UNESCO World Heritage Site

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley is a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site in France, inscribed in 1979.

The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave

The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality.

Country
France
Region
Europe
Category
Cultural
Inscribed
1979
UNESCO reference
85
Area
105.733 ha

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Counts are based on Zikzak's current UNESCO World Heritage dataset, sourced from UNESCO. Last updated 7 August 2026. UNESCO insights

Collections featuring Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

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