Grande grotte

Grande Grotte is a cave in the commune of Arcy-sur-Cure, in the Yonne department of Burgundy, France. It forms part of a larger network of caves hollowed into the limestone cliffs above the Cure river valley, and it is one of the few places in the world where visitors can view cave paintings more than 28,000 years old on a guided tour. That makes its drawings among the oldest known parietal art in France, second only to the famous Chauvet Cave.

What is inside the cave?

The paintings were only identified in 1990, even though the cave itself had long been known and partly explored before that. Researchers have catalogued more than one hundred and forty distinct graphic units on the walls, roughly sixty of which depict animals. Mammoths dominate this bestiary, accounting for around half of the figures, alongside less common subjects such as cave bears, cave lions and ibex — species that appear far less frequently in other decorated caves of the same period. The animals are rendered mostly in a continuous outline with little shading or infill, a distinctive local drawing convention often referred to as the Arcy style. Most of the figures are painted in shades of red and grouped into separate panels spread along the visitor route.

Where exactly is the cave located?

Grande Grotte lies within the commune of Arcy-sur-Cure, a village of fewer than five hundred residents set among the limestone hills of the Cure valley, a tributary of the Yonne river, in the heart of Burgundy. The area has drawn prehistorians for decades because of the sheer concentration of sites clustered together — beyond Grande Grotte, the surrounding cliffs hold several other caves belonging to the same complex, studied since the nineteenth century.

How does a visit work?

The cave can only be visited with a guide, and booking ahead by phone or online is required. Two formats are on offer: a standard visit of about ninety minutes covering the main painted panels, and a longer three-to-four-hour session aimed at visitors with a deeper interest in prehistory, which allows a closer approach to the walls and more conversation with the guide in a small group. Group sizes are capped — usually around thirty people per visit, rising to forty-five in August — to protect the cave's fragile microclimate and preserve the paintings from damage.

Frequently asked questions

How old are the paintings in Grande Grotte? They are estimated at more than 28,000 years old, making them among the oldest known cave paintings in France, alongside those of Chauvet Cave.

When were the drawings discovered? The paintings themselves were identified and scientifically documented in 1990, although the cave had been known long before that.

Which animals appear most often? Mammoths are by far the most common subject, followed by cave bears, cave lions and ibex.

Can the cave be visited without a guide? No, entry is only permitted as part of a guided group, and reservations are required in advance.

Where precisely is Grande Grotte located? In the commune of Arcy-sur-Cure, Yonne department, Burgundy region, in the Cure river valley.