Hotel Restaurant La Riviere

Canoeing on the Vezere

by Kate-Me

We took the 2 hour, 9 or 10 km canoe hire on the Vezere river at Les Eyzies with Loisirs Evasion - well worth the trip. Cost us about 13E each. There are at least 2 other canoe companies offering Canoeing (at a similar price) so we just picked the one which was closest to our accommodation.
You are driven several kms up river by mini bus, then dropped off with your canoe to make your way downstream with the current back to Les Eyzies.
A great experience, and easy for beginners too Life jackets are included, and a plastic barrel with lid to store your possessions in while on the river (not that we even got wet, but for just in case, I guess)

See What Is On the Rouffignac Cave Walls

by hquittner

The cave is 5 km aouth of town of Rouffignac (marked). It has been known for centuries and has extensive extensions chambers and galleries. The wall paintings and engravings were only discovered in 1956. They have been determined to be late Magdalenian (10,000BC) but a few are thought be much older, the earliest works in the area.. The tour is over 2 miles in length and is conducted in an open car electric train and is quite comfortable. Many animal types are seen. Most memorable to us was an engraved depiction of the wooly mammoth (one of the oldest works) and other later pachyderms.

Where the Prehistoric Sites Are

by hquittner

"Why We Visited Les Eyzies"

At Eyzies we first drove to Font-de-Gaume in the early morning only to find that the limited morning tours were filled and so we reserved tickets for the later afternoon tour. We had anticipated this and so drove out to the Cave of Rouffignac where there were only a handful of other sightseers waiting for the morning visit. This visit was by open electric train over miles of cave sites. We ate lunch at a minimal inn near Tursac, then visited its Romanesque church and returned to Eyzies to visit the Prehistory Museum before returning to Font-de-Gaume. Before returning to our base in Sarlat we drove by the cliff La Roque St.-Christophe which we viewed from across the river Vezere because we felt we were too old for the modest climb required. (All Tips Below).

"Our Day Around Les Eyzies"

Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac (pop. 800) on the Vezere, is the hub around which the prehistoric sites are scattered, the most distant being Montignac, also on the Vezere (about 20 km North) near which Lascaux 2 is sited. Eyzies is only 20 km from Sarlat as well and thus all are easily reached by car. Access to the river and the nearby Dordogne is popular via rental services for canoes and kayaks, with pickup and return points arranged, so that these can be “float-trips” requiring no boating skills. Do not miss the Prehistory Museum.

Prehistoric Les Eyzies de Tayac

by Kate-Me

The area around Les Eyzies de Tayac (2 hours east of Bordeaux in the Dordogne region) is known as the World Capital of Prehistory

The Dordogne is split into four areas: the Périgord Vert (green), the Périgord Blanc (white), the Périgord Pourpre (purple) and the Périgord Noir (black). Les Eyzies-de-Tayac lies in the Périgord Noir area.

In March 1868, a geologist discovered the first five skeletons of Cro-Magnons, the earliest known examples of Homo sapiens sapiens, in the Cro-Magnon rock shelter at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac.

This view of the town, with the old overhanging the new, was one of my favorites. A very green and leafy town, especially with the Vezere river flowing through it.

main street of Les Eyzies, with the cliffs in the background

more old buildings built into the cliffs.