The most beautiful caves and chasms in Dordogne Périgord

The caves of the Dordogne are all more interesting than the others, some are geological curiosities adorned with concretions, others were visited by prehistoric cave dwellers such as Cro magnon, particularly in the Vézère valley during the Magdalenian period.

Prehistoric painted caves World-famous as masterpieces of prehistoric art: the "Venus of Laussel" and the "Frieze of Horses" in high relief at Cap Blanc, and above all the famous cave paintings of the Lascaux caves: horse, aurochs, bison, deer, bulls, ibexes and mammoths.

Concretion caves Concretions are the fruit of the alchemy between water, rock and time. An astonishing work of erosion that first carved out cavities in the rock, followed by the slow crystallization of minerals contained in the age-old water. Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, eccentrics: all these concretions await your gaze in our basement.

The chasms Chasms are distinguished from caves by their generally imposing entrances, which are markedly vertical. Some chasms, such as Padirac, have very large entrances, while others, such as Proumeyssac, barely open onto the outside world and have long been unexplored because they are smoky and were once known as the "devil's hole".

Cave of Domme

Visit the grotto at Domme, you'll love it!

Beneath the Bastide de Domme , a village classified as one of France's "most beautiful villages", lies the fantastic world of the world's largest cave...

Place de la Halle
Domme

Le Parc du Thot

Extend your prehistory experience

At the Parc du Thot, discover Cro-Magnon man and his relationship with the species that lived in his time, which he sometimes painted or...

Thonac

Combarelles cave

Over 800 Magdalenian engravings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Combarelles cave, located at the end of a valley just outside Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in the Dordogne, on the road to Sarlat, is a...

Avenue des Grottes 1-4
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil

Grotte du grand Roc

An exceptional jewel of concretions in the Dordogne

Discovered by Jean Maury on April 29, 1924, the Grand Roc caves were developed and opened to visitors in 1927. They are now open to...

Route de Périgueux D47
Les Eyzies

La Grotte de Maxange

Let yourself be surprised by a unique and magical grotto.

The Grotte de Maxange in the Dordogne valley is surprising in more ways than one. Starting with its history, which is not...

Le Buisson-de-Cadouin

Bara-Bahau cave

Bear sanctuary

The Bara-Bahau (or Bara-Bao) cave, some 100 meters long, is one of the Palaeolithic caves in the...

Le Bugue

Roque Saint Christophe

La Roque Saint-Christophe Trology Fort and City

Halfway between LES EYZIES and MONTIGNAC-LASCAUX, the ROQUE SAINT CHRISTOPHE cliff rises steeply from the Vézère river. This veritable wall...

Route de la Préhistoire 2433
Peyzac-le-Moustier

Cave of Villars

Cave decorated with prehistoric paintings and concretions.

The Villars cave is the only cave in the Périgord to contain both original prehistoric paintings and concretions. The river...

Le Cluzeau
Villars

Le Regourdou

The Neanderthal Sanctuary

The extraordinary story of Le Regourdou began in 1954, when Roger Constant, owner of a farm close to the...

Montignac-Lascaux

Proumeyssac chasm

The Crystal Cathedral of Dordogne Périgord

History of the Gouffre de Proumeyssac Already in the 18th century, the Proumeyssac chasm was known in the Dordogne for its terrifying legends: it...

Proumeyssac
Audrix

L'Abri Cro-Magnon

Emblematic site for the discovery of Cro-magnon man

The Cro-Magnon shelter is the emblematic site of the discovery that gave its name to the first modern man: Cro-Magnon man (synonymous with...

Chemin de Cro Magnon 2
Les Eyzies

Roc de Cazelle caves

Prehistory, history and nature in the land of Man

Come and discover the Grottes du Roc de Cazelle, a striking prehistoric park where you can see reconstructions of the life of our...

Route de Sarlat
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil

Caves of Cougnac

Caves of Cougnac: authentic prehistoric drawings amidst concretions

The Cougnac caves site comprises 2 caves 200m apart. The first cave was discovered in 1949, and contains a...

Caves of Cougnac
Payrignac

Laugerie Basse shelter

Prehistoric site listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site

At the Laugerie Basse prehistoric shelters, wander beneath a real habitat occupied by man since the Magdalenian period, and which...

Route de Périgueux D47
Les Eyzies

Rouffignac cave

The cave of a hundred mammoths

Located in the commune of Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin in Périgord Noir, the Rouffignac cave, formerly known as the "Cro de...

Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac

Lascaux 4 International Center of Cave Art

Lascaux International Center for Cave Art ( lascaux 4 )

The Lascaux Cave facsimile Lascaux 4 houses a replica of the famous Lascaux cave, named after the hill beneath...

Montignac-Lascaux

The Carbonnières cave

A fairytale atmosphere: light and sound

The Grotte des Carbonnières was discovered in the 2000s, then landscaped and opened to the public in 2018 by Jean-Max Touron...

Lacave

The Sorcerer's Cave

Prehistoric cave and troglodyte site

Please note: The Sorcerer's Cave is closed to visitors for the whole of 2024. The grotte du sorcier (sorcerer's cave) is located on the heights...

Les Eyzies

Font de Gaume cave

One of the world's most beautiful Paleolithic sanctuaries

Listed as a Unesco World Heritage site since 1979, Font-de-Gaume is an ornate cave and one of the finest Paleolithic sanctuaries...

Avenue des Grottes 4
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil

Gouffre de Padirac

Reality is beyond imagination!

Close to Rocamadour, Le Gouffre de Padirac is in the Dordogne Valley on the Causse du Quercy in the Lot department, just an hour from Sarlat. The...

Le Gouffre
Padirac