Holidaymakers visiting the Haute-Bigorre valley in Hautes-Pyrénées are flocking to local company tours at candy workshops, jam producers, and hydroelectric power stations.
The industrial tourism push has emerged as a major success during summer vacations in southwestern France, offering holidaymakers an inside look at traditional crafts alongside established outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, paragliding, via ferrata, and canoeing.
Haute-Bigorre, situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department within the Pyrenees mountain range, is widely known as a green outdoor destination. Alongside its natural attractions, regional businesses are opening their doors to showcase local technical and culinary know-how to enthusiastic crowds.
Candy making in Bagnères-de-Bigorre
At the Pic Gourmand workshop in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, visitors can step behind the scenes to discover the intricate process of confectionery production.
Artisan Gabrielle Sempastous conducts demonstrations several times a day, unveiling more than 100 years of traditional sweet-making expertise to curious tourists and food lovers.
Few visitors resist the opportunity to sample freshly prepared berlingots at the end of the presentation. The hard boiled sweets, historically associated with Pyrenean thermal spa towns, are crafted in vibrant colors and distinct pyramid shapes.
Hydroelectric power plant tours
Offering a contrasting experience, state electric utility company EDF opens the doors of its hydroelectric power stations at Beaudéan and Artigues to the public every day from Tuesday to Saturday.
Guided tours take place at 2:00 pm, 3:15 pm, and 4:30 pm. The one-hour itinerary reveals the secrets of clean power generation, tracing water from mountain dams through penstock pipes into the turbine hall.
Organised by the Centre Permanent d'Initiatives pour l'Environnement (CPIE) Pyrénées-Bigorre, the initiative introduced a key feature this year allowing guests to put on hard hats and enter the machine room itself.
CPIE activity leader François-Xavier Casanova said entering the machine room was always an impressive experience because visitors could hear the roar of the machinery, feel the physical vibrations, and witness the vast size of the turbines.
The visits also include an outdoor walking tour around the Artigues facility, located a few bends below the mountain resort of La Mongie. While admission is free, advance reservation is compulsory by calling 06 22 86 74 45.
Artisan jam making in Campan
In nearby Campan, artisan jam producer Les Petits Fruits welcomes visitors to a purpose-built workshop designed from its inception to accommodate public tours.
Tourists Ghyslaine and Gérard, who traveled from the western French department of Vendée with their granddaughter Laureleï, took the tour after becoming loyal fans of the brand's fruit preserves.
They said they had spent their summer holidays in Hautes-Pyrénées every year for 18 years and were eager to see the products made at the source before following their tour guide, Jean, through the facility.
The family explained that they usually picked wild blueberries in the Pyrenees to make their own jam during vacation, but severe heatwave conditions and drought had left them unable to find any fruit this year, prompting them to stock up at the factory's adjoining shop instead.
Ice cream workshop expansion
Les Petits Fruits is expanding its visitor program following the establishment of an adjacent workshop named Les Marmottes Givrées.
The new facility will allow visitors to tour the company's ice cream production workshop alongside its existing jam-making operations. Tours are available free of charge upon request, with morning visits preferred by the staff.
