Lascaux II — Attraction in Sarlat-la-Canéda

This was our second visit to the caves after about 6 years and it was nice to see that little has changed here. We were fortunate that we could book onto an English tour within 45 mins of arriving, which was just long enough to have our picnic at the lovely covered picnic benches. The tour itself lasted a good hour and Pascal, our guide, was very thorough. He is obviously very interested in the symbology of the prehistoric cave art and spent a good while discussing theories of 'other worldliness'. As you will be aware, this is a faithful replica of the actual caves made over a twenty year period, using ground breaking construction techniques and authentic materials/techniques for the reproduction of the actual art - it is exactly how I imagine the real caves would feel, as you descend into the ground, but with the helpful addition of a more level and firm walking surface. We chose not to go to the new centre in the town, Lascaux IV (which is where you will be directed if you don't know about Lascaux II) because I'm sure it would not have the same feel. If you continue on the same road, ignoring the car parks etc, and go up the hill about 600 yards there is a sign for Lascaux II on the left. There is a car park on the left and you ascend a small set of steep steps (no hand rail though) to the reception area. There are very good, clean toilets here and also a small gift shop. If you combine this with a visit to Rouffignac it is an ideal way to get a good feel for cave art within...

Met cette article sur Google translate si vous êtes Français The replicas of the caves were fine, but the treatment of the animals seemed ( at least to me) horribly grotesque. In French, here it is: (pardon) Le condition des animaux là, c'était vraiment horrible et grotesque. The cows there were underfed, their ribs sticking sharply out for all to see, the ground was hard and probably uncomfortable, the food there was scarce, and water? Oh noooooo cows don't need THAT. There was this one bull, I remember, he was lying on his side, with a swollen wound on his side (from being punctured by something) that was just oozing blood and pus, and the flies were all over it. And the flies, those were the worst part. In those would-be soft, beautiful kind eyes of a cow, instead there were thousands of flies attempting to get at the moisture in those glassed-over spheres, because the sun was unbearable, and guess who didn't have any shade? My experience was in July of last year, so I hope it's changed by now. Either that, or the cows have died and Lascaux is showing their skeletons, because they probably wouldn't notice. So delete this comment and keep all the good ones, giving bonuses to your employees for putting good reviews, but that won't help those cows, will it? Because obviously you...

Could have been so much better. The new building the exhibition is housed in is stunning. The facility overall feels clean, pleasant and spacious. Everything is meticulously run. We found the web-site a little bewildering as it looks like there are lots of different options, but basically it's all just one experience. The cave replica is the central attraction and that's pretty cool. However there is something of a triumph of style over substance. The content of the tours and the museum and the 3D cinema is somewhat repetitive plus slightly "enigmatic" and philosophical in its take. There are so many aspects of this exhibition which could have been focused on - the anthropological significance, the creation of the facility itself, the life and biology of Cro-magnon man etc. But instead we were left with lots of "mystery". A decent and interesting way to spend a couple of hours if you're in the area (make sure you book at least 24 hours in advance as it gets busy) but after a family visit we're all slightly baffled by the 4*...