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 severely restricted for conservation reasons. Getting tickets then is not as simple as walking up to a ticket office and buying them. Up until the start of 2018, a certain daily quota was available to be reserved in advance. As of January 2018 it is no longer possible to buy tickets in advance for Font de Gaume or Les Combarelles.
Information in this article was last updated on 26 December 2018.
Font de Gaume, and to a lessor extent the nearby cave of Les Combarelles, are high on visitor’s lists of attractions in the Vézère Valley. And with good reason. The ‘discovery’ of these two caves within days of each other in September 1901 had an important impact on the study of prehistory in France and Spain. The historical significance of these caves aside, the paintings in Font de Gaume are some of the finest examples of European Ice Age art. One of the early doyens of cave art studies, the abbé Breuil, declared Font de Gaume one of the “six giants” of Palaeolithic art. Whatever one thinks of Breuil’s Eurocentric musings, today this is the only cave in France with polychrome paintings that is still open to the public.
For conservation reasons there are only 78 tickets for a guided tour of Font de Gaume each day. And even fewer for Les Combarelles, that is 42 tickets daily. Some of these (26 and 7 for Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles respectively) can be reserved by tour companies. Given the interest in prehistoric cave art in Europe (reignited in recent years by the opening of replicas of Chauvet and Lascaux), these limited tickets are highly sort after.
Despite being in an age where information is now literally at our fingertips, the internet is awash with misinformation. In relation to getting tickets for Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles, this is in part because the process has changed a number of times over the last ten or so years. Consequently, any commentary from 2017 and earlier is out of date.
Can you buy tickets online for Font de Gaume or Les Combarelles?
No. It really is as simple as that. Give up searching. Now.
Can you buy tickets in advance for Font de Gaume and/or Les Combarelles?
As of 2 January 2018, it is no longer possible to buy tickets in advance, either by telephone or email.
The official website indicates that there are a certain number of tickets available for advance bookings. These are for tour groups, not individuals. Telephone the ticket office and listen to the voice message – for those who do not speak French the message is unequivocal: all tickets available for Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles can only be bought on the day at the ticket office, which opens at 9.30 in the morning. And, that each person requiring entry to the caves will need to be present in person.
To be clear, having spoken to the manager at the ticket office on 6 February 2018: it is no longer possible for individuals to reserve tickets in advance for Font de Gaume, Les Combarelles and Abri Cap Blanc. Mention of advance tickets on the official website is for tour groups only.
Forgive me for labouring the points above, but I get rude and borderline abusive emails and direct messages via social media accusing me of spreading false information. All from people who have not tried to get advance tickets they think are available for purchase.
Getting Tickets for Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles
Unless you are part of an organised tour, the only way you can get tickets for Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles is to go to the ticket office and buy them in person on the day you wish to visit. And please note: each person wanting a ticket has to be present at the ticket office at the time of purchase. They are very strict about this, and I have seen people turned away.
Guided tours of the caves are available each day of the week except Saturday. On the following national and religious holidays, the caves are also closed: 1 January, 1 May, 1 and 11 November, 25 December
The opening hours are:
The ticket office opens at 9.30 am, throughout the year.
What time to Queue for Tickets?
The ticket office may very well open at 9.30 am, but as the demand for tickets is high queues start to form much earlier than that, particularly in high season (June, July and August – and even into September). In 2015 numbered benches were installed in front of the ticket office. So at least now there is somewhere to sit. Depending on the time of the year, bring something warm and even waterproof as the early mornings can be chilly and damp.
In the past I recommended getting to the ticket office between 6 and 7.00 am during June to August, the earlier the better if tickets to both Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles were required. I have, however, heard of people arriving at 5.30 am and still finding they were not first in the queue.
Outside the high season (April, May, September and October), 7 to 7.30 am should be fine and perhaps even later (8.30 to 9.00 am) for February, November and December. I have had stories of people arriving at 9 and still getting tickets to Font de Gaume, but on the following day arriving at 8.00 am was already too late.
I know of someone who visited at the end of January 2018 and they arrived at 9.15 am and got tickets to both.
I suppose it really depends on how desperate you want tickets, and how eager you are to visit both Les Combarelles and Font de Gaume.
Good to Know
As you will see in the photograph below the seats are numbered. This means you can work out when you get to the queue what your chances are of getting tickets. But do bear in mind, advance tickets are sold to tour groups. If I am not first I also ask the people ahead of me if they are getting for both or just Font de Gaume (I have yet to come across someone wanting tickets for Les Combarelles and not Font de Gaume). That way I can get an idea whether or not I will get tickets for both caves or not. Only once did I give up immediately because I knew there was no way I would get tickets for both caves.
The queue at the Font de Gaume ticket office around 8.30 am, 1 October 2015.
Benches in front of the ticket office, note they are numbered.
The time to get to the ticket office varies according to the tourist season. And depends on how badly you want to get into the cave on any given day. I usually conduct my cave art tours visiting Les Eyzies in May/June. At this time of the year I like to get to the ticket office around 6.30 am. Each time I have done this I have been the the second or third in the queue. This is much the same for September and October, and school holidays outside of the summer peak season. Most people then start arriving around 7 am, and then steadily thereafter. The last few weeks of July and August, the height of the tourist season, it is different – friends of mine have arrived at 6.30 am and are about 12th in the queue, but they still got the tickets they wanted.
Demand can also vary by day, within the same period. On one day in mid June 2015 people who arrived just after 9 am did not get tickets for that day, and yet on another day less than two weeks later people who arrived at 9.30 am managed to get tickets to visit the cave that day. (They were under the impression you could just arrive when the ticket office opens and get a ticket.) Something similar happened towards the end of September 2015. On Tuesday 29 September a couple arrived at 8.30 am, and by the time they got to the front of the queue all tickets were sold. They returned three days later (1 October) at 7.30 am and were lucky. But then again that was a day when a couple who arrived at 9.30 am got tickets.
IMPORTANT
All people requiring a ticket need to be in the queue. This is important to note as it is a change introduced in 2015. One person can no longer stand in the queue for his/her friends and/or family members. If you require 5 tickets, all five of you need to be in the queue when you purchase the tickets. When it is your turn to purchase the tickets, they want to see all of you – in person.
Good luck! Or, bon courage as they say in France.
If you follow the advice above, you will be following in the footsteps of these and other people.
Can I get someone to stand in the queue for me?
Increasingly I am being asked if it is possible for tourists to get someone to stand in for them. Or, if one member of say a group of four can go at 6.00 and have the other three join just before the ticket office opens.
First, I have not heard of anyone getting stand-ins. The cynic that I am, I would be surprised if it has not happened. Certainly, I would not want to get caught doing it!
On one person in a group going early, it appears opinions are divided. When I have taken groups in the past, I have arrived at my usual time and then told my group to join me by 9.00 am. Never have I encountered a negative reaction from others. But I have seen a discussion on one well known travel review website, well known for peddling in misinformation, where the participants of the discussion all expressed outrage that someone might do this. Seriously? Why should 5 people wait in a queue from 6.00 am when one can? As long as everyone is there for the actual purchase of the tickets (as is required by the ticket office), I really do think there is nothing wrong with it. It makes ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE whether one person waits in line or five.
When ever I have queued I have always enjoyed amiable company with people from all corners of the globe and all walks of life. The Café de Mairie in Les Eyzies opens early. Before going to the ticket office I get myself a take-away hot chocolate and croissant. And often while queuing, I or others I am queuing with have nipped down to the café for a refill.
Les Eyzies is the perfect base
As we have to queue for tickets to Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles, often early in the morning, if seeing these two caves is important for your trip to the Vézère Valley then I strongly recommend a base in Les Eyzies. Besides a number of hotels in the town, there are also bed and breakfasts and self catering establishments. I tend to stay in hotels, and have stayed in all of them at least once. My favourite by far is Hotel Le Moulin de La Beune. It may only be a 2* hotel, but it has more character and charm than most of the other hotels in town. I love its setting and the excellent restaurant. And very little beats returning at the end of a hot day sightseeing in the Dordogne to a chair beside the babbling brook and an ice cold drink of choice. I do also like, and happy to recommend, Hôtel des Roches and Hostellerie du Passeur. More options can be viewed via this list of accommodation for Les Eyzies.
Besides the two caves and having to queue early in the morning, there are many other reasons why I think Les Eyzies is a great base to explore the history of the Vézère Valley and surrounding area.
Looking from the restaurant at Hotel Le Moulin de La Beune towards the hotel.
GUIDED CAVE ART TOURS IN THE DORDOGNE
Also on Sale at the Font de Gaume Ticket office
Each day 210 people are allowed entry to Abri du Cap Blanc. From 1 January to the end of June, and from 1 October to the end of December 105 tickets for Abri Cap Blanc can be purchased at Font de Gaume, while the other 105 tickets can be bought at the site (a few kilometres up the road – it is well signposted). NB, during July and August tickets for this decorated shelter are only available at the site itself. Tickets for Cap Blanc can not be reserved in advance. As they allow 210 people in per day, it is quite easy to get tickets – this is not a popular cave art attraction.
Read More …
Hello Thomas !
Thank you very much for this useful information!
One question, please:
After the availability for your required date is confirmed, can I choose the entrance hour or they communicate me this hour?
I need this information in order to plan my trip.
Once again, thank you !
Adrian
Thank you Adrian :)
The ticket office will give you a time when they confirm that you have a reservation – so a date and time is confirmed.
Thank you very much Thomas !!!
Happy New Year Thomas !
I ask for your help once again.
Today (1st of January 2016) I sent an e-mail to fontdegaume@monuments-nationaux.fr requesting a reservation of 2 tickets for 21st of July 2016, the first visit (circa 09:30).
Till now they didn’t reply.
I make a phone call at +33 (0)5 53 06 86 00. The machine answered in french. I didn’t understand it’s message.
What advise can you give me, please ?
Thank you for your kind reply.
Best regards,
Adrian
Hello Adrian – good to hear from you again. Happy new year to you also :)
Thank you for this question – this is good information to add for future readers, so I have updated the information above.
Today is a public holiday in France so the ticket office will not open. And the office is also closed on Saturdays, so it will not be open tomorrow. The next opening time is Sunday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm and 2 pm – 5:30 pm French time.
You could phone again on Sunday, I am sure you will get to speak to someone then. Also, a lot of people will be sending emails for tickets, so you should get a reply to your email sometime next week. But I would phone.
Let me know how you get on – am happy to help
Kind regards
Thomas
Dear Thomas,
Your information is gold. I don’t know how to thank you …
I’ll do as you advise me. I’ll phone.
Also, I’ll tell you all it will happen.
Best regards,
Adrian
OK, if you are getting the answering machine after 4 rings, its actually telling you that all lines are busy, please be patient. They do answer. The message starts something like this ‘tous nos lignes sont occupe’ …ending with the word patientez. I never thought about it before, but if one does not understand French, probably a lot of people just hang up.
Dear Thomas,
As you instructed me, I called the ticket office on Sunday (3rd of January) in the morning.
I requested 2 tickets for 21st of July – first visit of the day. They suggested a reservation for 14:15. I said that I prefer early in the morning but they told me that this is the only time available. They asked me to send an e-mail at fontdegaume@monuments-nationaux.fr confirming the reservation.
After 5 minutes I send this e-mail confirmation (hour: circa 11:30 French time)
Today (4th of January) at 14:00 hours French time I received by e-mail their confirmation and the payment request.
I paid by phone at 14:30 hours French time. The total price is 16,50 euros for 2 tickets (2 x 7,5 + 1,5 admin fee)
I’m very glad about this reservation and I thank you very, very much !!!
In this stage, again, I kindly ask your for advise:
– what do you recommend me to read about Font de Gaume on the web (in order to fully understand the historic and artistic features)
– being in the cave, what I have to do in order to enjoy the art as much as possible
I wish you a Happy New Year !
Best regards,
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
Thank you so much for letting me know how you got on. It is always good to know that my advice is helping. I am glad it worked for you!
I have always wondered how when I queue for tickets, it is only people who queued who get into the first few tours of the cave. From what you say, I think what they do is keep the afternoon tours for early reservations (like yours) and then keep the early tours for people who have been queueing in the morning.
I will answer your other questions in a few days.
:)
Dear Thomas,
My husband and are planning a trip to the Caves in June of this year. We have tried several times to call over the last few days and have still only been greeted by an answering machine in French. Do you happen to know if they are still taking reservations for the caves over the phone or has that changed? Unfortunately our French is not good enough yet to understand the quick speaking narrator on the machine. All else fails we will plan on an early picnic breakfast at the entrance…..
Many thanks!
Deborah
Hi Deborah
As you can see from Adrian’s comments above, he has managed to get through and make a reservation for June. I hope this is not a stupid/insulting question, but are you sure you are calling when the office is open? I think you are from BC Canada … that does make for a very big time difference. Office times and dates are included above.
I can not believe that tickets are already sold out. I have just called the number to listen to the message, and all it says are when the office is open and the like.
Keep trying is all I can say for now. Good luck.
Thomas
Dear Thomas,
Your information is the best. It helped me a lot. I have just successfully reserved tickets yesterday by mail. We will drive there. Is there any safe parking lot near the ticket office.? Is there any locker or some places to safely drop our belongings such as cameras before getting into a cave?
Thanks
Chamaree S.
Hi Chamaree
Thank you, I am glad to learn you have found the information useful and got yourself some tickets! While waiting in the queue is worth it, it really is better to have a reserved ticket :)
There is a parking area right next to the ticket office – it is marked on the map here: https://archaeology-travel.com/france/font-de-gaume/
I have never heard of anything bad happening there, but perhaps it is safer to take valuables with you as there is a very secure lock up box at the entrance to the cave in which everyone is asked to put their day-packs, handbags etc., before going into the cave.
Enjoy your visit!
Thomas
Thomas, just called France from Ontario, Canada, and, as you noted, got a message that all lines were busy but was soon connected. I was able to book tickets for Font d Gaume and Les Combarelles quite easily even with my limited French. Thanks so much for this information. We will be visiting the south of France in September, 2017, and this will be a highlight of our trip.
Jacques Soucie
And thank you for your message. I am always delighted to hear from readers. Enjoy your trip – and I am sure Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles will not let you down!
Dear Thomas,
Thank you so much for the guidance. I did have to research how to call France from the USA (first dial 011) but the phone was answered on the 3rd ring (10 a.m. US time; 16h France) and we communicated with my French through the scheduling of the dates–May 29 and 30 were already booked, but we got two tickets for May 31 for both Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles. But then my French failed when she started on the next part. Fortunately her English speaking colleague came on and explained that now I needed to email them with my dates and number of persons and what they were dictating was the email address. So, I sent off an email (partly in French), got a email confirmation that day with a printable Confirmation de Reservation with instructions on how to pay. This was of course in French. I chose to fill out the confirmation with my payment information and returned it via email. This was all on Friday US but by then it was Saturday in France and the office was closed. I got an email Sunday thanking me for my payment and with instruction to pick up tickets at the ticket office at a particular time. I was pleased with how easy it was. It appears that reserving spaces puts us at 10h for a tour at Les Combarelles and 14h15 Font de Gaume, which is actually what their website says. i.e. no choice on the time for pre-booking. thanks again! Kathlyn
Thank you Kathlyn. I love receiving comments like this, so thank you for taking the time to let me know of your experience.
I hope you enjoy your time in the caves :)
Thomas
Dear Thomas
Thank you very much indeed for your great effort to make such a hugely helpful website. Clearly I’m not the only one to be highly appreciative of your generous attitude to the world in general & fans of parietal art in particular. You deserves all our thanks.
For benefit of other aspirant ticket-getters by phone, my experience today (13 March) for tickets in late May was repeatedly being switched (either immediately, or after 2-4 rings) to the recorded message of opening hours. At the end of the message, the line died: I was NOT put in a queue for the next available operator (as I thought Thomas’s comment above implied – but maybe that’s just me). So (as Thomas says) just keep dialling with coffee & credit card for company.
I fear it’s only a matter of time before F-d-G & other such sites are closed. As recently as 1966, when we went to Altamira we had to find the guardian in the village, who took our few pesetas & opened the cave just for the 2 of us unimportant young people, and we had as long as we wanted just wandering & gazing in amazement. How times have changed (it’s only half a century ago, after all).
Oh how things have changed! And as you say, in only 50 years. Thank you very much David for sharing your experiences. I need to listen to the message carefully again to see if the message has changed (it did put you on hold until the line was no longer busy). Whenever I have called this year I got through straight away, nice but not helpful for providing these notes :)
Hi Thomas,
We were too late trying to book tickets in advance for the 3rd week of September. Is it possible to hire 2 people to go early for my wife and me and then get the tickets from them when they purchase them at 9:30?
Regards,
Peter Welsh
Hi Peter,
I have never heard anyone mention this. In fact, you are the first person who has asked me about this. You could always ask at your hotel, perhaps they have heard of or know someone who would offer this service. I would be interested to know what they say, I can not believe you are the first person to have thought of this.
Good luck!
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
How many degrees cooler than ground temperature is it usually in the caves? For example, if it’s 80 degrees outside, how cool might it be underground?
Hi Simone,
Temperature in the cave is at a constant of around 13°C or 55.4°F throughout the year, and whatever the outside temperature.
Hi Thomas
A very practical question. To get the tickets that have been paid for and reserved, you still have to go to the ticket office. But do you still have to deal with the possibly long queue then (one of my visits is in the morning) ?
Hi Frank
No, there is no need to queue for reserved tickets. Arrive about 30 minutes before your allotted time and go straight into the ticket office, even if there is a queue. Once inside there will be another person at the ticket desk to give you your tickets.
Enjoy!