Thouzon Cave - Grottes de Thouzon
The cave at Thouzon is a dramatic one – you walk 230 metres into the rock in a big corridor made by an underground river, with stalactites and stalagmites all around, and those ones where the two have met and if you tap them they play different notes. I know this because the tour of the cave is guided and this is one of the many things the tour guide told us about.
In truth the guide is rather long-winded and self-important, and she posed boring questions followed by long, embarrassed silences: “Can anybody tell me what flint comes from?...Anyone at all…?” (I don’t care, can we just see the cave now?)
The tour takes 30 minutes and is in French. My 4-year-old didn’t understand a word but he loved it. My 2-year-old liked it for 5 minutes then kept saying “Car, home”.
In fact the cave is worth seeing and quite dramatic. There are even roots of oak trees that have drilled 50 feet through the soil and rock to get to the water in the cave. This explains why oak trees don’t get blown over by the mistral wind. You are probably more patient than I am and may not mind the guide droning on.
They give out a good information sheet in English at the desk – ask for it – and this tells you everything the tour guide says in about 3 minutes.
GROTTES DE THOUZON
2083 route d'Orange, 84250 Le Thor
Tel: 04 90 33 93 65
www.grottes-thouzon.com
Opening hours:
April-June, September-October: Every day, 10.00-12.15 and 14.00-18.00. Last extry at 17.15.
July-August: Every day, 10.00-19.00. Last entry at 18.00.
