A drowned cave
Off Marseille, in the Calanques massif, the Cosquer Cave is unique in the world: its entrance lies thirty-seven metres under the sea. It could once be reached on foot, but it was gradually flooded by rising water at the end of the last glaciation. When the walls were decorated, the shore was kilometres away and the sea far lower. Today the cave is reached through a long flooded passage, which makes it one of the hardest and most dangerous decorated caves to enter. It was discovered by the diver Henri Cosquer.
Two ages, two styles
Cosquer keeps two main phases. Old hand stencils, blown in ochre, go back about 27,000 years. Then, around 19,000 years ago, came the engraved and painted animals: horses, bison, ibex, chamois, and even a stricken human figure, an enigmatic silhouette. In all, about 500 figures are known.
A unique sea bestiary
Exceptionally, Cosquer shows sea creatures: great auks (seabirds now extinct, here shown as "penguins"), seals, fish and perhaps jellyfish. No other known Palaeolithic cave offers such a glimpse of the marine world, a reflection of a shoreline that is now underwater.
Threatened, then recreated
Rising water and pollution now threaten the works, which are slowly fading. To save them from oblivion, a replica, Cosquer Méditerranée, opened in Marseille in 2022, in the Villa Méditerranée facing the Mucem. It lets everyone discover a sanctuary that would otherwise be condemned to disappear beneath the waves.
What the visit is like
You travel through the recreated cave on board exploration modules for 35 minutes. Count on about two hours in all: the module ride, a 15-minute film on the discovery, and a gallery devoted to the Mediterranean. Tickets are booked online by time slot. The cave is not open to children under 3, and the module does not take wheelchairs.
If you are building a trip around cave art, our guide to painted caves in France shows how Cosquer fits with other sites, such as the replica Chauvet 2 in the Ardèche.
Practical information was checked in October 2026: please confirm opening times and book on the official website before your visit.