Andorra is a tiny micronation between France and Spain, which is probably best known for being a good destination for skiing and other winter spots. It’s not the easiest place to get to – it doesn’t have its own airport, and rail is a bit of a no-go too. You can either drive yourself, or get a bus. I chose the latter – I flew into Barcelona from Liverpool, and then on to Andorra by bus. Prices for tickets vary depending on time of day and also when in the year you go – I paid £51.75 for a return ticket. The journey takes around 3h15m each way, but can vary depending on how busy roads are. The service I used was operated by Alsa, and was entirely pleasant. The return journey somewhat better as it was a newer and more luxurious vehicle, with screens embedded into the seats. Quite cool that you can see the exact position of your bus on a map!
As mentioned, the other option would be to drive – however, do bear in mind that some hire companies may not let you cross international borders without taking further insurance, for instance. Whilst driving does give you more freedom in that you can stop and take photos of the spectacular scenery, there’s something to be said for driving on potentially snow covered roads in a car that you don’t own. I took the easy option.
Heading north, past Sabadell and further into the mountains, into the heart of the Catalan region, I soon became aware of the strength of feeling towards the independence movement. Whilst this was also visible in Barcelona, it’s certainly very striking in the small villages occasionally visible from the road. The yellow ribbons showing solidarity with those imprisoned for organising the independence referendum. Slogans also painted across roads supporting the same and calling for an end to Madrid’s rule.
The journey takes you through some stunning scenery. Seeing lakes, spectacular mountains and so on means that you’ve got plenty to look at. The micronation sees around 10m visitors per year, and this is what the majority of the income for the country comes from. Visitors benefit from extremely cheap tobacco, alcohol and luxury items such as perfume. Indeed, against UK prices, expect to pay around a third (ie 66% off). For instance, a pack of 50g rolling tobacco is £6.45 or so, against, at the time of writing, around £22 in the UK. Similarly, alcohol was around the same, with a 1l bottle of Smirnoff vodka around €10. Do bear in mind if visiting Andorra that the accepted limits for personal consumption across the border are significantly lower, at 400g for rolling tobacco, 300 cigarettes and so on. Andorra La Vella seems to do very well from those within spitting distance of the border on both sides – in France and Spain – coming over to stock up on all sorts of stuff. Whilst Andorra does have its own power structure, it also has ceremonial figureheads from both France (the French president is also a Co-Prince of Andorra) and Spain (the Bishop of Urgell is another Co-Prince). This is to do with the history of the country, which for a good chunk of history was controlled by the Count of Urgell and then, after a conflict ending 1278, France also had an input into this. It’s remained the same ever since and seems to work pretty well. Defence of the micronation is also shared as a responsibility between France and Spain.
Andorra La Vella is very much geared towards duty free shopping. The main street through the city is primary built of restaurants, duty free shops and shops selling ski gear. On the drive from the border to the city itself you’ll pass multiple petrol stations selling petrol which is far cheaper than the Spanish side of the border – around 20c cheaper.
Aside from these shops there is also a high level of designer brand outlets for things like clothes, perfumes, as well as electrical items with varying discounts against prices elsewhere.
Also of note is the number of higher end bakeries. Very much worth considering for a breakfast treat. The cakes, pasteries and breads that they sell are excellent, as you’d expect for somewhere with strong French influences.
The city has a very affluent feel to it. It also feels extremely safe – that said, there also wasn’t an obvious police presence either.
On food, aside from the staple fast food places, there was a good number of restaurants which sold varying types of food, as you’d expect. Whilst there’s no issue in finding somewhere to eat, it’s not necessarily possible to expect to find a table somewhere immediately, especially in high season (ie during the winter). Some restaurants quoted around 3 hour wait times. I arrived into Andorra La Vella on Saturday afternoon, staying at the Hostal Cal Forner which is in the heart of Andorra La Vella. It’s located above a lovely little bakery and more hotel than hostel. Certainly one of the more upmarket hostels I’ve stayed in. A short walk from here, I had lunch at Cafe Bon Dia, around 5 minutes walk away. From here, I took in some of the sights around town. It’s easy to forget how small the actual city itself is. You can walk from one side to the other in under 2 hours. At around 4.5 square miles, it’s remarkably easy to wander out of it – which is where I happened to find the Caldea Thermal Spa. I had a look around this – it’s incredibly impressive, with outdoor rooftop pool, spa, and so on but with a fairly hefty price tag attached. Tickets for entry start at around €33 depending on when you want to go, heading over the €50 mark for some of the more in demand sessions.
As the sun set, it was quite noticeable that more people appeared around the town in ski gear – it makes sense that people that are here for sports are likely to want to get away from the resorts later in the day, and this did carry through to difficulties in finding somewhere good to eat. I settled on having dinner at El Refugi Alpi which serves a huge array of regional food, inspired by Spanish, French and also Swiss influences. The late evening in the city is incredibly quiet – walking through the streets at around 11pm, it was rare to see anyone else. There’s no real bars open to talk of, certainly in January which is perhaps the busiest time of year. Some restaurants are still open but it’s very quiet.
The following day I headed back to Barcelona. It’s easy to pack all of Andorra La Vella into a day – of course, if you’re visiting for anything like the skiing, snowboarding and so on then that dictates that you’re much more likely to spend longer there anyway. The city itself does offer incredibly cheap duty free. It’s an interesting place to stop perhaps if you’re driving between Italy and France, too. There is some history to the country but it’s a real struggle to recommend people visit it as a destination in its own right, unfortunately.