This is a "must see" kind of place for anyone interested in Neolithic cave art…read more The displays in the museum give context and insight into the astonishing art you see in the cave itself. The tour of the (meticulously reproduced cave) really brings out the wonder of the art, which was completed over a 500 year period 21,000 years ago! The tour guide spoke excellent English and showed a thoughtful and complete knowledge of the art and context.

This is Lascaux IV: #1 is the original cave discovered in 1940 by an 18-year-old and his dog, which…read morewas closed to public in 1963 when the light, heat, humidity, and exhalation produced by visitors was too damaging to this valuable artifact. #2 the replica opened in 1983 on the same hill. Unfortunately, the many tourists, along with their motor vehicles, continue to threaten the original cave. Thus, #4, grandly named Lascaux International Centre for Cave Art, was completed in 2016. (#3 is a traveling exhibit.) Lascaux IV can only be visited by joining the guided tour. I highly recommend you to reserve and prepay online, especially if you don't speak French, as there are very few tours in English and other languages. If you walk in and they are full, all you can see is the gift shop. At the tour, you get an tablet and a headphone. After some introduction, you walk into a replica of the cave. The cave replica was developed through 3D laser scanning and casting technologies to replicate the original cave form to a 1 millimeter tolerance. 25 artists spent 2 years hand-painting 900 meters of resin rock reproductions, using the same pigments that the prehistoric painters used 20,000 years ago to recreate the 1900 paintings and engravings that adorn the walls of the cave. Afterwards, you can spend as much time as you like in the multimedia exhibition, taking your time to take photos of the drawings, listen to more in depth explanation of each painting and watch videos about many aspect of the archeological site, which really makes me appreciate the artwork even more! Truly, the dynamic, expressive cave paintings are impressive. And that they are so ancient really give me a different impression of our prehistoric ancestors. The interactive exhibit is totally awesome, let me learn so much more than what a guided tour allows. I hope one day I can make it back again.

I really enjoyed my tour of Chateau de Puyguilhem two weeks ago. The grounds were beautiful and…read morethe chateau beautifully maintained. This chateau is a renaissance castle and has an interesting history. The chateau is much like the renaissance castles in the Loire valley. The Chateau de Puyguilhem is more "modern" than a medieval castle but still has considerable gothic influences. All of this was pointed out and explained by our tour guide. Our tour guide was excellent and was very well informed about the history of the castle and made our tour very special. She was perfectly bilingual and gave the tour in French and English. If you are touring the Perigord area this is definitely worth a stop.

The Puyguilhem Castle was built during the First Renaissance and is a fine example of a Francoise…read more1st castle. Puyguilhem was built for Mondot de La Marthonie. A lawyer and President of Paris Parliament, he helped Louise of Savoy, the king's mother, during the first Italian campaign when the king was kept far from court Chateau de Puyguilhem is located to the South East of Nontron and just 1 km from Villars, in the Northern part of the Dordogne department. It is the setting of the castle that makes it so special, with the forests of the Northern Dordogne closing in on the back of the chateau and open meadow to the front it was this open view to the front that give the original, medieval, castle on the same site its defensive strength. Chateau de Puyguilhem was constructed in the 16th century and it is a fine example of a Renaissance castle. There are many features in this chateau that are typical features of a castle of this type grand fireplaces, an impressive spiral staircase and perilously steep slate-tiled roofs. The style has more in common with the castles of the Loire Valley (far to the north) than it does with the majority of the Dordogne castles, most of which avoided the 16th-17th century renovations characteristic of the castles of the Loire. Inside the castle you can see their impressive collection of armour, furniture and tapestries, while outside the grounds of Chateau de Puyguilhem have been attractively restored, and contain some smaller buildings of note, such as the pigeonnier. The entry fee is relatively small (a few euros) and information booklets are provided in a number of languages. There are guided tours available, however these are only in French (hence the booklets). The Chateau is well worth a visit and should be incorporated into a visit of the nearby Grotte de Villars, a prehistoric cave dwelling with original prehistoric cave paintings.

This is a fantastic Chateau. It looks like right out of a fairy tale. And it's pretty massive in…read moresize. On this weekday were surprisingly few visitors. Hard to imagine, because the castle and the gardens are stunning and you can easily spent a bunch of hours here. There's plenty of parking right out front on the town square. Free of charge. 10.50 a person is a great deal, gives you access to almost everything including a self-guiding booklet with informations. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well. Free of charge. The castles construction dates from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. At the rear façade is a terrassed lawn and an orangery. A nice sized garden completes the site. The castle and gardens are privately owned and is really kept in a great state and condition. There are plenty of rooms to discover and then you can stroll around in the wonderful gardens. It's just a pretty place. Inside and out. The very pretty Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens is also on site. Really an amazing place to be. Worth a longer drive surely. Staff is great. Welcoming and helpful. And lots of useful informations everywhere. As well as a souvenir shop of course. Definitely a highlight of our trip.

This place is hard to categorize but easy to describe. What you can visit is an exact reproduction…read moreof a cave discovered in 1940 by children. The original cave was opened to visitors when its content became public. A cave? With the most beautifully executed paintings from the paleolithic, 16000 years old to you and me. Paintings? nearly 2000, most of them animals, with mainly horses, stags, but also bison and cattle. The paintings are stunning, some of the best in Europe. The walls and ceilings are covered with them. Why a reproduction? because of the damage done to the murals by a fungus that thrives on the carbon visitors exhale. I have visited Lascaux 2 several times and I can assure you that it is very well done, the dimensions of the caves are the same as the original and the paintings are exact replicas. I never had at any time the feeling that this was a fake. The caves are in a wood in the countryside near Montignac. There is ample parking, and the site is accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs, albeit a little inclined. Tickets are not directly for sale on site, you have to buy them from the tourist office in Montignac. To get a better idea, you can visit the website and get a glimpse of what lies in the caves.

This place was quite nice, about a five minute walk from the center of town. The room was clean,…read morequiet, and the superior room had a great shower. The breakfast (not included) was buffet style with loads of options including pastries, eggs, and meat and cheese. There is ample parking and it's a great point to stay and visit the caves.

Michelin starred. Fantastic food and a good value considering the high standard of food. (in other…read morewords, not cheap, but worth it) Dinner starts at 7:30p, but we were able to roll up an hour before and relax in the beautiful courtyard, and were seated immediately at 7:30p without reservations. No need to stay at the hotel to enjoy the restaurant--it was simply a stop over for us while traveling from the Sarlat area to Lyon.

Good God, this place is wonderful. The hotel is gorgeous, with beautiful rooms, a wonderful pool,…read moreand beautiful grounds. The people who work there were kind and helpful. The restaurant, too, is amazing - excellent food and service, all on a beautiful outdoor patio. Go there!