| The Vezere river is a tributary of the Dordogne, and | | | | 2. St. Leon sur Vezere- This is another of the "Most |
| the two meet near Les Eyzies-de-Tayac before the | | | | Beautiful Villages of France". Built in a picturesque loop |
| Dordogne continues on toward Bordeaux and the | | | | of the Vezere river, this charming village possesses |
| Atlantic ocean. Near the village of Montignac, about | | | | twocastles and one of the finest Romanesque |
| 30 kilometers upstream on the Vezere, are some | | | | churches of the Perigord. The churchwas part of a |
| excellent and unique venues, including the famous | | | | Benedictine priory which was founded in the 12th |
| Lascaux cave. Here are four that can be visited in | | | | century. It was builton the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa. |
| one day. | | | | The remains of one of the villa's walls can beseen on |
| 1. Lascaux II- | | | | the river side. There is a picnic area next to the |
| Lascaux is considered to be the number one | | | | church on the banks of the river, and a café is |
| prehistoric site in all of Europe. The paintings on the | | | | nearby as well. This is an excellent spot to have a |
| site date from 17,000 to 15,000 years ago. Shortly | | | | pleasant lunch or a refreshing drink. |
| after that the cave entrances were closed by | | | | 3. La Roque St. Christophe (St. Christopher's Rock) is |
| mudslides or other natural means, and thus the | | | | a huge |
| paintings were perfectly preserved until the modern | | | | Troglodyte cave complex. For about a half mile in |
| era. The cave was rediscovered in 1940 by two local | | | | length this majestic cliffrises vertically above the |
| boys whowere chasing their dog, and several years | | | | Vezere valley to a height of over 250ft. It is like a |
| later it was opened to the public. However, in 1963 it | | | | hugehive with about 100 caves hollowed out of the |
| was closed again, as it was discovered that too | | | | rock on five tiers. Excavations haveproved that the |
| many people in the cave were causing the paintings | | | | cliff dwellings were inhabited from the Upper |
| to deteriorate. Since then only a few scientists, | | | | Paleolithic Ageonwards. In the 10th century the cliff |
| scholars or art historians per day were allowed in for | | | | terraces served as the foundation for afortress |
| several hours maximum. For the past few years | | | | which was used against the Vikings, and again later |
| even those limited visits have been stopped, as new | | | | during the Hundred Years War. It was subsequently |
| signs of further deterioration have been observed. | | | | destroyed during the Wars of Religion at the end of |
| The French government, however, took up a 10 | | | | the 16thcentury. The self-guided tour explains the |
| year project to make an exact duplicate of the cave. | | | | evolution of human life at La Roque St. Christophe, |
| This effort, which opened in 1983, uses exactly the | | | | which took place over many centuries . In fact even |
| same pigments that were used by the Cro-Magnon | | | | Neanderthal fossils have been found at this site and |
| artists thousands of years ago, and is dimensionally | | | | at other locations nearby. |
| accurate to less than one inch of error. It is called | | | | 4. Chateau de Losse- This renaissance chateau sits |
| Lascaux II, and is located only about 400 yards from | | | | on the right bank of the Vezere river, and it has a |
| the original cave. | | | | large terrace that overlooks the river and offers |
| The quality of the artwork is the main reason that | | | | picturesque views. The chateau is well known for its |
| Lascaux is considered the finest example of | | | | excellent furniture and tapestries, which can be seen |
| prehistoric cave paintings. Done with only oil lamps for | | | | on the guided tours. The tours are in French, but |
| light and using highscaffolding, the prehistoric artists | | | | foreign language guides are available, and these are |
| who created this site were highly accomplishedartists. | | | | easy to follow so one does not miss anything. The |
| Most of the guided visits to Lascaux II are | | | | tours are quite good, and one can also visit the well |
| conducted in French, but there are tours in English on | | | | kept gardens and stroll around the outside of the |
| most days. One needs to call the Lascaux ticket | | | | chateau in the former moat area. |
| office in Montignac or the Montignac Office of | | | | As stated earlier, these four venues in the Vezere |
| Tourism to find out if and when there is an English | | | | Valley near Montignac can easily be visited in one |
| tour on any given day. If you have a group they will | | | | day, since they are relatively close and do not take |
| probably set up an English tour for you and other | | | | too long to visit any of them. If one is staying |
| English speakers, but this needs to be arranged in | | | | nearby, in Sarlat, for example, only about 25 |
| advance through the ticket office. Even though | | | | kilometers away, a visit to these sites is well worth |
| Lascaux II is a replica and not the original, it is very | | | | the effort. |
| well done, very informative, and not to be missed. | | | | |