This is a guest post from Linda, who blogs at Hiking The Alps.
Along the Vézère River, from its confluence with the Dordogne to the village of Montignac, stretches the picturesque Vezere Valley. It hosts an incredible 147 prehistoric sites, including 25 elaborate caves and 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and is also known as the “Valley of Humanity” because of this wealth of treasures.
A highlight is the incredibly interesting Village Abris de La Madeleine, an open-air museum run with great attention to detail. It is one of the best-preserved sites in the Vezere Valley and should be an absolute must on any exploration tour.
Here, at the foot of the cliffs overlooking the Vezere, our semi-nomadic ancestors settled 17,000 years ago. The name for this settlement site goes back to a civilisation of hunter-gatherers, the Magdalénien.
The village of La Madeleine was first discovered in the 19th century. So far, only a small area of about 50 metres long and 15 metres wide has been investigated, but in total, it probably covers more than one hectare of ground area. Between 1968 and 1971, further excavations were carried out, during which a large number of artefacts were found, such as tools made of stone, bone and ivory, as well as jewellery and art objects.
An interesting audio guide in several languages is available and included in the ticket price for the tour and visit through the former village. You need to scan the QR code with your mobile phone at the individual points of interest during the tour. Accordingly, you can take as much time as you want for the discovery.
The first thing you’ll see is the remains of the 13th-century Petit-Marzac castle on the limestone plateau above the caves. The highlight of the open-air museum, however, is Cave Village. This is stuck below the non-accessible castle ruins in a crevice above the river.
The individual buildings of the ancient village can be reached via the “main road” of that time. These include the weaver’s house, a kitchen with a recognisable stove and the house of the blacksmith. Among the buildings carved into the rock, there is also a remarkable Gothic chapel from the 15th century, clinging to the cliff.
You should plan about 1.5 hours for a visit to the prehistorical site. In the summer, there are also guided tours in several languages, as well as various events such as live interactive demonstrations of the crafts of the time for children and adults.
But visiting the impressive prehistoric site Abris de La Madeleine is not the end of the visit: There is also a farm on the picturesque grounds that is wonderful to explore, especially with children and is included in the ticket price.
On the large farmland, numerous animals (including donkeys and sheep) are on large pastures, beds with flowers and herbs and an exhibition room with changing themes. An easy and beautiful walk will take you across the entire farm ground and again close to the river Vezere and the prehistoric site.
At the end of the beautifully signposted exploratory walk, there are many picnic benches from which you can enjoy the far-reaching view over the valley steeped in history.
Ticket price: € 9,90 for adults and € 5,00 for kids under 18 years, in summer. Opening Hours: 9:30 – 20:00 hrs in July and August (shorter in the other months)
Visiting Tip: Try to avoid weekends during the high season in July and August, as the site is very famous with families and therefore full during school holidays.
