DESTINATION ANDORRA

Facts at a Glance

Full country name: Principality of Andorra
Area: 450 sq km (175 sq mi)
Population: 64,000
Capital city: Andorra la Vella (pop 22,000)
People: Spanish (61%), Andorran (30%), French (6%)
Language: Catalan, Spanish, French
Religion: Roman Catholic
Government: Parliamentary co-princedom
Co-Princes: Jacques Chirac, Juan Marti Alanis
Executive Council President: Marc Forné Molné

The capital, Andorra la Vella, is south-west of the country's centre at the confluence of the Gran Valira, the Valira del Oriente and the Valira del Norte rivers. Most of the country's 40 or so towns and hamlets - some with just a few dozen people - sit in a group of mountain valleys whose streams join to form the Gran Valira, the country's main river. Pic de Coma Pedrosa on the Spanish border in north-western Andorra is the principality's highest point at 2942m (9650ft), while La Farga de Moles on the south-western Spanish frontier is the lowest at 838m (2750ft).

Andorra enjoys a temperate climate, with snowy winters and warm summers. The country's mountain peaks often remain snowcapped until July.

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.

Money & Costs

• Budget meal: US$3-5
  
• Moderate restaurant meal: US$6-15
  
• Top-end restaurant meal: US$15 and upwards
  

• Budget room: US$10-20
  
• Moderate hotel: US$20-50
  
• Top-end hotel: US$50 and upwards

Eating from markets and sleeping in tents, barebones budget travellers in Andorra should expect to spend at least US$10-15 per day, but this would be hard to keep up for any length of time. A more realistic budget, allowing a warm bed, a few restaurant meals and the periodic ski excursion, would be between US$40-70 per day. If you come in search of opulence, you should plan on shelling out nearly as much as you would in Paris or Barcelona: US$100 per day would just be scratching the surface.

Andorra has no currency of its own, so locals trade mainly in French francs and Spanish pesetas. Prices are almost always quoted in pesetas, and you'll find the exchange rate for francs in shops and restaurants is seldom in your favor. Service charges are usually included in most bills, but porters and waiters expect a further tip of 10%.

Andorra's very low tax regime has made it famous as a duty-free bazaar for electronic goods, cameras and alcohol. While today's prices no longer justify a special trip, you can still find prices 30% below those in Spain and France if you shop around.

When to Go

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 storybookish 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.

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).

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.

La Seu d'Urgell

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 remodellings 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.

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.

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