Grottes d'Arcy-sur-Cure
Grottes d'Arcy-sur-Cure
Grottes d'Arcy-sur-Cure
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Dans un charmant cadre de verdure préservé des constructions, en bord de rivière, les grottes d'Arcy abritent des peintures pariétales de plus de 28 000 ans. Venez les découvrir au cours d'une visite guidée de 900 mètres, à 30 mètres sous terre, dans un décor dépaysant de concrétions millénaires.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
328 reviews
Excellent
170
Very good
115
Average
27
Poor
14
Terrible
2
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Marlie S
2 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
The caves are beautiful and there is a lot to see. It's just a shame that the tour is only done in French. As a foreigner you will receive a description of the caves in your own language. But the tour is quite long and you spend an average of 10 minutes standing still for explanation at each place that is explained. But if you don't speak French, this is impossible to follow. So, the tour becomes quite boring. We had hoped that there would also be an English explanation. But unfortunately.
Written August 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello and thank you for your comment! Unfortunately, in july and august we have a lot of visitors and no time for bilingual tours... But we hope that very soon we'll be able to offer audio guides for stranger tourists.
Have a nice day!
Written November 11, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Marc V
Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium122 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
Very nice cave. We visited a lot of them .It is worth the trip and the comments from our Guide Elisa were nice, relevant, smiling and suitable for everyone. Good ability to answer questions.
Don't forget to book, it's important for the preservation of the site
Only downside: a little fast for people as young as forty years ago
Don't forget to book, it's important for the preservation of the site
Only downside: a little fast for people as young as forty years ago
Automatically translated
Written September 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Auggie721
Cumming, GA37 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
If you want to visit Grottes d'Arcy because of the cave paintings I recommend you skip it. Only 2 of the 8 rooms you will visit in the cave have actual paintings, the rest of the rooms are just cool stalactite and stalagmite formations. The first room only has one painting and it's a rather basic looking mammoth. The second room has considerably more paintings but are difficult to view because they are somewhat hidden on a low overhang. If you have never been inside a cave before this might be a cool visit, but set your expectations low for prehistoric art.
If you do decide to visit here are a few helpful tips. Bring a jacket or a sweater as the cave temperature is only 12 Celsius (about 53F). The guided tour lasts about 90 minutes and they lock the gate after you enter so there is no leaving early! I don't think there is a self guided tour option but the guided tours seemed to depart about every 30-45 minutes or so.
You might want to call ahead to find out if there is an English speaking tour. The staff was pretty fluent in English but gave the tour in French because we were stuck with a bunch of school kids (another reason to call). They did provide us with a printout in English that described the site but it's not quite the same. By the end of the tour I couldn't wait to leave but my wife liked it. There are better places to spend your time in Burgundy in my opinion.
If you do decide to visit here are a few helpful tips. Bring a jacket or a sweater as the cave temperature is only 12 Celsius (about 53F). The guided tour lasts about 90 minutes and they lock the gate after you enter so there is no leaving early! I don't think there is a self guided tour option but the guided tours seemed to depart about every 30-45 minutes or so.
You might want to call ahead to find out if there is an English speaking tour. The staff was pretty fluent in English but gave the tour in French because we were stuck with a bunch of school kids (another reason to call). They did provide us with a printout in English that described the site but it's not quite the same. By the end of the tour I couldn't wait to leave but my wife liked it. There are better places to spend your time in Burgundy in my opinion.
Written July 6, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spak A
Sydney5 contributions
Sept 2015 • Family
We were very lucky to be the only family to be on the site when the mid-morning tour (11:30am) started and effectively got our own private viewing. Usually the tours are conducted in French, but as we were the only ones there, our wonderful guide said that she would give us the tour in English which was very appreciated. The cave system is very large with many formations to see. The highlights of course are the cave paintings and they are amazing and interesting with depictions of prehistoric animals. This is also one of the few caves where you can view the actual paintings and not replicas. Highly recommended and well worth the effort to go.
Written October 12, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve W
Oxfordshire15 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
Nearly peed my pants at the reviewer who took issue with the level of artistic merit in pro-magnon man's drawing skills. This is a great place. The caves are superb. It's 12 degrees C so you need a coat - but they have a whole bunch of spares you can borrow.
Written August 26, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Schmedley2
North Saanich, Canada134 contributions
Oct 2019
It's hard to believe that things like this are still around, although as mentioned in another review, we are lucky that there is anything left due to pressure cleaning in the 90's. Beautiful formations and paintings that give a small glimpse of where we come from.
Written November 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JorgeNorway
Sarpsborg, Norway30 contributions
Jul 2018
The cave was very good, the tour are in french, we got a great guide that explain some parts in English, but that might not be always like that. The web page has misleading information regarding the time, since it says that it goes at 10 and it goes after 1030, so you can plan ahead if you are short in time as we did.
Written July 13, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Krishna L
Auxerre, France4 contributions
Jun 2015 • Family
Tucked away in deepest Burgundy just off the main road from Auxerre to Avallon and very close to the sleepy village of Arcy sur Cure are the Grottes d'Arcy sur Cure. Actually I live in Arcy and like anything close by it took me a long time to get to visit them. When one thinks 'underground' one tends to reserve a visit for a rainy day or even a very hot one but in the case of the 'Grottes' this is a mistake. They should be visited whatever the climate conditions if ever you are in the area. Everyone knows Lascaux, I was lucky enough to visit the caves when I was very small before they were closed, but in many ways the Grottes d'Arcy are just as important. There are few traces of paintings left thanks to some imprudent cleaning of the walls in the '70's but that does not detract from the beauty of the 'Grottes'. It is more a visit of imagination than anything else helped greatly by the atmosphere once one gets inside. In a way the guiding and quality of the same is unimportant although both times I have been there it was done with knowledge and respect for the surroundings. Indeed once one is aware of the basic facts the visit is most valuable when conducted in silence. Personally I hung back behind the groups I was with and tried within the restraints of a guided visit to gain a bit of extra time. Access is now only possible by car as as the SNCF and the Conseil Regional have in their stupidity decided to close the railway station at Arcy sur Cure. Park and if you have time walk up the valley of the Cure where there are many other caves set in to the rocks.
Written October 29, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeremy C
London, UK17 contributions
May 2014
When you compare pictures from the cave available online and the present look of the cave you come to a conclusion that something's wrong with The paintings inside. The cave is very dark and most of its beauty is very poorly exposed. You get info in English but it's difficult to read it in the darkness (and the French guide, who of course speaks only French, does not allow you to use a led torch). Cave paintings are quite interesting but you're unable watch them properly. We were very disappointed - better watch online pictures of the paintings and save your time & money for other Burgundy attractions (e.g. there are Saint More cliffs & grottos in the vicinity with a nice walking route - approx. 3 km long from Saint More village)
Written May 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily R
Venice, FL197 contributions
Sept 2013 • Couples
We took the cave tour off season so there were only six of us on the tour. My French wasn't good enough to keep up with the tour guide but there was a helpful sheet in English describing all the rooms (hint: read it beforehand and as it is too dark inside the cave to read) and the patter seemed to be mainly the usual about stalagmites, stalactites, drapery, how long it takes to form, etc. The cave itself was quite good with some nice formations and as an added bonus some bats and a big pile of bat guano. But the highlight is definitely the cave paintings which really are amazing: 28,000 years old. You only get to see about five of them but they are worth the trip. As others have noted, it is cold inside so wear a warm jacket. And if you have extra time, be sure to follow the walk on the outside of the cave along the river to see the grottoes.
Written October 3, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is it possible to visit the caves in February?
Written September 18, 2016
Bonjour,
La grotte est fermée du 12 Novembre 2018 au 5 avril 2019
Bonne journée
Written January 31, 2019
Is it possible to visit the caves from Paris without a car? (Is there a bus or train station? How far from the station to the sight? Are bus tours available from Paris?)
Written April 11, 2016
Bonjour,
Il est possible de venir en train. La gare d'Arcy est à 20 minutes à pied du site
Bonne journée
Written January 31, 2019
How difficult is the access and underfoot ? Is it suitable for older people?
Written March 14, 2015
bonjour,
il y a un accès particulier, pour les personnes en situation de handicap.
bonne journée
Written January 31, 2019
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