Rick Steves

Europe is rich in history, but its splendid castles, antique churches, and age-old ruins tell only part of the story. To dig even deeper in time – much deeper – visit a cave. Some of my favorites, in France and Slovenia, showcase 17-foot-long bulls drawn by our ancient forebears and 100-foot-high stalagmites sculpted by nature.

The world’s most famous cave paintings are at Lascaux, in southwest France. From 18,000 to 10,000 B.C., long before Stonehenge, the pyramids, metalworking, and farming – back when mammoths and saber-toothed cats still roamed the earth – prehistoric people painted deep inside these limestone caverns. These aren’t crude doodles with a charcoal-tipped stick. They’re sophisticated, costly, and time-consuming engineering projects.

Discovered in 1940, the c

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