Castles and Caves

We've already mentioned that the Dordogne is known for beautiful villages. Two other outstanding features have to do with castles and caves. The caves contain prehistoric drawings and paintings from the time of Cro-mangnon man. We have visited three. One was a reproduction of one that was becoming deteriorated as a result of the change in the moisture in the air from the huge number of visitors. The reproduction was done exceptionally well and the explanation of the history and techniques was great. Another cave was huge and contained many drawings but the tour guide only spoke French so I think we missed a lot. The third cave was really cave-like. We had to duck in many places and squeeze through others. They are trying to protect the drawings so only a few people a day are being admitted and they do not let you see more than 6 drawings. Taken altogether, and realizing these drawings were done more than 17,000 years ago, it has been an amazing experience. We hope to see one other of the many in this area.

As for castles I will let the photos stand on their own. Needless to say, there are many left over from the 100 year war. Some are still inhabited, or partially inhabited, and even the partially deteriorated ones are impressive. Being at the tops of hills, the views are generally wonderful.