Sites Touristiques Ariège

By torchlight, walking where Cro-Magnon cavemen once lived, you will experience far more than a guided tour! A chance to meet part of your history: the visit will enable you to marvel at the authentic paintings of our ancestors, like nowhere else. A unique experience guaranteed! In the “Salon Noir”, you will find many stunning animal paintings, along with enigmatic geometric symbols, that will transport you to a long-forgotten time.

Both a theme park and a museum, the Parc de la Préhistoire is above all a fun and interesting site where both the young and not so young can discover the life of the Cro-Magnon people. Over the day, and through our practical workshops, you will learn how to hunt, paint on cave walls, carve flint, light fires like cavemen did 14,000 years ago, or learn to work like an archaeologist. “Le Grand Atelier”, a visual museum space covering 2,500 m², will introduce you to Prehistory through films, objects, and life-size replicas such as a reproduction of the “Salon Noir” in the Grotte de Niaux caves, the “Niaux interdit”, and the Grotte de Marsoulas caves. The park can be visited in any weather since all the workshops are under cover.

At the bottom of the castle, discover the new museum of more than 20,000 m² ft with a multimedia guide (also ­available in foreign languages) that will guide you through beautiful stories punctuated with games, interactive content and augmented reality. On its rock, the castle begins its second life: welcome to Gaston Fébus home in the 14th century! You will experience immersive sets, participatory workshops (weapons of war, forging, stone cutting) and imposing machines of war and construction. Surely an unforgettable visit!

Located above the city of Saint-Lizier, the new Palais des Evêques offers a spectacular view of the immense Pyrenees mountains. Next to the building, be sure not to miss a true gem of the area: the beautiful Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède Cathedral, known as the Sistine Chapel of Ariège, with reference to its monumental paintings. You will be amazed by the cathedral’s Renaissance art, majestically covering all the building’s arches. Having been an episcopal seat, a prison and even an asylum for the insane, a visit today lets you discover the history of the former province of Couserans through the collections of the Departmental Museum of Ariège.

Bedeilhac huge porch invites you to discover all the treasures hidden inside: gigantic rooms, spectacular stalagmites and stalactites, and works of art left by Cro Magnon men 14,000 years ago! Several artistic techniques were used in the Bédeilhac cave: painting, drawing, carving on the walls and on the floor, modeling in clay… Even the painted print of hands can still be seen.

With its impressive porch and a river running through it, the cave known as the “Grotte du Mas-d’Azil” is not only a spectacular site but much more! It is also famous for the massive number of prehistoric relics it houses. The information centre will tell you more about the life of the first human beings who lived here, specifically with the help of reproductions of the inaccessible paintings and engravings. The guided tour will take you through the archaeological digs, showcasing the ­amazing discoveries made here: incredible engraved and sculpted objects made by the Cro-Magnon people, and the bones of animals from the Ice Age, including mammoth, rhinoceros and bear. Just 800 metres away, with the same entry ticket, the museum will help you find out more through its presen­tation of this unique prehistoric collection.