Andorra

Andorra is a small country between Spain and France. The Principality gained independence in 805, in gratitude for helping King of Aquitaine (now France) in the war against the Arabs of Spain.

The map shows that most of the territory is occupied by mountains.


Shops

There is almost no land for agriculture, it is inconvenient to extract natural resources and there is no industry. The economy is completely dependent on tourists. Because of this the Andorians turned their country into a big store. Although prices are cheaper than in Spain and France.

Getting there

The easiest way is from Barcelona or Toulouse by buses from the central railway stations. There are many bus companies.

https://www.andorrabybus.com/en/time-and-rates - buses from France and Spain
http://autocarsnadal.com/en/services/direct-bus - buses from Spain
https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home - buses from Barcelona

Find here http://www.interurbana.ad/idioma-en information about bus lines inside Andorra and the route planner.

Entry rules

Andorra is reachable by two roads from Spain and France. There is a border and passports can be checked.

Important! Andorra is not included in the Schengen zone, although it allows entry with a Schengen multivisa of Spain or France. If you go with multivisa and border is open, it's better to stop, find someone and put a stamp.

Traffic jams

A small country is very popular. If you do not want to wait for several hours on the border, then come in the evening and leave in the morning. Especially if you are going on a weekend, in high season.

Hiking

Andorra has three mountain national parks, find here the information about them. There are several dozens of mountain shelters.

Andorra la Vella

The capital of the country is the only more or less significant town. Almost every tourist visit it. The town is located at an altitude of more than 1 kilometer and is the highest capital in Europe.

From all sides surrounded by high mountains. That's why even on a sunny day, the sun appears only for few hours.

We spent the night at the Panorama hotel (booking.com). He has an excellent observation deck on the roof and a swimming pool.

The city consist of shops, banks and hotels. Nothing else here.




Not easy to find something interesting












Old town Barri Antic.










The only attraction in the old town is Casa de la Vall (1580).


Public space Plaça del Poble on the roof of the office building, looks very dumb.






We also climbed the nearest mountains. At first here N 42 31.053 E 1 34.079, where we walked around the lake.


Some photo on the way up N 42 30.695 E 1 33.628


The next viewpoint here N 42 30.323 E 1 32.430. The most interesting building is the Caldea center with thermal pools (https://www.caldea.com/).


Everything else is monotonous.








The best viewpoint is located here N 42 30.127 E 1 31.696.




Drone photo