Le Village Troglodytique Rochemenier

Useful Information

Location:	14 rue du musée, 49700 Louresse-Rochemenier. Louresse-Rochemenier, near Doué la Fontaine. (47.2328084, -0.2960487)
Open:	FEB to mid-APR Tue-Sun, Hol 10-17. Mid-APR to mid-SEP daily 9:30-17:30. Mid-SEP to mid-NOV Tue-Sun, Hol 10-17. Closed 01-MAY, 11-NOV. [2026]
Fee:	Adults EUR 8.50, Children (6-14) EUR 6, Children (0-5) free, Families (2+2) EUR 26. [2026]
Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Village troglodyte Rochemenier, 14 rue du musée, 49700 Louresse-Rochemenier, Tel: +33-241-59-18-15. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1967	opened to the public.

Description

The Musée Troglodytique Rochemenier or short Musée Troglo was the reason why the main road of the village is now named Rue du Musée. But be careful, enter the town from the west, the main road is single lane and one way. The site is also called Village Troglodyte de Rochemenier (Underground village of Rochemenier) or Rochemenier Village Troglodytique (Rochemenier Troglodyte Village). There are 20 underground rooms on an area of more than one hectare, and it actually has any sort of historic underground house, so it is actually a sort of village. In this area once most farms were underground, two of these farms and the Chapelle souterraine du village de Rochemenier, a subterranean church, are now part of the site. This is the largest accessible group of caves in the whole area.

The farms were built underground, inside the rather soft limestone. This rock was quarried all around, but after the quarrying ended, the existing caves were used for living. But the village Rochemenier lies in a flat landscape on top of the plain, not along a cliff or hillside. In order to build farmyards with cave houses surrounding the yard, the first thing necessary was to dig a huge pit, generally with a ramp for carriages on one side. The other sides, the steep ones, were used to dig chambers into the rock, which were then closed by stone walls.

The museum was created by the couple Anne and Victor Leray, who are now retired. They restored the houses, bred ancient poultry and had their own small rose garden. Today the site is maintained by Frédéric Marteau. During the years the site has become so well known, it was even used for a French postal stamp in 2004, worth 0.50 €.

It is possible to visit the museum self-guided, it’s possible to get information material at the ticket office. There are two different ones named dépliant de visite (visit leaflet) or livret jeu (game booklet), available in French and English. The second is a sort of quiz and intended for families and children. Like any museum it has explanatory signs, historic photographs and models. There is also a pdf with explanations available in six languages, download from their website is free.