Neanderthal origins and ancient caves: Southern France

8 June and 16 September 2024 - 10 days for £5,299.

Step back in time on a journey to the key Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic sites of southern France between Bordeaux and Nice with Palaeolithic archaeologist and author Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes. See some of the oldest traces left by archaic humans: stone tools, art objects, cave paintings and skeletons that have changed the way we think about Neanderthals.

While their fossils were first recognised some 160 years ago, until recently nobody knew whether or not Neanderthals had any culture or complex cognitive abilities. In this tour, Rebecca shows how advances in archaeological methods, especially over the past three decades, have transformed our understanding of these ancient ancestors. Far from confined and unvarying, Neanderthal minds were focused on quality and efficiency, yet also flexible and creative. As stone artisans, carpenters and inventors of the first synthetic material, Neanderthals pioneered new technologies, and they lived not just through ice ages but in warm woodland worlds too. 

Visit renowned archaeological sites and gain a deep understanding into the life and development of the Neanderthals, all while discovering the beautiful medieval towns and stunning countryside of the south of France.

In partnership with Intrepid Travel. 

Guest feedback

"It was quite wonderful to have Dr. Wragg-Sykes' company on this tour. She is a terrific teacher and I enjoyed her weaving of geology, climate science, archeology, etc. into a fascinating commentary on what we saw."

"I think finding a better tour leader than Sebastian is very hard to find. He was great. The same is to say about Rebecca Wragg Sykes as specialist of Neanderthals."

DAY 1: ARRIVE INTO SAINTES AND MEET DR REBECCA WRAGG SYKES

On arrival at Bordeaux Airport, you will be transferred to the historic town of Saintes to check in at the Hotel Les Messageries. In the evening, you will meet archaeologist and author Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes, who will be accompanying you and will be giving evening talks and informal walking seminars throughout the tour.

DAY 2: PALEOSITE AND LA ROCHE PIERROT

This morning you will visit the Paléosite outdoor museum and the nearby La Roche de Pierrot excavation site for a guided tour. It was here in 1979 that a fragmented skeleton of a 36,000-year-old Neanderthal nicknamed Pierrette was found.

In the evening, you will arrive at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil to check into Hotel Moulin de la Beune for three nights. The area surrounding Les Eyzies has a wealth of prehistoric sites that you will be visiting.

DAY 3: THE NATIONAL PREHISTORY MUSEUM AND LE MOUSTIER

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. 

Then journey off-the-beaten-track to Le Moustier rock shelter, which was the first site to give its name to a Neanderthal stone tool culture, and also contained an adolescent and newborn infant skeletons with incredible histories of discovery, loss and rediscovery during two world wars.

In the evening, you will dine under a stunning rock shelter at the Restaurant de Laugerie Basse.

DAY 4: FONT DE GAUME AND THE MUSEUM OF THE NEANDERTHAL

Your first visit is to the Font de Gaume cave with one of the finest examples of European ice age art and the only cave in France with polychrome paintings still open to the public.

In the afternoon, you will visit La Chapelle-aux-Saints to visit the Museum of the Neanderthal Man where the difference between a Neanderthal and a Homo sapiens is demonstrated with side-by-side skeletons.

DAY 5: SARLAT AND THE PECHE MERLE CAVE

Today, you travel south to the region of Aveyron on the edge of the rugged Massif Central. It is sparsely populated and the pace of life here is delightfully slow. 

Your first stop is the medieval market town of Sarlat, which has the highest density of historic and classified monuments of any town in France. 

In the afternoon, you will marvel at the dramatic murals of dappled horses in the Peche Merle 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.

In the evening, you will check into Hotel Les Gabarres, which overlooks the Lot river and is a short walk from the medieval village of Saint Cirq-Lapopie perched on a nearby cliff.

In the evening Rebecca will give a special talk focusing on Bruniquel (where you will be near tomorrow) and other evidence of Neanderthal aesthetic and symbolic behaviour. 

DAY 6: BRUNIQUEL, CAUSSES NATIONAL PARK AND THE TARN GORGE

After breakfast, travel east to the beautiful French village of Bruniquel, which is listed as one of the most beautiful villages of France with medieval gateways and steep cobbled paths to explore. Nearby was the Bruniquel rock shelter, where reindeer carvings were found in the 19th century, and on the hillside is the recently discovered cave containing elaborate stalagmite rings built by early Neanderthals. The cave is currently closed to the public but we are aiming to take you close by, so Rebecca can help you visualise what happened there plus you will visit the Chateau's de Bruniquel and a small exhibition on the discovery of the caves.

Then you will experience the UNESCO World Heritage site of Causses National Park and drive through the spectacular 50-kilometre-long Tarn Gorge before staying overnight in the pretty village of Florac at the Grand Hotel Du Parc.

DAY 7: AVEN D’ORGNAC AND CHAUVET CAVES

Today, you will travel east again to the Aven d’Orgnac Grand Site de France cave to marvel at the giant underground chambers with majestic crystal formations and evidence of early Neanderthals. Next door is the Cité de la Préhistoire museum, which takes you through 350,000 years of their archaeology.

A short journey north is the Chauvet cave, one of the most famous prehistoric rock art sites in the world. Restrictions to protect the caves bar all but scientists and other researchers from the fragile environment of the cave, but a $62 million replica has been constructed nearby, which you will visit to learn how these caves were discovered in 1994 and hear how this beautiful early Homo sapiens art tradition relates to what we know of the last Neanderthals.

In the evening, you will check into the Hotel Le Couvent near the historic village of Vagnas.

DAY 8: VERDON REGIONAL NATURAL PARK, GROTTE SANT MARCEL AND NICE

After a drive into the Verdon Regional Natural Park past the Pont d’Arc rock arch, you will arrive at the Grotte Sant Marcel in the heart of the Ardèche Gorges. It houses a vast network of underground galleries, natural pools and eccentric formations within its caves.

This will be followed by a three-and-a-half-hour drive thru the stunning countryside and along the French Riviera to the chic beachside resort of Nice. Here, you will check into the Hotel Brice Garden and have the rest of the day at leisure to explore the city.

DAY 9: BALZI ROSSI, GROTTE DU LAZARET AND TERRA AMATA

After breakfast, you will drive past Monaco and over the Italian border to visit the Balzi Rossi caves, an import site of the Upper Paleolithic era, where remains were found dating back 42,000 years.

Returning to Nice, you will explore the Grotte du Lazaret, excavated for many years and which has provided rich evidence including hearths of Neanderthals or their close relatives from around 160,000 years ago. A short walk away is the Terra Amata site. It was a beach during the Lower Palaeolithic period and in 1966 several layers of habitation were discovered.

In the evening you will share a farewell dinner with your fellow guests and Rebecca.

DAY 10: FAREWELL TO NICE

After breakfast, you will drive back along the French Riviera for your transfer to Nice airport and your return journey home.

Should you wish to stay longer in Nice, our tour operating partner Intrepid Travel can arrange the accommodation for you.