"Villa Mediterranee" - "Grotte Cosquer"

We had no idea what to expect here! Henri Cosquer, a retired professional diver, explored the coast of the Calanques in his pension. In 1985, he discovered a cave entrance 37m below sea level, where he came into a large hall after a 116m long underwater passage rising upwards. He visited this cave again and again with diving friends until on July 9, 1991, his diving lamp shone on a negative imprint of a hand with a red border. The absolutely unexpected had happened! A "Lascaux under the sea" had been discovered!The sinter deposits of this stalactite cave with stalagmites and stalagnites that glow in different colors in the light of a lamp are extremely impressive.Even more fascinating are the detailed and rich paintings of the two main caves.And incomparable in its style, but just as deeply impressive in itself is the presentation that has been in this museum since 2022. A group takes a large elevator to 2m (instead of 37m) below sea level and experiences the faithful replica of these grottos in small, fully automatic four-person carriages with a fully automatic audio guide and headphones. Photography is prohibited on this journey into a world from 30,000 years ago. It is probably much more sensible to devote yourself entirely to the presentation, the play of light and color and the very precise explanations. The website grotte-cosquer.com is said to have high-resolution photographs. But the only real experience would be a visit to this wonderful world that is fascinating on many levels.