The National Museum of Prehistory occupies a dramatic position in Les Eyzies: built into the base of a limestone cliff, with a natural overhang forming part of its structure. The cliff was itself a prehistoric shelter — the overhanging rock and the caves in the cliff face were occupied by humans during the Paleolithic, and you enter the museum beneath the same rock that sheltered them.
The collection is outstanding. Thousands of objects span 400,000 years of human presence in the Vézère valley: stone tools, bone implements, ivory carvings, and — the highlights — a series of Paleolithic sculptural masterpieces. The female Venus figurines, the carved salmon, the bison licking its flank: these small objects, made with flint tools from animal bone and mammoth ivory, are among the most technically accomplished things produced by humans before the invention of writing. The museum does an excellent job of providing context without overwhelming visitors with facts.
Allow at least two hours. The museum is one of the best prehistoric museums in the world and provides essential background for any visit to the valley's caves and rock shelters.