Les Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil, or more simply Les Eyzies, is a small, one street tourist village which has coined the name of the ‘Capital of Pre-History’, and is located in the Dordogne region of Aquitaine. The village lies at the heart of the Vezere Valley, a declared U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site, and is surrounded by a beautiful, unspoilt and tranquil landscape which is comprised of many overhanging limestone cliffs, rolling hills and silent waterways. Les Eyzies village is famous for being the location of the discovery of early human remains known as Cro-Mango man in 1868 by geologist Louis Lartet, and today is recognised as the centre of the pre-history highlights of the Vezere Valley. This small village is a major tourist attraction and offers a range of accommodation, cafes and restaurants for the almost one million visitors to the area. The village also provides easy access and a unique look at the many prehistoric sites in the local area.
This ‘Cradle of Mankind’ extends along the lower reaches of the Vezere Valley between Montignac, whose main attraction is the Lascaux Cave, and the picturesque town of Le Bugue. The valley contains innumerable caves and shelters which show signs of prehistoric man including evidence of settlement, tools, paintings and engravings that show animals such as bison, horses and woolly mammoths. The village of Les Eyzies provides visitors with renowned cave paintings, including the last painted cave still open to the public at Fond de Gaume which displays over 200 polychrome paintings - the National Museum of Prehistory which features 18,000 objects creating one of the most extensive and interesting stone and bone tool collections, Palaeolithic engravings and sculpture in the country – and the Museum of Abri Pataud which is the only prehistoric site in the Dordogne to have been converted into a museum.
The village boasts a tourist office which provides information on the local attractions, accommodation and eateries.
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