Skip to content
15,000BCc. 17,000–13,000 years ago · Niaux, Ariège

The painted cave of Niaux

Full-size copy of the Salon Noir panel at Niaux, with bison and horses drawn in black outline
Photo: Tylwyth Eldar. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Magdalenian hunters carried lamps deep into a cave above the Ariège valley and painted bison, horses and ibex in black outline on the walls of a chamber now called the Salon Noir. Unlike Lascaux, Niaux is still visited in small guided groups by torchlight, one of the few decorated caves in Europe where visitors see the original paintings rather than a copy.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Grotte de NiauxLong walk by torchlight to the original paintings of the Salon Noir.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Parc de la Préhistoire, Tarascon-sur-AriègeFull-size copy of the Salon Noir and displays on Magdalenian life.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

History-only · order never for sale
We haven't found an independent history guide for this yet. Guide here? Tell us about your tours.

Also in Carcassonne and Toulouse

More from the Prehistory

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.