Travel Guides Crafted by Experienced Archaeologists & Historians
The entrance to the Pôle Préhistoire below the limestone cliffs and a bright blue sky.

Pôle d’Interprétation de la Préhistoire: Getting Started in Les Eyzies

The small town of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne has long been described as the World Capital of Prehistory. Not only is the National Prehistory Museum here, there are also some of the best decorated Ice Age caves in the town, as well as some historically important prehistoric. With so many archaeological sites to choose from, where do you start? The Pôle Préhistoire, as it is known, is the place to start. This is more of an orientation centre, an introduction to the prehistory of the Vézère Valley. When creating your itinerary for the area, be sure to include the centre at the start of your exploration of the area. 

The entrance to the Pôle Préhistoire below the limestone cliffs and a bright blue sky.
One of two entrances to the Pôle d'Interprétation de la Préhistoire.
Assistants at the reception desk and visitors browsing the bookshelves.
The reception area and bookshop in the Pôle Préhistoire.
The striking minimalist displays at the Pôle d'Interprétation de la Préhistoire. Here a map of the area in §D.
On the 3D map are the locations of all the prehistoric sites tat make up the UNESCO World Heritage site.
A display of life-sized hominins, with visitors watching the video.
A close up of the cro-magnon model, who is grinding rock ochre to make paint pigments.
A cro-magnon preparing paint from rock ochre.
A model of a Neanderthal man carrying a spear in one hand and a dead rabbit in the other.
A neanderthal man.

Add the Pôle Préhistoire to Your Itineraries & Travel Lists

Pôle d'Interprétation de la Préhistoire

Inaugurated in July 2010, the centre provides visitors to the region with the necessary information required to visit the decorated caves and other archaeological sites and museums in the Vézère Valley. Besides being able to get your physical bearings, the centre also has a series of state of the art displays that introduces visitors to the archaeology of the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

Archaeology Travel Writer

Thomas Dowson

With a professional background in archaeology and a passion for travel, I founded Archaeology Travel to help more people explore our world’s fascinating pasts. Born in Zambia, I trained as an archaeologist at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and taught archaeology at the universities of Southampton and Manchester (England). Read More

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