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Home > Visits and heritage > Patrimoine traditionnel
Visit Arette on foot
The name of Arette, locted in the heart of the valley, was on everyone’s lips in 1967 when a remarkably strong earthquake deeply shook its history. But the actual village is much older than that !
You can discover the history during an itinerary on foot, which you can follow freely at your own pace. Allow about an hour and include Saint-Pierre church and the "Bois du Calvaire" trail in your visit.
|Free brochures are available at the Tourist Office.|
Arette mill
Listed by Gaston, known as Fébus," in 1385, this building is one of the oldest in Arette and recounts the history of millers’ lives in former times. Come in and allow yourself to be lulled by the clacking sound and ask the miller to let you taste a little of his flour.
Visit on Wednesdays at 6.OOpm in July and August, and by appointment during the rest of the year.
Tariff : €2, from age 12.
Groups are welcome throughout the year with prior booking : €1 /person from 15 people.
Registration at the Tourist Office, tel 05 59 88 95 38
La Maison du Barétous
A museum centre known as "La Maison du Barétous" will be opening its doors to visitors for the firsttime this summer in the heart of Arette. As you walk through the 5 exhibition rooms you will effectively explore the Barétous, a land on the move with mlti-facetted traditions:
Nature on the move: presentation of the Barétous valley and the Spanish valley of Roncal;
Land on the move: a room devoted to potholing, the underground cave network of la Pierre Saint-Martin and seismology with a feature on the earthquake of 13 August 1967;
Tradition on the move: the exhibition will present the many aspects of rural life in the Barétous and the trades of yesterday and today through a unique collection of ancient artefacts. The traditions of pastoralism, breeding working with wood ans stone, live on forming the basis of Barétous society;
People on the move: a room that charts the valley’s history, the history of its people. Since time immemorial our history without borders has been intertwined with that of our Spanish neighbours from Roncal. We hold an annual celebration of the Junte of Roncal peace treaty.
The projection room feautures a film that summarises the main points and presents the Roncal Valley.
The centre is due to open on 1st July 2009 and will operate the same opening times as the Tourist Office.
Admission charges: adults: €5 - Concessions and young people: €3 - Family ticket: €12 - Groups: €2.50 - Schoolchildren: €2
La Rute Pax Avant
A trail approximately 50 km long will guide you at your own pace past 7 information panels through the history, population, landscapes and culture of the 2 cross-border valleys of Barétous and Roncal.
Departure point: "La Maison du Barétous" museum centre in Arette. Arrival point: the "Casa de la Memoria" museum centre in Isaba, Spain (via the pass over la Pierre Saint-Martin).
"La Rute Pax Avant" guide is available from the Tourist Office.
Vehicle required
The wood pigeon shoot
This form of hunting uses Ayduc vertical bird catching nets at Lanne en Barétous.
Observe this traditional hunt, between 1 October and 15 November. Make your way on foot or by car (the last few kilometres will be on foot) from the village centre to the Ayduc site. Move along in silence so that you don’t disrupt the hunt.