What you can see in 2 days in Andorra

As mentioned in a previous post, Andorra is one of the smallest countries in the world. I recently spent a couple of days there and definitely think its worth a visit, especially if you are in the areas of Northern Spain or Southern France. Note that I went towards the end of summer. In the winter, there are different things to do, including skiing.

Getting There

The country does not have its own airport or train station. In order to get to Andorra, you will have to drive or fly and then drive. Since we were in Bilbao, we took a flight from Bilbao to Madrid and then another flight from Madrid to Andorra–La Seu d’Urgell Airport (LEU). Although the airport is in Spain, it serves as the airport for Andorra. From the airport, its about 20 minutes to the border between Spain and Andorra.

There is customs on both sides of the border and there is also a border with France. They were stopping some cars but most people are waved through. We stopped at customs to try and get an official passport stamp but they only have a “tourist stamp” which we got anyway.

Stay

We stayed at the Mim Hotel which was luxurious and ticked almost all boxes. The only two things to note is that the gym is very small with the most heavy weight only 14KG, and parking is a short 2 minute walk from the hotel in an offsite garage. However, I would stay here again. The hotel is located in a great area for shopping on the main strip. It is technically in Les Escaldes, which is basically beside the capital of Andorra la Vella (and a very short, 5 minute walk along the main strip so you won’t even notice your are leaving Les Escaldes and entering the capital).

Things to Do

Shop

This is one of the top reasons people come to Andorra. Since it is a tax friendly place, a lot of items are cheaper in Andorra. The following pic is the main pedestrian shopping street and is there once you step outside the hotel door.

Explore the Capital

Andorra la Vella is very walkable and there are a few things to see including art work, the picturesque Pont de Paris:

There is also art by Dali throughout the capital:

…and other interesting art installations:

The old town including old churches and the former parliament Casa de la Vall. The later is worth visiting as it will give you fascinating information on the history of the company. You can also see the old parliament chamber and courts etc. The first pic is the Cathedral, and then the old chamber of Parliament.

Old court:

Explore the other towns

Les Escaldes and some of the other small towns are also worth walking around. I saw some nice spots for pictures and art work.

Go for a hike

A large part of the country is a national park and we went for a hike around the Estany d’Engolasters.

Drive around and find gorgeous views

Find the churches and explore the towns

We went to Sant Julia de Loria and explored a couple of the churches. One had one of the most gorgeous interiors I have seen in a small church:

Another was closed, but had gorgeous views:

Other things to do which we did not experience include skiing and visiting one of Europe’s largest spas! One last thing we did while we were there was attend the Andorra Taste food festival. We got to try some amazing local food from some of the top restaurants (this was in September).

Here is a small look at what we sampled. I will post more specifics in a later post.

Overall, this was a great experience. In general, I love visiting microstates. Here are two others you may be interested in: San Marino and Liechtenstein. In you are in the area, you should definitely check out Andorra. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch!