Villars Cave, Prehistoric art cave in Villars, France
The Villars Cave extends through 13 kilometers of underground passages containing numerous calcite formations, stalactites, and natural water pools beneath limestone rocks.
Members of the Spéléo Club de Périgueux discovered the cave in December 1953 after noticing steam coming from a fox hole in the ground.
The cave walls display 30 paintings from the Magdalenian period, including horses, bison, and human figures created with manganese oxide mixed with animal fat.
The marked trail inside the cave stretches 500 meters forward and requires visitors to climb 150 meters uphill through stairs to return to the parking area.
A natural calcite layer formed over the black prehistoric paintings gives them an unusual blue color, distinguishing them from other cave art in France.
Location: Villars
GPS coordinates: 45.44226,0.78518
Latest update: May 24, 2025 14:32
The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region contains historic and natural sites often overlooked by traditional tourist routes. The area features military castles such as Bonaguil with its seven 13th-century towers, underground churches carved into limestone in Saint-Émilion and Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, as well as caves decorated with Paleolithic paintings like that of Villars. Medieval villages such as Talmont-sur-Gironde preserve their original layout and overlook the Gironde estuary. From Dordogne to the Pyrenean foothills, the region presents rock-hewn forts like Maison Forte de Reignac, Benedictine abbeys established since the 8th century in Brantôme, and Romanesque churches like the Collegiate Church of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat. The Vayres and Roquetaillade castles demonstrate the evolution of fortified architecture from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. These sites reflect the military, religious, and cultural history of the region and provide diverse examples of southwestern France's architectural heritage.
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