Everyone wants to see the prehistoric paintings and engravings in the caves of Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles. And with good reason. Besides the high demand, entry to these two caves is more restricted than others for conservation reasons. Although tickets are only available online via the official website, the website does not fully explain the procedure. This short article explains the process for our readers.
Tickets for May 2024 are now available to purchase.
- Thomas Dowson
- Last Checked and/or Updated 22 April 2024
- No Comments
- France, Travel Tips
Long gone are the days that to have any hope of getting into Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles you would have to join a queue at the ticket office at six in the morning. Actually, this was not that long ago, and you can probably still come across websites with this information. In June 2019 I arrived at the ticket office just after 06h00 and there were already four people there before me. The procedure then was that a few tickets for each day would be released at the beginning of January that could be reserved by telephone. They were all but sold out by the end of January. The only option open to potential visitors was to queue for tickets at the ticket office on the day. At the busiest periods of the season, May through to September, anyone arriving after 08h00 did not stand much of a chance.
The pandemic changed all that. Now, it is only possible to buy tickets for Font de Gaume, Les Combarelles and Abri Cap Blanc online. There are always issues of fairness selling tickets that are limited and in high demand. But I think the authorities have got this right.
Tickets for the three decorated caves, Font de Gaume, Les Combarelles and Abri Cap Blanc, are only available on the official website from around the 20th of each month for the next month. So tickets for June 2024 only become available on 20th May 2024.
Of course many people plan their trips to France well in advance. While this is not ideal, it is a much better procedure than what has been in place in the past. If you have planned your itinerary, my advice is to get onto the website as soon as possible to get the tickets for the day and month you require.
Using the Official Website
You can only buy tickets for the three caves on the official website: Sites préhistoriques de la vallée de la Vézère
Unfortunately, the website is not the most user friendly, and despite having options for English and Spanish, for these cave art sites those pages are not functional. The following are steps to follow:
Step One: Click on the BILLETERIE button in the top right hand corner of the page. This will take you to a page detailing the different sites you can visit for which tickets are available.
Step Two: Choose the site you want to buy tickets for by clicking the black CHOISIR button.
Step Three: Select Tickets
On this page you can select which ticket you want to purchase and how many, by selecting the + or – symbols. Once you have done this, add your tickets to the basket by clicking on the black button METTRE A JOUR LE PANIER.
You can choose and add tickets for other sites at a later stage in the process.
Step Four: Choose Timeslot
You then get taken to a page with a calendar, with availability. Those days greyed out are unavailable, sometimes marked COMLPET (sold out). Those days still showing in white have availability – click on the date and the available tickets will show below the calendar – to the left.
The times, languages and number of tickets left will be displayed.
Step Five: Confirm Choice
Click on the option you desire based on the availability showing. Bear in mind you may not have much choice. You have to make do with what is available and how these fit into your plans. If you are only in Les Eyzies for one day, and you are unable to change your plans, and there are only guided tours left in French not English, take them!Â
Once you choose your option, a box will appear at the right of the screen asking you to validate the date.Â
Step Six: Add More Sites/Proceed to Checkout
Validating your choice in the previous step takes you to your basket. This is where you can change the number of tickets (subject to availability – for example, if you incorrectly added one adult ticket but need three – you can change the one to three if there are tickets available for the date and time you chose.Â
To add tickets to other sites, click the box VOIR PLUS DE MONUMENTS.Â
Why Are Tickets Limited?
Entry to Ice Age caves is heavily restricted for conservation reasons. When there was unrestricted access to Lascaux, the fungal spores brought into the cave by visitors, the dust kicked up and the increased carbon dioxide by the presence of hundreds of people in the cave lead to irreversible damage to the Palaeolithic images. Lascaux is now totally off limits to all but a few members of the conservation team, who enter under strict protocols. Ice Age caves throughout France and Spain are either closed to the public or the access is restricted. At Altamira in Spain, only five people are given entry each week. And these people have to wear biohazard suits as a precaution.Â
Each day only 78 people are given access to Font de Gaume, 42 to Les Combarelles and 210 to Abri Cap Blanc.Â
Are These Three Caves Worth the Trouble?
Yes, without the slightest hint of hesitation. Of the very few decorated Ice Age caves still accessible to the public, these three are amongst the best examples.Â
More Cave Art Sites in France
From the World famous cave of Lascaux to one of the most recent discoveries – including Cosquer and Chauvet, France has some of the most spectacular prehistoric cave art in the world. Painted and engraved images, as well as bas relief sculptures, were made by Homo sapiens and probably also Neanderthals between about 36,000 to 12,000 years ago, a period that coincides with the end of the last Ice Age. In this is a guide to the caves, replicas and museums of Ice Age art in France we provide all you need to know to plan your trip.
Add these Ice Age Caves to Your Itineraries & Travel Lists
If you are planning a trip to France to see the cave art, you can create your own travel lists (such as places you have been to, places you would like to visit) and an itinerary for your visit. These can also be shared with your friends and on social media. You can see how this is done by watching our Using the Itinerary video on YouTube, or reading the Using the Itinerary page.
For more ideas and suggestions, sites and museums to visit, see our Guide to the Cave Art of France, our Regional Guide to Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and our France Travel Guide. We also have a more detailed Guide to Les Eyzies, the World Capital of Prehistory.
Font de Gaume
Font de Gaume is the only decorated cave in France that has polychrome paintings that has remained open to the public. Although access is very restricted, and why tickets are highly sort after. In a narrow gallery there are over 230 animal engraved and painted depictions. Not only are some of the painted bisons polychrome, they are also both engraved and painted. One of the many highlights of the site is a frieze of 5 bison, where the artist(s) made use of the contours of the rock face to give shape to the painted bison.
Les Combarelles
Les Combarelles, unlike most of the other caves open to the public in the Les Eyzies area, is notable for its many exquisitely engraved depictions along a windy, narrow passage of about 240 metres in length. Although the usual range of animals were engraved, such as horses, bison, mammoth, reindeer, bears, and lions, there are also a number of representations of humans. Depictions of humans in European cave art are relatively rare, but there are exceptional examples here: stylized outlines of female bodies.
Abri Cap Blanc
The bas relief sculptures of animals, mostly horses, at Cap Blanc are the finest examples of sculptured Palaeolithic art still in situ and open to the public in France. The highlight of the frieze is a carved horse, the body of which measures over two metres in length. In the deposit in front of the carved panel lies the body (now a cast) of a young female. The archaeological deposit also revealed tools that must have been used to carve the animals. Today the shelter is enclosed within a building that also houses a very good museum.
Archaeology Travel Writer
