La Grotte Chauvet 2
On Tuesday, on the recommendation of our accommodation host, we decided to go see some cave paintings... REALLY old cave paintings (or at least replicas thereof).
The Chauvet paintings are around 36,000 years old and likely the oldest paintings in the world (some googling suggests older ones have now been discovered). Either way, the paintings are particularly famous for their detail, subjects, the advanced techniques used (which overturned years of art history theory) and the excellent preservation. The cave had been sealed off for roughly 28,000 years before being rediscovered in 1994.
The actual caves and paintings are not accessible to the public (to preserve them), but a huge (and very successful) effort has been made to reproduce the cave complex and paintings (including cave bear bones).
Unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of photos to share, as we weren't allowed to photograph even the reproduction (the paintings were made using as much as possible of the original techniques and materials). We did an hour-long guided tour (we could only book a French tour at this time of year, but did get free English audio guides, which were excellent). We can attest to the whole experience being extremely well executed and very reasonably priced.
As well as the "actual" caves, the area had a number of other exhibits, including one with video reproductions of the era in which the paintings were done. There were also some great exhibits of the key animals represented in the paintings, and the geological history of the area.
We also got to watch a temporary audio-visual exhibit (these get changed regularly) about animals in art. It was quite fun... there was even a white greyhound that looked a lot like Mia.
We could have spent even longer there than we did (we were last out as usual). We would thoroughly recommend a visit if you're anywhere in the area. Note that getting there does involve a steep, narrow, winding mountain road — not everyone might find that as fun as I did! The views were stunning too.
