A 1.5-hour-long electric train ride takes you through all parts of this cave, where you can admire its magnificent subterranean chambers and beautiful rock pools, limestone rock formations, and other interesting cave geology. The lighting here plays an important role in making the experience a rather special one for visitors – the rock formations glow under the phosphorescence of ultraviolet lighting, which is truly fantastic! What makes Lacave’s tour even better? Each year in the third week of July, the cave authorities host a live jazz music performance that reverberates in the cave’s brilliant acoustics, making it a thoroughly fabulous experience! As for the cave’s guided tours, most are French-only, but multi-lingual audio tours are available for non-French-speaking visitors as well.
Lacave caves
Address: D23, 46200 Lacave, France
Website: Lacave caves
Opening hours: Thu: 10am - 12pm (closed on all other days)
6. Grotte de Rouffignac (Rouffignac Cave)
Boasting some 250 exquisite cave paintings and engravings, a trip to Rouffignac Cave will surely be a treat for archaeology enthusiasts. Animal figures dominate the artworks here and unlike some other caves, they are mostly monochrome. Visitors are taken through an hour-long electric train ride across the cave, which makes it a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching journey. The guide on-board the train is French-speaking, but you can opt for a multi-lingual audio guide at a charge of about 2 USD. Only a limited number of visitors are permitted on this tour each day and advance bookings are not available - tickets are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, so reach there before 10:30 am to get a guaranteed spot on the tour.
Rouffignac Cave
Address: 24580 Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac France
Opening hours: Jul - Aug: 9am - 11:30am, 2pm - 6pm; Apr - Jun, Sept & Oct: 10am - 11:30am, 2pm - 5pm (closed from Nov - Mar)
Price: 5 - 10 USD
7. Grottes de Thouzon (Caves of Thouzon) (from USD 14.0)
Nestled on the foothills of Thouzon Hill, Caves of Thouzon, also known as fairy cave, is a wonderland of rimstone dams, majestic stalactites and stalagmites, rock cones, wells, meanders, and towering pillars. A great 45-minute guided tour (in French only) of the cave takes you through some 60 million-year-old geological formations! Visitors who want the information in English can pick up the information sheet available at the entrance desk. Else, a pre-planned guided tour by third-party travel website Viator is also worth checking out.
Skip the Line: Grotte de Thouzon Admission Ticket
Duration: 1 to 2 hours
8. Grottes préhistoriques de Cougnac (Caves of Cougnac)
Head to Caves of Cougnac that is a labyrinth of limestone rock formations, prehistoric cave paintings, and a world of wonder! This is a cave system with two caves – one for the geological formations and the other for the paintings. While here, do watch out for the extraordinary stalactite formations as well as mammoth-sized paintings of megaloceros (an extinct deer). Tours of both parts of the cave are offered, each being about an hour-long. Caves of Cougnac are a popular destination for school outings, so you may encounter lots of students and kids around here. If you’d rather avoid this, visit in the afternoon.
Caves of Cougnac
Address: Grottes de Cougnac, 46300 Payrignac, France
Website: Caves of Cougnac
Price: 7 - 15 USD
9. Grotte de Villars (Villars Cave)
Once said to be the home to nomadic Cro-Magnon hunter-gatherers, Villars Cave is a 600-m (1970-ft) long network of chambers and passageways that boast some impressive cave paintings, remnants of prehistoric life, and rock formations. A steep stairway leads you down into the cave, which makes it a slightly difficult destination for the differently-abled to explore. However, if you are able to access, the candle room, holy water fonts room, great balcony, chaos room, scratch room, and painting room are unmissable parts of the cave.
Villars Cave
Address: Le Cluzeau, 24530 Villars, France
Website: Villars Cave
Opening hours: Apr - Jun & Sept: 10am - 12pm, 2pm - 7pm; Jul - Aug: 10am - 7:30pm; Oct - Nov: 1pm - 6pm
Price: 7 - 11 USD
10. Grotte de Tourtoirac (Cave of Tourtoirac)
Nicknamed “The geological Pearl of the Perigord”, Cave of Tourtoirac boasts some engaging views of rock formations, carved by an underground river. A 25-m (82-ft) elevator ride underground leads you into a world of geological beauty. What’s better? The elevator access to the cave and a largely flat walking course makes it easier for the differently-abled to visit here too. The entire visit may take you anywhere up to two hours, so keep that kind of time aside to explore this place properly.
Cave of Tourtoirac
Address: Les Combes, 24390 Tourtoirac, France
Website: Cave of Tourtoirac
Price: 6 - 10 USD
Amazing caves in France
France exudes a characteristic joie de vivre that comes from everything that this centuries-old country boasts. Right from its great outdoors to culturally loaded museums and art galleries, iconic monuments to quaint street-side cafes, sprawling wine counties to awe-inspiring churches, cathedrals, and abbeys – long story short, it’s quite the handful! Start with these amazing caving adventures in France and you’ll begin unearthing the magic this European country holds.
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