Montignac & The Lascaux Cave Paintings | France | Live Lovely Travel

Montignac was the first destination on our honeymoon after Paris. It is a small village nestled in the Southwestern side of France, approximately seven hours south of Paris. Although not crowded with tourists, this little town does see its fair share of guests who make the journey to the Lascaux caves, where the earliest human cave paintings have been found! If you are looking for a small village full of history and outdoor adventure, then this town is your oasis away from the crowds. We arrived in the late afternoon and drove through the village before making our way to our Airbnb. Isn’t this the sweetest looking town you have ever seen?

Just look at this lovely view from the river’s edge!Along the river you can rent kayaks or canoes to tour the village and the scenery by the water. There are many hiking trails and outdoor activities for outdoor enthusiasts. We walked over the bridge to find a place to eat along the river and found the most charming restaurant. I don’t know if its because I great up on a small lake, but being by the water instantly puts me at ease and makes me feel at home, even in a country far away from our little New England town. My sister, Jennifer, told me that I had to try the duck in France because it is a local favorite and it was incredible; made with a light orange sauce and served with delicious potatoes and a side of fruit. I always try to eat the local favorites when I travel to truly experience the culture as well as to learn and try new things. Duck is usually not on the menu in the States so it was a unique experience for me. Montignac had the cutest streets! I adore all the stone buildings, the wooden shutters, and the flowers and ivy growing up the walls. For our morning in Paris and trip to Montignac I wore my new Gal Meets Glam Samantha dress. I love the simple bow on the back and the double straps. I felt that the light blue would transition well from city to village. Roses are red. . . If it were not for the e-mail directions sent by our host, we would not have been able to find this sweet little cottage in the woods. It was hidden outside of town down a very small and windy dirt road. When we arrived our host was not home and his wife, who spoke no English, was not expecting us! She thought we were coming the day after. Nervous that we made a mistake, we pulled out the printed reservation that I packed with our itinerary. Thankfully, the mistake was not on our end and we were able to communicate with our hostess to stay the night. Language barriers can be tough, especially outside of the cities. Next time we visit we hope we speak better French! The guest house is a beautiful cottage with a lovely view and a pool. It was too chilly for me, but Matthew got right in and watched the sun go down. The next morning light flooded our sweet little room. We awoke early and snacked on a petite dejeuner of Madeleines (a pastry similar to a muffin that shares a name with our precious little cat at home). We made our way back to the village (I love all the trees in town!) and bought snacks and drinks at the market for our day. Then it was time for our morning reservation at the Lascaux II Caves. The Lascaux caves were discovered in 1940 and people were amazed to find some of the earliest human cave paintings. Human activity has unfortunately caused some damage so the caves were closed to guests. To recreate the experience and share the wonder with the world, scientists brought in artists and architects to recreate the caves right near the originals. You can now go underground to a near perfect replica. The tour was completely in French (no English tours available), so we missed out on a lot of the history (which is thankfully online and in books) and the lecture before the caves. We made out what we could and simply enjoyed the experience for the rest. Our guide brought us into the cave with a fiery torch before turning on a couple well placed lights. No flash photography was allowed, but I was still able to capture some of these amazing scenes. The paintings over our heads were nearly the size of cars and incredibly accurate and proportional. 
If you have the time you may visit the Lascaux museum to learn more about the history and archeologists who discovered the caves. We had a seven hour drive to Gordes so we skipped this part of the exhibit, although it sure looked amazing. Our next stop: Provence!