Tourist information

All but lost between France and Spain, like the fairy tale tea under the mattresses, the pocket-sized princedom of Andorra officially Principat d'Andorra, consist of only just a few hundred kilometres of mountainous landscapes and meandering rivers. The country is one of the smallest in the world with an area of 468 sq km and a population of 67,627. The capital is Andorra la Vella (population, 1998 estimate, 21,513). The tiny country is unique in Europe because you can’t find a place situated below 900 metres. The mountaintops even reach over 3000 metres above sea-level.

Where to go

When to go

Money & Costs

History

Culture

As recently as 1960, Andorra was virtually cut off from the rest of the world, a semi-autonomous principality conceived late in the thirteenth century to resolve a quarrel between the counts of Foix in France and the bishops of La Seu. There are still no planes or trains, but Andorra's current role is as a drive-in, duty-free supermarket: the main highway through the tiny country is clogged with French and Spanish tourists after duty-free products.

 Don’t just pass through Andorra, if possible, get out of your car and see what else Andorra has to offer. In summertime, there are plenty of good hiking opportunities in the high, remote parts of the country, away from the over-development and heavy traffic that plague Andorra's towns. There's relatively little of cultural or historical interest, unless you consider duty-free shopping a form of artistic expression.

But you should visit Andorra la Vella, the capital of the principality and its largest town. These days, the town itself is given over almost entirely to the retailing of duty-free electronics and luxury goods. Happily, not all the vestiges of its 1100 year history have succumbed to the jackhammer.

Visit the Barri Antic (Old Quarter) which was the heart of Andorra la Vella when it was little more than a small Pyrenean village. The narrow cobblestone streets are still lined with storybookish stone houses. The pride of the Barri Antic is the Casa de la Vall (1580)(House of the Valley), bought by the General Council in 1702 and is now the seat of the Andorran Parliament. Cultural events take place at Plaça la Poble, a large public square that is bordered by a theatre and music academy. It's also a popular gathering spot for locals in the evening. In the Les Escaldes, suburb east of Andorra la Vella, Caldea Health Spa, one of Europe’s largest health spas, is an enormous complex of pools, hot tubs and saunas enclosed in what looks like a futuristic cathedral.