All but lost between France and Spain, like the fairy tale pea in the mattresses, the pocket-sized princedom of Andorra comprises just a few hundred kilometers of mountainous landscapes and meandering rivers. Though it is tiny, this political anomaly contains some of the most dramatic scenery - and the best skiing - in the Pyrenees. During the dry months, 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.

Full country name: Principality of Andorra
Area: 450 sq km (175 sq mi)
Population: 66,824
Capital city: Andorra la Vella (pop 22,390)
People: Spanish (61%), Andorran (30%), French (6%)
Language: Catalan, Spanish, French
Religion: Roman Catholic
Government: Parliamentary co-princedom
Co-Princes: Jacques Chirac, Joan Marti Alanis
Executive Council President: Marc Forné Molné

GDP: US'1.2 billion
GDP per head: US'18,000
Major industries: Tourism, duty-free shopping, sheep, timber, tobacco, banking
Major trading partners: France, Spain, USA
Member of EU: no

Facts for the Traveler
Visas: None required
Health risks: none
Time: GMT/UTC plus 1 hour
Electricity: 125V or 220V, both at 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric


When to Go

The ski season tends to begin around December and last through March, though many resorts buffer nature's contributions with manmade snow that prolongs the season well into springtime. Hiking season begins when the snowfall lets up and continues through until October. Andorra's village festivals take place between July and September. Hotels are at their fullest in July and August and from December to March.

Events
Many Andorran towns and hamlets celebrate their heritage with a 'village festival', when locals gather to enjoy music, dancing, wine and feasts. Nearly all of these fall between July and September. Andorra la Vella's three day festival period begins on the first Saturday in August. Mare de Deu de Meritxell, the national festival of the Virgin Mary, is celebrated on 8 September with a pilgrimage to Meritxell, 7km (4mi) northeast of Andorra la Vella.

Attractions
Andorra la Vella
Andorra la Vella, the capital of the principality and its largest town, sits at an elevation of just over 1000m (3280ft). It's surrounded by mountains up to 2400m (7870ft) high. These days, the town itself is given over almost entirely to the retailing of duty-free electronics and luxury goods, and it's more likely to recall the clang and clatter of a bustling Asian marketplace than it is the grace and elegance of Europe's grand old capitals. Happily, not all the vestiges of its 1100 year history have succumbed to the jackhammer.

The Barri Antic (Old Quarter) 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 story bookish stone houses. The pride of the Barri Antic is the Casa de la Vall (House of the Valley), which has served as Andorra's parliament building since 1702. The three storey stone structure was built in 1580 as the private home of a wealthy family; the Andorran coat-of-arms over the door dates from 1761. Downstairs is the Sala de la Justicia, the only courtroom in the whole country. Upstairs is the Sala del Consell, where the parliament still convenes. The Set Panys (Chest of the Seven Locks) once held Andorra's most important documents and could only be opened if one key-bearing representative from each of the parishes was present.

Cultural events take place at Plaça la Poble, a large public square that is bordered by Andorra la Vella's theatre and music academy. It's also a popular gathering spot for locals in the evening.

Caldea
In the Les Escaldes suburb east of Andorra la Vella, Caldea is an enormous complex of pools, hot tubs and saunas enclosed in what looks like a futuristic cathedral. Fed by natural thermal springs, the spa complex centers on a 600 sq meter (6450 sq ft) lagoon kept at a constant 32°C (89°F). It's a welcome bit of warmth after a hard day's frolicking in the snow. Visitors can further soak up the serenity with a hydro massage or a dip in the Turkish baths, both of which are included in the three hour entrance ticket.

Caldea is open daily at Parc de la Mola 10, about a 2km (1.5mi) walk from Plaça Guillemó in Andorra la Vella. Tickets are available at tourist offices.

Ordino


As Andorran villages go, Ordino is a big one, but despite recent development (vacation homes and English speakers abound) it remains peaceful and traditional in character. The highlight of the town itself is the Museu d'Areny i Plandolit, ancestral home to one of the country's most illustrious families, the Areny Plandolits. The typically rugged design of the house and its interior furnishings are as Andorran as they come.

In the parish's far north-western corner, the Ordino-Arcalís ski area offers skiing and snowboarding in the snowy season and some of Andorra's most rewarding hikes when the sun comes back. A number of peaks in the area top 2800m (9200ft).

Buses from Andorra la Vella do the 10km (6mi) run to Ordino daily, year round. When the slopes are snowy, there are free shuttles to the Ordino-Arcalís lifts from local towns, though the only way to get there outside of ski season is to drive.

Encamp
The town of Encamp has one of Andorra's few museums, the Museu Nacional de l'Automòbil, which exhibits about 100 cars dating from 1898 to 1950 as well as scores of antique motorcycles and bicycles. A short walk north of town is the Església Sant Romà de les Bons, which dates from the 12th century. The Romanesque frescoes in the apse, however, are reproductions of the originals, which are tucked away in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Encamp's local resorts, Soldeu-El Tarter and Pas de la Casa-Grau Roig, are privy to some of the best skiing in Andorra. Both are popular with French and British tourists.

Daily buses from Andorra la Vella make the 5km (3mi) run to Encamp and continue beyond to the French railheads of Ax-les-Thermes, L'Hospitalet and La Tour de Carol.

Off the Beaten Track
Llorts & Environs
The hamlet of Llorts (pop 100) is set amidst fields of tobacco and backed by near-pristine mountains. It's one of the most untouched places in the whole country and is great for hiking. There's a popular 3.5 hour walk up the valley west of town along the de l'Angonella river, which leads to the Estanys de l'Angonella, a group of lakes. From slightly north of the village of El Serrat, about 3km (2mi) up the valley from Llorts, a secondary road leads to the Borda de Sorteny mountain shelter at 1970m (6460ft). From there, a trail continues on to a lake, Estany de l'Estanyó, and a 2915m (9560ft) mountain known as Pic de l'Estanyó. The Església de Sant Martí, a tiny Romanesque church in La Cortinada, 2km (1mi) south of Llorts, has 12th century frescoes in remarkably good condition. Buses from Andorra la Vella make the 16km (10mi) run to Llorts and El Serrat daily; others make the 6km (4mi) trip from Ordino.

La Seu d'Urgell
The lively Spanish town of La Seu d'Urgell is the Spanish gateway to Andorra and a great place to spend a night. Since the early 9th century, La Seu has been the seat of the bishops and counts of Urgell, the Spanish halves of Andorra's co-princes.

Looming on the southern side of the central Plaça dels Oms, the 12th century Catedral de Santa Maria is one of the most outstanding Romanesque buildings in Cataluña, despite having undergone various remodelings and facelifts over the centuries. Inside the cathedral is the Museu Diocesà, brimming with murals, scriptures and altarpieces, plus a rare 10th century Beatus, an illustrated manuscript of the Apocalypse.

La Seu d'Urgell is 9km (6mi) south of Andorra along the CG1, and the two are connected by frequent buses.

Toulouse
Toulouse is a vibrant, dynamic student center with one of the fastest growing populations in France. It has more museums, churches, gardens and galleries than the entire country of Andorra combined. And, in addition to being the nearest big city to Andorra, it's also home to some of the friendliest froggies - and the liveliest nightlife - in the region.

The Place du Capitole is the city's main square and contains the 18th-century city hall and the Théâtre du Capitole, one of the most prestigious opera venues in France. Just south of the Place de Capitole, the Vieux Quartier (Old Quarter) is great for rambling strolls, as its streets and alleys have hardly changed since the 18th century.

Anyone in need of spiritual (or architectural) uplift will find plenty of noteworthy churches to wander through. The 11th-century Basilique Saint Sernin is the largest and most complete Romanesque structure in France. Check out the 12th-century frescoes in the north transept arm. The Gothic Église Notre Dame du Taur is another built to honor Saint Sernin, a local boy martyred in 257 AD by being tied to the tail of a bull. The Black Madonna in the interior chapel dates from the 16th century. For more relic relishing, head over to the Gothic-style Église des Jacobins and pay your respects to some of the bits of St Thomas Aquinas, now interred beneath the fancy new altar.

For something a little less staid, the city's cafe scene is centred around Place Saint Georges. There are always 20 or so hopping discos to choose from. Toulouse's substantial gay population - it's not called la ville rose (the pink city) for nothing - gathers in the bars and nightclubs south of Place du Vapitole and on the west bank of the Garonne.

Toulouse is 180km (110mi) north-west of Andorra la Vella via Andorra's CG2 and France's N20. Trains and buses travel between Toulouse and the French border villages of L'Hospitalet, La Tour de Carol and Ax-les-Thermes, from where you can catch buses to Andorra la Vella.

Activities
Andorra has the finest inexpensive skiing and snowboarding in the Pyrenees. Pas de la Casa-Grau Roig and Soldeu-El Tarter are the best resorts based on size, elevation and number of lifts, but they are also more expensive than Andorra's smaller ones. The ski season usually lasts from December to March, depending on snow conditions. Major Andorran resorts use snow-making machines on favored runs.

The tranquility of Andorra's beautiful, relatively unspoiled back country makes for some great hiking. The north-westerly parish of Ordino has especially good trails. The GR11 trail, which traverses the Pyrenees from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, passes through the southern part of Andorra. Hikers can sleep for free in the numerous refugis (shelters) along the major trails.

Mountain bikes can be rented at the larger ski areas during the dry months, and hang-gliders are popular at the Soldeu-El Tarter ski area in Canillo parish.

History


Tradition credits Andorra's independence to Charlemagne, who captured the region from the Muslims in 803 AD. His son, Louis the Pious, presented the area's inhabitants with a charter of liberties. The earliest known document concerning Andorra is an order in 843 from Charlemagne's grandson, Charles II, granting the Valls d'Andorra (Valleys of Andorra) to Sunifred, Count of Urgell, from the nearby Spanish town of La Seu d'Urgell. The Act of Consecration for La Seu's cathedral, which dates from around 860, confirms Andorra's parishes as part of the count's territory.

The country's first constitutional documents, the Paretages (the Acts of Joint Overlordship), were drawn up in 1278 and 1288 to settle conflicting claims of seigniorial rights made by the Catholic Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix in France. These agreements, under which the bishop and count agreed to share sovereignty, form the basis of Andorra's government to this day and are among the oldest such documents still in force.

The peculiar political equilibrium created by the arrangement saved Andorra from being swallowed up by its powerful neighbours despite recurrent tensions between the co-princes and the powers they represented. After the French Revolution, France - as inheritor of the lands and prerogatives of the Count of Foix - abolished all feudal rights, including the role of the French head of state in Andorran affairs. This was reinstated by Napoleon in 1806, at the request of the Andorrans, who feared Spanish hegemony.

Andorra's modern role as a centre for duty-free shopping grew out of the business of smuggling of French goods to Spain during the Spanish Civil War and Spanish goods to France during WWII. Andorra remained neutral throughout both world wars.

In March 1993, Andorrans voted to establish the country as an independent, democratic 'parliamentary co-principality', placing full sovereignty in the hands of the Andorran people, with the French and Spanish co-princes continuing to function as joint heads of state with greatly reduced powers. Andorra joined the Council of Europe in 1994.

Culture
Until the 1950s, Andorra's population hovered around 6000. Today, only about a quarter of the population - almost two-thirds of whom live in Andorra la Vella and its suburbs - are Andorran nationals. The rest are mainly Spanish, French and Portuguese.

The official language is Catalan (Català), a Romance language most closely related to Provençal but with roots in Castilian and French. Local lore has it that everyone in Andorra speaks Catalan, Spanish and French, but there are plenty of people who can't understand more than 10 words of French. Hardly anyone speaks English.

Andorran cuisine is mainly Catalan, with strong French and Italian influences. Sauces are typically served with meat and fish. Pasta is also common. Local dishes include cunillo (rabbit cooked in tomato sauce), xai (roast lamb), trinxat (bacon, potatoes and cabbage) and escudella (a stew of chicken, sausage and meatballs).