Good stop when visiting caves. Lots of flints, some signs are in English. Animal displays are cool,…read moreand the museum continues along the hillside for great views.

Take a walk back through time Our tour guide brought us here…read morefor a tour of this museum. The collection, the documentation, the displays cataloged with a "Smithsonian" perfection were just overwhelming for the short period of time we were there. I understand this area of France is a little off the beaten path for the large American tour companies. This is a shame, the museum deserved much more time for discovery and contemplation. Even with so much use of French in the museum, a visitor can still be filled with a sense of wonder.

Steve and Judy Burman, ex-pat English archeologists, offer an exclusive B&B and personalized tour…read morepackage of the painted caves and castles of the Dordogne region of southern France. My wife and I engaged Steve for a two day private tour of cave art at Lascaux, Le Thot, Cap Blanc, Font-de-Gaume, Las Combarelles and the National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies. We were forewarned that we would return after a day with Steve completely exhausted. And we did. Each day, with Steve as our guide and mentor, we learned about he paintings, engravings and sculptures of the "Cromagnons" often times only inches away from the art they created. We climbed, crouched and twisted our way into cave recesses to see ancient paintings of bison, aurochs, mammoth,and raindeer, quickly understanding that these were made by highly competent artists. Steve not only explained the art and its merits but also set for us the geologic and archeological background which spawned the people who created these masterpieces. Steve was generous with his knowledge, generous with his time and, over lunch or while driving us from one site to another would also patiently explain customs, courtesies and modern French lifestyle in the Dordogne. I can't say enough for Steve and Judy Burman's Caves & Castles tours.

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.

From the owner: Classé au Patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco Le site préhistorique de la vallée de la Vézère comporte…read more147 gisements remontant jusqu'au paléolithique et 25 grottes ornées. Il présente un intérêt exceptionnel d'un point de vue ethnologique, anthropologique et esthétique avec ses peintures pariétales, en particulier celles de la grotte de Lascaux dont la découverte (en 1940) a marqué une date dans l'histoire de l'art préhistorique. Ses scènes de chasse habilement composées comprennent une centaine de figures animales, étonnantes par la précision de l'observation, la richesse des coloris et la vivacité du rendu. Classé au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco en 1979. Ci-dessous, la liste complète des monuments classés au patrimoine mondiale de l'Unesco en France.

From the owner: Le Parc du Thot aborde la relation Homme-Animal à l'époque préhistorique.read more

Enjoyable recreation of the cave with art work and interactive displays. They have various ticket…read morecombinations you can look into if staying in the area for a few days. We choose the basic and that was plenty - you start with guide and then go on your own with the displays and there's a short film and interactive temporary exhibits to check out. Neat to see this full recreation as the site is now closed due to damage to the artwork from over tourism.

This is an exact replica of the famous Lascaux cave, where hundreds of prehistoric drawings were…read morediscovered in 1940. Scientists have been piecing together the story ever since. As the original site is fragile, public access is not allowed. Our tour included a fascinating history of the cave with theories of how and why these paintings were first made starting 20,000 years ago. Was it sympathetic magic designed to draw fat animals closer for better hunting, or is there a deeper more metaphysical explanation? We may never know. However, we do see some true skill in depicting the world of these prehistoric people, including the emerging artistic skill in how to use the contours of the walls, color, and perspective. The museum is excellent and the tour makes good use of technology with tablets to help understand and interpret the site. This was a good stop for us in the Dordogne.

Many Americans have probably never heard of Oradour sur Glane or the "Martyred Village." They…read moreshould. It is sobering, and while I have seen most of France from living there and my numerous visits, this place has stayed with me like no other. It's an important reminder that not too many years ago, in still Nazi occupied France, on June 10, 1944, to be exact, the Nazi's brought death and destruction to some 642 inhabitants, men, women and children living in an idyllic, small French village. The women and children were locked inside the church whilst the Nazi's looted the town. The men were led and lined up within barns and were machine gunned down, as told from a survivor, they aimed for mens' legs and then the Nazi's then burned the barns down along with the men. Six men managed to escape. After the massacre of the men, the Nazi's lit the church on fire where they had earlier rounded up the women and children, murdering all but one woman who managed to escape. Following the massacre, the Germans returned to complete their destruction of the village and it stands today, they way it did some 71 years ago. General Charles De Gaulle is the force behind the idea to leave the village as it was. It was he who wanted the village to stand today as it did post-massacere as a memorial to the fallen. In 1999, President Jaques Chirac dedicated the formal memorial. When you visit, walk through the streets of the burned out village. You will see the charred reminders inside the remainders of the homes of the families whose home were burned and their lives snuffed out; rusty bed frames, old stoves, teapots, etc. Please take the time to visit he official yet small memorial where you can silently weep over an exhibit of personal items gathered from the victims such as soot covered and melted timepieces and lockets. You'll notice the timepieces all stop at roughly the same time... I challenge you to leave with dry eyes. 2015 - Review # 100 Addendum: what kind of messed-up person thinks this review is funny?

A powerful museum and preserved village tell the story of French citizens rounded up and executed…read moreby the Nazi's in June 1944. Men, women, children, entire families gone; 642 people in total. Bodies were burned and buried to try to hide the crime. I didn't know this history but now that I've been there I won't forget.

Nice garden and tour of the Tower area. Also a chance to buy…read morethe estate wine. You can just visit the garden for a nice walk if you wish.

I've been traveling to paper museums, and this particular museum is not necessarily the best for…read moreexplaining making paper, but its exhibition space is devoted to the art of paper. The particular exhibition April to December 2018 anticipates the centenary of the end of World War I, which will be commemorated November 11. The paper sculptures of WWI soldiers and the women they left behind are in the exhibition space. Not to be missed is the 12-minute film (English subtitles) created from these paper sculptures in a masterful stop action animated film. It is charming as well as tragic. A nice small boutique includes colorful graphics from the era when the factory rolled out cigarette papers after it became fashionable in 1850 France to "roll your own." The machinery on the first floor of the mill is signed, and there are some English translations. One sign notes the "master of the paper," Jacques Brejoux, who is in residence at another historic mill in the countryside: Moulin du Verger. He is still actively working on handmade paper and book restoration. (Call for an appointment to tour that mill.)

From the owner: Aux sources du papier Depuis 1988, ce musée retrace toute l'histoire du papier, et l'évolution des…read moretechniques industrielles de la papeterie dont la Charente fût longtemps le centre majeur. Installé dans l'ancienne papeterie J. Bardou (papier à cigarettes) construite sur la Charente, il présente sur deux étages et sous forme d'expositions temporaires diverses collections autour de ce thème. Un service documentaire et iconographique est à la disposition de tous, il suffit de demander.