Musée de Préhistoire des gorges du Verdon – History begins here!

Yet it most certainly is there, and it’s a stunning sight. A museum that looks like the entrance to an immense modern, even futuristic cave, the work of the internationally renowned architect Norman Foster. A curved shape that invites you to enter and which, as soon as you approach, draws you to it and envelops you, mesmerizing you by the golden warmth that permeates these strange mountains with their scent of garrigue scrubland. You are immediately spellbound. You feel overcome by a craving to enter that mysterious world and, walking into the dim light of the entrance, you suddenly find yourself catapulted back thousands of years. The impact is incredible. You feel small and fragile in the presence of a huge mammoth, a mighty woolly rhino, a majestic deer and a fearsome sabre- toothed tiger. And, believing that you have ended up among the characters in Ice Age, you think to yourself that you are lucky not to have lived in that era fraught with pitfalls and dangers. But then you think further and you realize that today’s pitfalls, less apparent and far more insidious, are equally deadly… After this group of animals, a gentle ramp leads to the upper levels and, going up, you realize how spacious and fascinating the museum is, capable of welcoming, intriguing and accompanying visitors on their exciting journey back in time. You become so absorbed by the rich sequence of dioramas, animations and reproductions of prehistoric life that you almost feel physically part of each scene. And then the passage in the Soleils Gallery: a rocky tunnel artfully reproduced with its Neolithic paintings, which leads to other sections where the environment, humans and their tools are presented and enriched by interesting insights and curiosities in a way that can appeal to everyone, young and old. The animated cave is a sight that will appeal to even the little ones! This Museum is definitely worth the trip. It deserves a whole day à la façon préhistorique, including in the open air, discovering the Baume Bonne Cave and the magnificent prehistoric site of the Verdon gorge. In short, a fun and educational museum where you can learn to approach and love an era that is usually difficult or too often filled with “stereotypes”. It is not just history that we find here, but our history, told in a full, professional and yet easy and accessible way. A museum in which, moreover, there are often temporary exhibitions and conferences with internationally renowned specialists. The idea for the 2022 exhibition of putting ancient tools alongside today’s utensils is very effective to help understand their actual use in everyday life. And, before leaving, a last stop in the museum shop where you can be tempted by glossy scientific publications, as well as by nice grand public editions or fun books for teens and children, all of course on the Prehistoric theme! Not forgetting the trinkets and soft toys… impossible to leave without a little Lucien, the mascot mammoth to take home with you together with all the memories of such a special place.