Grotte de Fontrabiouse

Useful Information

Location:	Rue des Soulanets, 66210 Fontrabiouse. Fontrabiouse, Pyrénées-Orientales Department (66). E15 exit Rivesaltes, D83, then N9 south towards Perpignan, turn right at airport, follow D117 northwest. Estagel, Maury, Saint-Paul, turn left at Axat, to Puyvalador, turn right to Fontrabiouse. (42.6345148, 2.0964321)
Open:	JAN to JUN daily 10-11, 14-18. JUL to AUG daily 10-19, last tour 18. [2007]
Fee:	Adults EUR 15.40, Children (13-17) EUR 14.40, Children (5-12) EUR 9.90, Children (0-4) free, Student (-25) EUR 13.90, Senior (65+) EUR 13.90, Disabled EUR 13.90. Audioguide EUR 1.50. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave Highest Show Caves
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=12,000 m, T=6 °C, A=1,500 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=1,000 m, D=50 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotte de Fontrabiouse, Rue des Soulanets, 66210 Fontrabiouse, Tel: +33-4-68-30-95-55.
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

27-AUG-1958	discovered during quarrying, explored by Entente Spéléo du Roussillon (ESR).
1970	Entente Spéléo du Roussillon (ESR) persuades the municipality to develop it.
01-JUL-1983	show cave opened to the public.
1991	tour path extended to two levels of the cave, new reception building.

Description

Grotte de Fontrabiouse, named after the homonymous village, is a rather young discovery. It was opened during quarry works in 1958, developed as a show cave and now draws tourists to this rather remote village. They state they had half a million visitors since the cave was opened to the public in 1983 [2025]. The cave is huge and full of impressive stalactites and stalagmites. The biggest chamber is 25 m high.

The quarry above the village Fontrabiouse is a marble quarry which is famous for a high quality marble which is called onyx. It was used to decorate the rooms of the Petit Trianon in Versailles and the staircase of the Consular Palace in Perpignan. In 1958 Armand Girona, chief miner of the quarry, discovered a gaping hole after a mine shot. He was the first to explore the cave, as he went in with a rope and discovered the first 400 m of the cave. The cave was explored in the same year by the Entente Spéléo du Roussillon (ESR). After the first exploration activities the cave was not visited again for 12 years. But in 1970 a new generation of cavers visited the cave again, they saw the potential as a show cave, and persuaded the municipality to develop it. It took 13 years to develop the cave as a show cave and open it to the public in 1983. The first trail was soon extended, and in 1991 the new route which spreads over 2 levels of the cave was opened. Also, a reception building was opened at the cave entrance.

The cave is quite exceptional, as this area actually has not many caves. The rock is marble which is normally less prone to karstification than limestone, but there is no reason why there should be no cave. However, before no caves had been known in this area, and so the speleologists did not suspect such a spectacular cave in this area. Another specialty is the elevation, this cave is at a height of 1,500 m asl. They state on their website that they are the highest show cave in Europe, but if you have a look on our "Highest Show Cave" list you will see it is not. Other pages state it is the highest show cave in France, and this is probably correct, at least we do not know any higher one.