Frequently asked questions

You descend about 75 metres into a vast natural chasm, then walk through galleries 103 metres below ground to an underground river, where a boatman-guide takes you on a boat trip along the still water. Beyond the river you continue on foot into huge chambers full of stalactites, rimstone pools and soaring vaulted roofs. The whole audio-guided visit lasts around an hour and a half. It is the largest and most famous show cave in France.

Yes. Padirac admits visitors in timed slots, and tickets are for a specific day and entry time. We book and hold your chosen slot, so you arrive, skip the ticket-office queue and go straight in. Please arrive at least 20 minutes before your slot.

In summer and during French school holidays, yes — strongly. Padirac is France's most-visited underground site and regularly sells out its best slots, and on the busiest days the site fills entirely. Booking ahead guarantees your day and time and gives you priority access past the queue. Outside peak periods it is less critical, but a reserved slot still saves waiting.

Allow about two hours on site. The audio-guided visit itself, including the boat trip, runs roughly 1 hour 30 minutes, plus a little time to descend at the start and return at the end. Arrive at least 20 minutes before your slot to check in.

Yes — and it is the highlight for many visitors. Flat-bottomed boats carry small groups along a subterranean river with a boatman-guide, gliding beneath a colossal hanging stalactite and past walls that rise into the dark. After the boat you continue on foot into the largest chambers. The boat trip is included in your ticket.

Very — children are captivated by the descent, the river and the boat. There is a reduced-rate child ticket for ages 4 to 12, and a child audioguide. Children under 4 visit free but still need a ticket, which we arrange as part of your booking. Note that prams cannot go down, so a baby carrier is recommended for infants.

Children under 4 enter free, but the site still requires a ticket for them — add them to your party at checkout and we obtain their free admission with your booking. Children aged 4 to 12 use the reduced-rate child ticket, and everyone 13 and over uses the adult ticket (with a reduced youth/student rate available on proof).

The visit involves a great many steps. Lifts assist the main 75-metre descent and the return to the surface, but the underground galleries are walked on foot, and the route is not suitable for wheelchairs or for anyone who cannot manage stairs. If you have mobility or health concerns, contact us before booking and we will confirm exactly what is and isn't possible.

It is cool underground all year — around 13°C — so bring a light jacket or jumper even on a hot summer day. Wear flat, comfortable, non-slip shoes for the steps and the occasionally damp ground.

Padirac is a seasonal site, open broadly from late March or early April to early November and closed through the winter. Within the season it opens from mid-morning into the afternoon or early evening, with longer hours in peak summer. Because exact dates and hours vary year to year, we confirm the current opening and your slot when you book.

Padirac is in the Lot department of the Occitanie region, on the limestone causse north of the Dordogne valley. It is about 20 minutes by car from Rocamadour, 50 minutes from Brive-la-Gaillarde (the nearest useful railway station), an hour from Sarlat and around two hours from Toulouse via the A20. There is no convenient train to Padirac itself, so most international visitors arrive by car; there is parking at the site.

Yes, and many visitors do — the clifftop pilgrimage village of Rocamadour is only about 15 km away, roughly 20 minutes by car, and the two together make a classic full day in the Lot. Book your Padirac slot for the morning or early afternoon to leave time for Rocamadour, or vice versa.

The open chasm drops about 75 metres, and the visitor galleries run 103 metres below the surface. Padirac was formed over hundreds of thousands of years by an underground river dissolving the limestone; the roof of a huge chamber eventually collapsed to create the great open shaft you descend at the start. The river still flows through the system today.

The chasm itself was long known and feared by local people, but the underground river and galleries were first explored by the pioneering French speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1889. The site opened to visitors ten years later, in 1899, and has welcomed travellers ever since — making it one of the oldest show caves in the world.

The audioguide is available in seven languages — French, English, German, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Italian — with a version for children in four of them. You follow the visit at your own pace, while the boat section is accompanied by a boatman-guide. We confirm the current language options when you book.

Tickets are for a specific dated, timed entry and, in line with the operator's own terms, are non-exchangeable and non-refundable once booked. If we are ever unable to secure the slot you paid for, you are fully refunded. If your plans are uncertain, message our concierge before booking and we'll advise on the best dates.