Artouste Authentic skiing in the heart of the Béarn Pyrenees

Traveller Reviews Google Artouste

4.6 sur 5 8136 reviews

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  5 sur 5 Reviews posted by M. M on 11/12/2025

  We bought the tickets a day in advance. The earlier you take the train, the better your chances of finding parking. June isn't really peak season yet. Online ticket sales are available and work well. The cable car and train journey were all perfectly organized. Friendly staff everywhere! We definitely recommend this entire trip. Worth every penny. What beautiful views! The walk to the upper reservoir isn't too far.

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  4 sur 5 Reviews posted by Neftalí on 08/12/2025

  Free parking, but be aware that it fills up quickly on busy days. First, you take the cable car up to the train station, and then you catch the train. The journey takes approximately one hour each way. At the end of the line, there's a short climb to see a glacial lake (with an artificial dam). The 3-hour package is sufficient unless you're looking for a mountain hike that's not suitable for children. I think it's a lovely experience, but having done it, I wouldn't repeat it on another trip.

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  5 sur 5 Reviews posted by Jean-François Roux on 08/12/2025

  The Artouste Little Train is located in the Ossau Valley, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of France. This historic tourist railway offers a journey into the mountains at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. It travels 10 kilometers on its narrow-gauge track, offering breathtaking views over the Soussouéou Valley. The journey begins with a gondola lift from Lake Fabrèges, at an altitude of 1,240 meters, arriving at La Sagette station. With a maximum altitude of 1,940 meters, it is the second highest tourist railway in France and the fifteenth highest in Europe. There is a 315-meter tunnel known as the "Bear Tunnel." The terminus is located at Lake Artouste. Construction Train edit Before 1914, the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi (Southern Railway Company) developed a program to build hydroelectric power plants to electrify its Pyrenean railway network. In 1920, in the Ossau Valley, to facilitate the construction of the dam, the company laid a 314-meter-long construction railway at Sagette, using 500 mm gauge narrow-gauge rails weighing 7.5 kg per meter. For eight years, the Artouste train transported men, equipment, fuel, and materials, including the tons of cement needed. The track was dismantled at the end of the 1920s when the work was completed, but site maintenance eventually necessitated its reinstallation between the summit of the Sagette cable car and the base of the Artouste dam. CCM: Opening to Tourists edit In 1932, the General Council of the department, wishing to develop tourism, submitted to the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi (CCM) the idea of ​​developing the landscape of the upper Ossau Valley for tourist purposes. The request was forwarded to the prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, which granted permission to open the Artouste estate to the public. The train, composed of two to three cars, simple flatbeds with wooden seats, was pulled by one of three Renault shunting locomotives. It ran only on Sundays during the summer. The company entrusted its operation to retired railway workers. SNCF from 1938 to 1981 edit In 1938, the SNCF took over tourist operations following the nationalization of the railways. In 1957, the replacement of the old single-track Bleichert cable car (dismantled in 1995) with a double-track Applevage model facilitated access to the site, increasing its popularity. In 1963, the original Renault locomotives were replaced by Billard (six T60D locomotives) and Whitcomb (five 45 hp locomotives) engines. At the end of the 1960s, the creation of a ski resort on the slopes of the Pic de la Sagette further enhanced the site's appeal.[3] Today, the train is owned by the Société Hydro-Electrique du Midi (SHEM), which manages the Artouste Dam. SHEM has entrusted the tourist operation of the train to the municipal authority.