Grotte de Rouffignac, Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac

Very intriguing cave paintings and nice to see a different type of cave from the usual wet limestone caves. Very few stalactites here as the water diverted a long time ago, and aside from a few interesting rock formations it is almost all about the cave art. Much of the trip is dark lit, barely lit with the guide picking features out with a torch. Don’t expect to see dramatic lighting or exciting rock formations. However still worth a visit as the paintings are interesting and well worth seeing. The guide speaks entirely in French (except for brief parts in English - mainly instructing you not to take photos or touch anything). The English written guides are useful but clearly not as extensive as the spoken tour; they are also just paragraphs of text so not very engaging and it’s a little tricky to work out what applies when - I would recommend reading most of it on the way in so you don’t end up staring at text instead of the pictures! You also do need to arrive early as there is no booking system and precious little to do in the area. If you can get there close to 9am you shouldn’t have long to wait; later the wait will increase very quickly in season. Worth a visit although children may be underwhelmed (our 12 year old certainly was). It would be good if the site could look at improving the experience for non-French speakers and modernising the booking process.

The ticket system is completely and utterly ridiculous. You cannot make a reservation online or by phone so you simple have to go there and queue up. Being there at 9.15 you have to queue for 1,5 hours (there's a single guy drawing the seating plan for each train with pencils) and then you get a train ticket for 15.00... and find yourself having to waste 4 hours... there is nothing to do there and the place is in the middle of nowhere so you drive back 1 hour to perigueux have lunch there and drive back. A full day wasted for a simple train ride through a cave.. this place is simply ridiculous.

Had a great time , the guide very knowledgeable about the cave, train journey is great, please remember it's a bit chilly 1 km into the cave so wear a jacket or jumper. No photographs, I do understand but you have reminders of your trip, do buy the tour guide €5 well worth it.

We visited in August with a 6, 5 & 4 year old. We arrived at 8.45 and were on the first train of the day but by the time we left two hours later there was a long queue and a wait to park so I would definitely advise arriving early. Under fives are free and required to sit on an adult's knee on the train. The train ride is about an hour with French commentary - the English hand-held guide is good and my six-year old could read it. We all enjoyed it, even the smaller children and it wasn't too long for them. You get to see cave drawings and cave bear nests 🙂. There is a nice path through the woods which we walked afterwards. It is cold underground though, so bring jumpers!

Major waste of time! The guide is rude and and verbally abuse anyone who he thinks might have touched something, even if that person just pointed at something. Every person on the train frowned at his behavior! Also, honestly not a very impressive cave in general. Old paintings are few and there's probably more modern graffiti inside the cave than ancient art.