Neanderthals, ancient humans and cave art: France
20 September 2025 - 9 days for £5,395 per person
Embark on a captivating journey through time as you explore key Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic sites of southern France, from Bordeaux to Montpellier, with ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ’s Kate Douglas. Visit iconic archaeological sites and deepen your knowledge of Neanderthals and early human ancestors, all while journeying from Bordeaux across the picturesque south of France. Traverse through charming medieval towns and breathtaking countryside, culminating in the vibrant city of Montpellier.
Discover some of the oldest remnants left by archaic humans: stone tools, art objects, cave paintings and skeletons that have revolutionised our understanding of Neanderthals and our early human ancestors.
Delve into the heart of the Vézère valley, renowned for its prehistoric cave systems, stunning depictions of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic art and skeletal remains, many of which have only been unearthed in the past 160 years.
Accompanied by ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ features editor Kate Douglas, who will deliver a series of engaging talks and walking seminars, offering deep insights into the fascinating regions explored. Additionally, a knowledgeable English-speaking local guide will join you, enriching your experience with their expertise.
Immerse yourself in the culture of our closest relatives and gain profound insights into their lives and development.
In partnership with Intrepid Travel.
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN SAINTES AND WELCOME MEETING
After checking into your hotel in the historic town of Saintes, meet with your local tour leader, tour expert Kate Douglas and your fellow guests for a tour briefing. Kate will introduce the themes of the tour in an introductory talk. Afterwards, enjoy a welcome dinner with the group.
DAY 2: PALÉOSITE OUTDOOR MUSEUM AND LA ROCHE À PIERROT EXCAVATION SITE
This morning you will visit the Paléosite outdoor museum and the nearby La Roche à Pierrot excavation site for a guided tour. It was here in 1979 that a fragmented skeleton of a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal nicknamed Pierrette was found, one of the most recent-known individuals and a central part of current debates over what the culture of the final Neanderthals was like, and whether there were any influences from contact with Homo sapiens (also known as the Chatelperronian debate). There are active excavations at the site providing new insights into the story.
In the evening, you will arrive at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil to check into your hotel for the next three nights. Les Eyzies is near the Vézère Valley, an area renowned for its wealth of prehistoric sites, both of art and of hominid remains, which you will visit over the coming days.
DAY 3: THE NATIONAL PREHISTORY MUSEUM, FONT DE GAUME AND LA FERRASSIE
The day starts setting the scene with a visit to the National Prehistory Museum, which houses France’s largest Palaeolithic collection with more than 18,000 exhibits tracing over 400 millennia of human presence. These include original skeletons of Neanderthals, their stone tools and other artefacts such as pigment, plus some of the most important original art objects from prehistory and the history of science, including the famous carving of a bison licking its shoulder from the La Madeleine site.
In the afternoon, head to the Font de Gaume cave, which has one of the finest examples of European ice age art and is the only cave in France with polychrome paintings still open to the public. This begins your parallel exploration of the emergence of aesthetics and art, by exploring one of the latest and finest examples in the region.
Then journey off the beaten track to La Ferrassie rock shelter, where throughout the 20th century researchers have found no less than eight Neanderthal remains – adults, children, infants and even two foetuses. It was here that the largest and most intact Neanderthal skull ever recorded was found.
In the evening, you will dine under a stunning rock shelter at the Restaurant de Laugerie Basse.
DAY 4: LASCAUX CAVE AND THE MUSEUM OF THE NEANDERTHAL
Venture into the heart of the Dordogne valley to visit Lascaux cave, which features prehistoric masterpieces immortalised on stone by ancient humans. Discovered in 1940, the original cave is a classified UNESCO World Heritage Site that had to be closed due to the damage inflicted by visitors. Lascaux IV is an exact copy of the original. Dubbed the "Sistine Chapel of Prehistory", no other cave paintings can compete with those of Lascaux’s in terms of colour, size, quality and quantity.
In the afternoon, you will go to La Chapelle-aux-Saints to visit the Museum of the Neanderthal Man and gain access to the cave where the first claimed Neanderthal burial was excavated in 1908.
DAY 5: LES COMBARELLES, ABRI DU CAP BLANC AND SARLAT
After breakfast, you will visit Les Combarelles, a cave system in the Vézère valley with over 600 instances of Magdalenian art, mostly engraved, from around 13,000 years ago. Almost a third of these images are of animals, including bison, horses and mammoths, offering a remarkable insight into the prehistoric world.
Head onwards to Abri du Cap Blanc, a rock shelter featuring a large frieze sculpted on it by prehistoric man. The frieze is 13 metres long and is considered one of the best examples of Palaeolithic sculpture, providing valuable information about the lives and artistic expressions of early humans during the Magdalenian period.
In the afternoon, head to the medieval market town of Sarlat, one of the most famous and beautiful towns in the region. It has the highest density of historic and classified monuments of any town in France and offers the perfect opportunity to wander cobbled streets and visit the local markets.
DAY 6: PECH MERLE CAVE AND AMÉDÉE LEMOZI PREHISTORY MUSEUM
Today, you will marvel at the dramatic murals of dappled horses in the Pech Merle cave that takes you further back in time in exploring the evolution of cave art and aesthetics. Its museum includes videos of inaccessible areas inside the cave. There are depictions of many species represented and more than 2 kilometres of caverns to explore. Plus, the caves are geologically fascinating in how they exhibit several million years of formation, carved out by water and displaying multiple crystalline layers.
Next door is the Amédée Lemozi Prehistory Museum, which includes recreations of many of the other nearby caves currently closed to the public and celebrates the renowned French archaeologist of the same name.
Afterwards, make the 5-hour journey to the charming town of Vagnas where you will spend the next two nights, and enjoy dinner together at the hotel.
DAY 7: L’AVEN D’ORGNAC CAVE, CITÉ DE LA PRÉHISTOIRE MUSEUM, CHAUVET 2 MUSEUM
You head out today to L’Aven d’Orgnac, Grand Cite de France, a massive site which encompasses geological exploration, prehistory, caving, underground wine cellars and beautiful outdoor landscapes. The historical artefacts found at the Cité de la Préhistoire Museum span over 350,000 years, from the Lower Palaeolithic to the very first Gauls.
In the afternoon we will move on to Chauvet 2 Museum, which contains the largest cave replica in the world, of the famous, UNESCO World Heritage listed Chauvet cave. In the midst of the stalagmites, stalactites and other outlandish concretions, the cave unfurls its treasure of engravings, paintings and stumps in a space covering over 3000 square metres. Marvel at one of the first examples of prehistoric art.
Dinner tonight is included at the hotel and Kate will deliver another engaging talk this evening.
DAY 8: THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTPELLIER
This morning you will make the 2-hour journey to Montpellier. Here you will visit the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montpellier, the oldest continually-operating medical school in the world, and alma mater of François Rabelais and Nostradamus. Here you will see the wonderful library of 900 manuscript volumes, 300 incunabula, 100,000 volumes printed before 1800, and all the theses produced by the faculties of Montpellier and Paris since the 17th century. In the Conservatory of Anatomy display cases house jars, skulls and casts including a resin écorché model that stands in the centre of the room. The second floor of the conservatory houses the imposing collections of the Delmas-Orfila-Rouvière museum, consisting of écorchés and wax anatomical models from the past two centuries.
In the evening you will enjoy a final dinner together at a restaurant in Montpellier.
DAY 9: THE JARDINS DES PLANTES AND DEPART MONTPELLIER
After breakfast, head to the Jardins des Plantes botanical gardens, one of the oldest in the world and originally designed to produce herbs for medicinal use. Your tour comes to an end in the afternoon before transfering to Montpellier airport for your onward journey.
