The Tours
Christine Desdemaines-Hugon’s tours are always private, made to measure.
The programs are adapted to the clients’ priorities, to where they are staying, and to the amount of time they wish to dedicate to exploring cave art sites. Here are a few suggestions, easily interchangeable and dependent on the number of clients (from one person to a large group), some of the caves being strictly regulated as far as numbers of visitors are concerned.
For a one-day tour, Christine ideally proposes a private visit of Bernifal Cave which takes all morning. The walk through the woods to get to the entrance, the primitive condition in which the cave has remained, without electricity, and the gradual discovery of the approximately 20 000 year-old art, offers a magical experience, a true immersion in the past.
In the afternoon, the perfect choice of sites would be Rouffignac Cave and, depending on ticket availabilities, either Font de Gaume Cave or Cap Blanc Shelter.
For a second day Christine highly recommends a full lecture at the Musée National de la Préhistoire in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac which has the finest collection of artefacts in the world: stone tools, finely engraved bone and antler objects, beads, needles, skeletons, and more. This is where one can best understand and visualize the life-style of Palaeolithic cultures.
Afterwards we can visit either Font de Gaume or Cap Blanc depending on which of the two had been seen on Day 1. If the time schedule allows it, the troglodyte La Madeleine site is well worth discovering.
For a third day, the morning could be dedicated to another of Christine’s favourite caves: Cougnac. She can give an exclusive visit through this magical cave filled with crystalline stalactites and stalagmites and magnificent paintings dating back to about 26 000 years old. This is an unforgettable experience.
As it is further away, South of the Dordogne river, in the afternoon she can show you the historical towns along the Dordogne river on the way back to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac , and give you a visit of the 12th century Beynac fortress (where Richard the Lion Heart stayed for a number of years).
If the client(s) would like to see the famous Lascaux facsimile which is well worth a visit, Christine prefers the first version, Lascaux 2, to the recent much publicized Lascaux 4 copy. Although the latter has an interesting exhibition room after the visit, showing the different panels separately, the 4 or 5 minutes only separating each large group through the facsimile don’t give the groups of 50 people enough time to appreciate and enjoy the paintings at leisure.
Exploring the treasures along the Vézère Valley on the way there or going back to Les Eyzies offer wonderful surprises: the scenic La Madeleine troglodyte village overlooking the river, the charming historical village of St Léon-sur-Vézère with its perfect 12th century church, and, for instance, seeing the location of the famous excavation site of Le Moustier…
Naturally Combarelles Cave is also a “must”. Although Christine cannot accompany visitors inside the cave, because she would be depriving one of the maximum 7 visitors per visit, she can take clients to the entrance and give a solid introduction to prepare them for what they are to see. Perhaps it would be better for clients to visit this cave on their own on another day.
The above-mentioned sites can be arranged differently of course according to the clients’ priorities, but no more than three sites can be seen in one day because of varied and complicated opening and closing time schedules, the distances between sites, the obligation to be at the sites sometimes half an hour before the visit, and the enjoyment of the lunch break… We are in France!
Christine Desdemaines-Hugon’s tours are always private, made to measure.
The programs are adapted to the clients’ priorities, to where they are staying, and to the amount of time they wish to dedicate to exploring cave art sites. Here are a few suggestions, easily interchangeable and dependent on the number of clients (from one person to a large group), some of the caves being strictly regulated as far as numbers of visitors are concerned.
For a one-day tour, Christine ideally proposes a private visit of Bernifal Cave which takes all morning. The walk through the woods to get to the entrance, the primitive condition in which the cave has remained, without electricity, and the gradual discovery of the approximately 20 000 year-old art, offers a magical experience, a true immersion in the past.
In the afternoon, the perfect choice of sites would be Rouffignac Cave and, depending on ticket availabilities, either Font de Gaume Cave or Cap Blanc Shelter.
For a second day Christine highly recommends a full lecture at the Musée National de la Préhistoire in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac which has the finest collection of artefacts in the world: stone tools, finely engraved bone and antler objects, beads, needles, skeletons, and more. This is where one can best understand and visualize the life-style of Palaeolithic cultures.
Afterwards we can visit either Font de Gaume or Cap Blanc depending on which of the two had been seen on Day 1. If the time schedule allows it, the troglodyte La Madeleine site is well worth discovering.
For a third day, the morning could be dedicated to another of Christine’s favourite caves: Cougnac. She can give an exclusive visit through this magical cave filled with crystalline stalactites and stalagmites and magnificent paintings dating back to about 26 000 years old. This is an unforgettable experience.
As it is further away, South of the Dordogne river, in the afternoon she can show you the historical towns along the Dordogne river on the way back to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac , and give you a visit of the 12th century Beynac fortress (where Richard the Lion Heart stayed for a number of years).
If the client(s) would like to see the famous Lascaux facsimile which is well worth a visit, Christine prefers the first version, Lascaux 2, to the recent much publicized Lascaux 4 copy. Although the latter has an interesting exhibition room after the visit, showing the different panels separately, the 4 or 5 minutes only separating each large group through the facsimile don’t give the groups of 50 people enough time to appreciate and enjoy the paintings at leisure.
Exploring the treasures along the Vézère Valley on the way there or going back to Les Eyzies offer wonderful surprises: the scenic La Madeleine troglodyte village overlooking the river, the charming historical village of St Léon-sur-Vézère with its perfect 12th century church, and, for instance, seeing the location of the famous excavation site of Le Moustier…
Naturally Combarelles Cave is also a “must”. Although Christine cannot accompany visitors inside the cave, because she would be depriving one of the maximum 7 visitors per visit, she can take clients to the entrance and give a solid introduction to prepare them for what they are to see. Perhaps it would be better for clients to visit this cave on their own on another day.
The above-mentioned sites can be arranged differently of course according to the clients’ priorities, but no more than three sites can be seen in one day because of varied and complicated opening and closing time schedules, the distances between sites, the obligation to be at the sites sometimes half an hour before the visit, and the enjoyment of the lunch break… We are in France!
