There are many thousands of caves that nature carved into the limestone of France. Neanderthals found shelter in them a half-million years ago, and later Homo sapiens did the same. In fact, people lived in those caves off and on up until the 20th century! And why not- they were sturdy rock fortresses that kept a habitable temperature year-round. Over time, the residents enlarged them, installed windows, doors, and chimneys, built out the fronts, and added gardens and modern amenities as they became available. There are around 14,000 such cave homes (habitations troglodytes) in the Loire Valley alone, although most are abandoned today.
These caves served as homes, churches, military bases, businesses, monasteries, and emergency hiding places for hundreds of years. One was even used as a secret place for satanic rituals. Now they are mostly empty sightseeing spots, but some have been converted into restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels. Read about the cave homes of France at Messy Nessy Chic.
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