Abri de Cap Blanc
Abri de Cap Blanc
4
About
This Prehistoric cave from the Magdalenian era lies just a few kilometres east of Les Eyzies on the right bank of the Beune river. It was classified as a listed site in 1926 in recognition of its unique sculptures. The frieze covers all but two metres of the 15-metre deep cave and features horses, bison and deer, some of which overlap. Originally, the sculptures were probably coloured since traces of ochre pigment were found during earlier archaeological digs. The remarkable depth and vibrancy of these sculptures carved with flint tools make the Cap-Blanc Cave one of the greatest masterpieces of Prehistoric art from the Upper Palaeolithic period. A museographical area around the friezes gives an overview of Cap-Blanc life and art. Cave of the Vézère valley designated world heritage site by UNESCO. Open: > All the year with prior reservation. > Low season: to visit the cave, contact the reception centre at the Font-de-Gaume cave in Les Eyzies. > High season from 15th May to 15th September: reception on the site from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last visit at 5 p.m.). Closed: > Saturdays. > 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 11th November and 25th December. Admission fees: Adults : 7,50 €; Concessions (18 to 25) = 4,50 €; Free admission: minors under 18*; Free admission: 18-25 years old* (citizens of one of the 27 countries of the EU or are non-European permanent residents of France) * excluding school groups
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4.0
190 reviews
Excellent
80
Very good
82
Average
19
Poor
2
Terrible
7
Joyce R
North Kingstown, RI134 contributions
Sept 2022
When our guide opened the door to take us in to the abri we were amazed a the engravings from 40,000 years ago! Pair this site with the prehistoric museum.
Written 3 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
karenjohnston
Lyon, France29 contributions
May 2021
Pascal provided an excellent tour in English. He was engaging, knowledgeable and funny! Plus, he showed me the musical instruments these people would have played. He really brought the site to life. The animal reliefs are truly beautiful; I would recommend this site.
Written 28 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
brat0029
North Mankato, MN172 contributions
Mar 2019
Smaller than other caves but worth a visit if you have time. Fascinating carvings into the rock walls of animals. Interesting if you are interested in prehistoric man but not the first place you should visit in Dordogne. Worth it if you want to learn more about prehistoric art.
Written 29 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Calgarytraveller2
Calgary, Canada510 contributions
Jul 2019
We usually enjoy visiting "off the beaten path" sites such as this one, where there are fewer tourists and more opportunity to get a really good look at things. Like some other reviewers, we found the staff to be obstinate and unfriendly. We arrived in the morning and asked for an English tour, were given 2 times to pick from and we chose the earlier time (so we would have a shorter wait). The woman at the desk gaves us tickets for the later time and then argued with us that we had asked for those tickets and refused to change them. We thought okay, it's not the end of the world and headed into town to check out the museums in the meantime.
When we returned, the male guide was "huffy" from the moment we arrived and told us that because the other tourists could speak french, he would be giving minimal information in English, even though there was also an English-speaking family with young kids. He then proceeded to give ALL the information in French and when we asked for the English version, he told us to read the signs on the displays or read the handout we'd been given. When we went into the cave, he did the same thing. He refused to say hardly anything in English because it wouldn't be fair to the other guests (really!) We sat there for 20-30 minutes, not being able to understand. It was incredibly boring and, when the family with young kids got up to leave, we got up too. The guide stopped speaking and berated us for being so rude as to leave before the tour was over. We apologized, despite feeling like we were not the rude ones.
When we returned, the male guide was "huffy" from the moment we arrived and told us that because the other tourists could speak french, he would be giving minimal information in English, even though there was also an English-speaking family with young kids. He then proceeded to give ALL the information in French and when we asked for the English version, he told us to read the signs on the displays or read the handout we'd been given. When we went into the cave, he did the same thing. He refused to say hardly anything in English because it wouldn't be fair to the other guests (really!) We sat there for 20-30 minutes, not being able to understand. It was incredibly boring and, when the family with young kids got up to leave, we got up too. The guide stopped speaking and berated us for being so rude as to leave before the tour was over. We apologized, despite feeling like we were not the rude ones.
Written 12 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
handelfan
Bridgewater, New Jersey89 contributions
Oct 2019
It is a much smaller site than the nearby caves (Font-de-Gaume and Les Combarelles) and there was a larger crowd. The exhibits in the small museum gave us some useful background about the history of the site.
Written 24 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gordon F
2 contributions
Oct 2019
While the freeze is dominated by carvings of horses it also has some representations of bison and deer. Quality of the sculptures is exceptional with details that illustrate how well the people who made the carvings knew their subjects. It is thought that the freeze may have originally have been coloured.
The freeze stands comparison with modern examples and are all the more remarkable give the very basic stone tools used by the artists
The freeze stands comparison with modern examples and are all the more remarkable give the very basic stone tools used by the artists
Written 11 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathy E
Portland, Oregon2,746 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
We bought tickets to all 3 sites sold at Font-du-Gaume and had an English language tour of Abri de Cap Blanc.
This is a rock shelter that has been enclosed behind the small museum and is not a cave. You go into the large room and gaze upon these absolutely gorgeous sculptures of horses. It moved me at least as much as the caves and I think maybe more because it was easy to see it all at once.
The guide did an excellent job describing the composition and I found it stunning. And, you can even sit down on chairs provided!
There are more tickets available for this site than for the other 2, and if this is all that's available when you get there, it is totally worth it in my opinion.
This is a rock shelter that has been enclosed behind the small museum and is not a cave. You go into the large room and gaze upon these absolutely gorgeous sculptures of horses. It moved me at least as much as the caves and I think maybe more because it was easy to see it all at once.
The guide did an excellent job describing the composition and I found it stunning. And, you can even sit down on chairs provided!
There are more tickets available for this site than for the other 2, and if this is all that's available when you get there, it is totally worth it in my opinion.
Written 18 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda M
Yucca Valley, CA97 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
This is a wonderful example of superimposed engraved prehistoric mammals. Horses are the dominant theme, but also depicted are bison, reindeer, and a bear's head. A human grave was discovered during excavation activities but sold to a museum in Chicago so although their are skeletal remains depicted they are not specific to the cave. This style of Magdelenian period art is unique and fascinating. This rock shelter is fully enclosed by a small museum and your tour includes walking directly into the shelter and taking a seat as the English/French tour is given. We purchased our tickets earlier in the day at the office for the Font-de-Gaume Cave.
Written 17 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Daniel G
Durango, CO38 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
This review serves to clarify my visit and to offer my opinion compared to other reviews. First this site is not a cave but a room built around what they translated as a ‘frieze’ of several carved stone figures—a large horse, other horses, what looked like a pig or similar animal, and a bison. But a frieze is usually described in art or architecture as a horizontal carving or art relief above or below a wainscot, molding or cornice, but maybe that’s splitting hairs. This is a grouping of carvings on the ouside of a wall that are dated to the Magdalenian period. There was also a reproduction of a female skeleton, found a few years later after the site was discovered (the original was sold to a museum in Chicago, but apparently is not on exhibit). Reviews have stated you purchase tickets at another grotte, but you can either purchase tickets there, or at this site. We purchased our ticket at the site around 11:30, but we’re told we had to come for a 4pm tour with another French couple, so the tour would be in French but there would be an English translation. This was told to us by a fit older woman in English. As it turned out, she was also our guide, who could easily have given the tour in both French and English, given there were only four of us on the tour. This was the first real attitude we experienced on our three week Dordogne trip and that was unfortunate. The tickets were €8 per person. This too is reported to be the only sculptures, of this type and date, that are open to the public. My other comment is that given that there is only one room you spend 40 minutes in (and it could easily have been less), the tour could have easily been given to us at 11:30 in English, and then her obvious preferred method in French later. But to make us come back and then basically ignor us for the whole tour, allowing for a few token questions at the end, with an attitude where she actually scolded us with “I am French” when my wife and I started to ask a question at the same time, “one at a time.” I wouldn’t hold that against the pre-historic art, but buyer beware if you get this woman, who obviously knows her stuff, but prefers to only share it in French, when she is perfectly capable of also doing so in English. As for the site and art, it is impressive, given the crude tools found/allegedly used to create the carvings. As for the recreation of the head of the female skeleton found (apparently funded by an anonymous American donor) was a little suspect. The encased head is in an exhibition outside the “tour room.” Maybe the Magdalenian woman looked like that after a ‘spa day’ but it’s hard to believe the recreation was representative of a typical woman of the time, complete with a headdress, unless she was the Helen of Troy of her time, or had some prominence—anotherwards, she looked pretty good for the times....If prehistoric art and history is your interest, then you will appreciate this site. Or maybe your thing is bragging rights that you viewed the only group of carvings dated 15,000 years, that are open to the public on your trip to France, either way, we enjoyed our visit, we were glad we saw the carvings. Honestly, we thought there would be more than the one room. And, we have a story about our guide that I’m sure will be embellished when we return home. No pictures with or without flash are allowed inside the “room.” The gift shop sells books in English.
Written 22 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter C
Maidenhead, UK87 contributions
Jul 2018
Not quite as attention grabbing as the caves but still worth a visit. A bit of a walk downhill (and back up at the end)
Written 6 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Abri de Cap Blanc
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