Montignac-Lascaux · Dordogne · Avenue de Lascaux
Lascaux IV: tickets, hours and what to see
A full-scale replica of the Lascaux cave and its exhibition spaces. The original cave is closed to the public, and every ticket is for a time slot.
Today
Opening hours for every month are on the Opening hours page.
Checked against the official website on 24 October 2026 · Official source
In short
- Lascaux IV is open seven days a week in the periods published by the official site. From 2 November 2026 to 3 January 2027: 10:00 to 18:00, last entry at 16:00. Until 1 November: 9:00 to 19:00, last entry at 17:00. The official site publishes no hours for 4 January to 6 February 2027, nor for the rest of 2027. Hours read on 24 October 2026.
- You do not visit the real cave: the original Lascaux cave has been closed to the public since 1963. Lascaux IV is a full-scale replica of it, with exhibition spaces, in Montignac. Allow 2 to 3 hours on site.
- Every ticket, children under 5 included, is for a time slot. The visit begins in the replica cave at a fixed time, then you explore the exhibition spaces freely. The guided visit runs in the morning and afternoon, the visit with an audio guide only around lunchtime.
- Official price: 23 € for adults (13 and over), 15 € for children 5 to 12, free under 5. The tickets on this site are sold by our partner, a third party: its guided visit and its audio-guide visit are both listed at 23 €, the same as the official adult price, according to the partner. The operator also sells its own tickets online and at the desk.
- Backpacks, bags and suitcases, strollers and animals (except guide dogs) are not allowed on the route, and we found no mention of a cloakroom. Photography is forbidden in the replica cave. The replica is at about 16 °C and part of the route is outdoors: bring something warm.
A replica, not the original cave
The Lascaux cave was found on 12 September 1940 by four teenagers. It has been closed to the public since 1963: according to the official site, the carbon dioxide, humidity and artificial light that visitors brought let algae and calcite deposits spread, and these threatened the paintings. Nobody visits the original cave today.
Lascaux IV, the International Centre for Cave Art, opened in 2016. Its cave is a full-scale replica, made by the Atelier des Fac-Similés du Périgord from 3D surveys, with a cave-like atmosphere at about 16 °C. Lascaux II, a partial replica opened in 1983, is also open nearby.
How the visit works
The visit starts in the replica cave, at the time on your ticket: you cannot see the exhibition spaces first. Afterwards you explore them freely: the Workshop, the Theatre of Cave Art, the cinema, the Gallery of the Imagination and the Immersion Room. Leaving the site is final, with no re-entry.
The guided visit, with a mediator, is offered in the morning and afternoon. The visit with an audio guide is offered only around lunchtime: the official ticket page gives 12:30 to 13:40. The official FAQ says the visit lasts 1 hour to 1 hour 30 on average depending on the options, and 2 to 3 hours in total on site.
What you see in the exhibition spaces
The Workshop shows the main panels of the cave, with a visit companion that uses augmented reality. The Theatre of Cave Art traces three periods that founded our knowledge of prehistory. The cinema shows the film Lascaux et le Monde. The Gallery of the Imagination is a wall of 90 screens with works by artists such as Miró, Tàpies and Picasso, and the Immersion Room hosts immersive shows.
The building covers more than 8,000 m², with a hall, a shop and the Café Lascaux. The official terms say that secondary spaces may close temporarily, without a refund.
Languages
The official ticket calendar lists guided visits in French, English, Spanish, German, Dutch and Italian. Audio guides come in nine languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese. We could not see which time slot is in which language, so check it when you choose your slot.
Our partner lists live guides in English and French for its guided visit, according to Tiqets.
The Vézère valley around Montignac
UNESCO has listed the Vézère valley since 1979 as Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley. According to UNESCO it holds 147 Palaeolithic sites and 25 decorated caves, and it cites the Lascaux paintings, discovered in 1940.
Around Lascaux IV the official site suggests Lascaux II, Parc du Thot, the Grand Roc cave and the Laugerie-Basse shelters. Distances and visit times are on the page about getting there.
Rules for the visit
Not allowed on the route: aerosols, backpacks, bags and suitcases, strollers, dangerous objects and animals, except guide dogs. For newborns, only soft baby carriers are allowed. Smoking has been banned on the whole site since 1 July 2025, entrances and covered areas included.
Photos are not allowed in the replica cave, but are allowed in the Workshop and the other spaces. The replica is at about 16 °C and part of the route is outdoors.
Accessibility
The route is adapted for visitors with reduced mobility, wheelchairs are lent free of charge, and car park P1 has reserved spaces. The site has held the Tourisme et Handicap label since 2019. The headsets have an induction loop, there are tablets with sign language and text in French, English and Spanish, and subtitles in nine languages.
A price of 16 € for visitors with a disability can be booked only by email to the address on the official site, with proof of disability.
