Centre de préhistoire du Pech Merle

About the museum

The prehistoric galleries of the Pech Merle cave were discovered in 1922 by three children from Cabrerets. Abbé Amédée Lemozi, the village priest and prehistorian, immediately began studying the paintings and engravings. The cave has been open to the public since 1926 and was listed as a historic monument in 1952. Since 1973 the commune of Cabrerets has owned it and runs the visits itself.

The museum was founded in 1934, when Abbé Lemozi installed his personal collections in a house in the village. Thanks to two patrons, Jean Lebaudy and Mademoiselle de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, the collections later found a home in the Château Gontaud-Biron. In 1964 Jean Lebaudy gave the collections to the commune, which undertook to build a building to display them. The new museum, just a few metres from the cave, opened in 1981 under the name Musée Amédée Lemozi.

Today the Centre de préhistoire brings together the decorated cave and the museum. The museum preserves evidence of more than 350,000 years of human occupation in the Quercy and holds the “Musée de France” label. It also displays reproductions of the cave’s main figures, a documentary film, and exhibitions on prehistory and rock art in the Quercy.

Highlights

• Decorated cave with paintings 25,000 to 29,000 years old, including the dotted horses
• Quercy prehistory museum with free admission
• Reproductions of the cave’s main figures, which visitors may photograph
• Footprints of a prehistoric child preserved in the cave
• Living prehistory workshops during the holidays

Permanent exhibitions

• Grotte ornée du Pech Merle – A one-hour guided visit of the cavity, which preserves paintings and engravings from several artistic phases, footprints and geological formations.
• Préhistoire du Quercy – Display of the finest pieces from a collection that traces more than 350,000 years of human occupation in the Quercy.
• Art pariétal du Quercy – Space devoted to rock art, with reproductions of the main figures of the Pech Merle cave.

Founded

1934

Operated by

Commune de Cabrerets (régie municipale)

Director

Guilhem Cledel

Visitors per year

approx. 81,700

Admission & discounts

The ticket gives access to the guided visit of the cave (1 hour). Admission to the prehistory museum, with its exhibitions and documentary film, is free for everyone all year round. Payment by bank card, bank cheque, cash or ANCV Chèques-Vacances. Tickets must be collected 30 minutes before the visit time.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: not available
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum, its exhibition rooms, the cinema and the adapted toilets are step-free; the earth path from the car park makes an accompanying person preferable. A cave visit is not possible in a wheelchair (narrow passages, stairs, group pace), but the cave’s reception hall, with the bookshop, remains accessible. The cave route is about 600 m long, with steps of 3 to 20 steps and a 40-step staircase at the entrance. Two parking spaces are reserved for wheelchairs. Assistance dogs are not admitted into the cave. For hard-of-hearing visitors: audio amplifier, earpiece for in-ear hearing aids, connection possible for cochlear implants, commentary booklet. For blind or visually impaired visitors: the guide can bring a case of raised-relief reproductions.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

Children of all ages are welcome, but the museum considers the cave visit poorly suited to children under 3 or 4; a baby carrier is recommended, as strollers are not admitted into the cave (they can stay at the entrance) but are allowed in the museum. During the summer holidays, the “Préhistoire vivante” area offers workshops (fire, ochre drawing, ornaments, spear hunting): €7 per participant from age 7, €3.50 for ages 3 to 6, booking by phone. A survey for teenagers is offered at the museum. A baby changing table is available in the museum’s restroom area.

Getting there & parking

The site is 3.5 km from the village of Cabrerets and 13 km from Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. By car: exit 57 (Cahors nord) of the A20, then follow the “Grotte du Pech Merle” signs. On foot: a path of about 700 m (20 minutes) from the village of Cabrerets, or the GR 651. By bike: a steep climb over the last two kilometres.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Snack bar “Tout Va Bien au Jardin de Pech Merle”, next to the cave entrance. Bookshop at the cave entrance. Picnic tables are available (picnicking is not allowed on the snack bar terraces).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit