Centre and Meritxell
First-timersThe main shopping axis, with the bus station, restaurants and most of the beds within ten minutes.
Andorra la Vella city guide
Things To Do In Andorra la Vella
The highest capital in Europe, in a valley between France and Spain, built around duty-free shopping and a thermal spa the size of a shopping centre.
1,023m
The highest capital in Europe
4.5%
Andorra's sales tax, not the zero people expect
€45
A day at Caldea spa
A capital that exists to sell things
Andorra la Vella sits at 1,023 metres in a narrow valley, which makes it the highest capital in Europe, and it runs into Escaldes-Engordany so completely that you cannot tell where one ends and the other begins. Together they hold about a third of the country's population.
The city is built around retail. Andorra's low indirect taxation — 4.5 per cent rather than the zero people expect — made it a shopping destination for the French and Spanish, and the main street is a kilometre of electronics, perfume and ski gear.
What redeems it for a visitor is Caldea, an enormous thermal spa fed by hot springs, the old quarter of Barri Antic with the parliament building in it, and the fact that mountains start immediately in every direction.
A night is enough. It is the transport hub, so most people pass through on the way to the slopes or the trails.
Where to stay
The capital and Escaldes run together along one valley floor, and everything is walkable.
Barri Antic
AtmosphereThe small old quarter of stone lanes around the Casa de la Vall parliament house. Quieter and more interesting.
Escaldes-Engordany
Spa and valueThe next town along, indistinguishable on the ground, with Caldea, thermal springs and slightly cheaper rooms.
Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Andorra la Vella
Caldea is the thing to do, and it is stranger than its photographs. A glass spire above a complex of thermal lagoons, saunas, Roman baths and outdoor pools looking up at the mountains, fed by hot springs at 70 degrees. Three hours costs around €45 and people stay longer.
Casa de la Vall, the sixteenth-century stone house that served as Andorra's parliament until 2011, is the historic centre of the country and takes half an hour.
Barri Antic around it is the only part of the capital that predates the shopping, and it is four or five streets.
Otherwise the mountains are the point. Cable cars and trails start within twenty minutes of the bus station in any direction, and the country is a national park with a shopping street through the middle.
Free things
Free things to do in Andorra la Vella
The Rec del Solà is a flat irrigation-channel path running along the hillside above the city, with the whole valley below it, and it takes about an hour end to end.
Barri Antic, the Sant Esteve church and the Dalí sculpture on the main square cost nothing.
The Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley, a UNESCO-listed glacial valley with no road into it, starts from Escaldes and is free to walk — it covers a tenth of the country and has no development at all.
Window shopping is, in fairness, the local pastime, and the Christmas lights along Meritxell are worth a walk in December.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Andorra la Vella
Andorran food is Catalan mountain cooking: trinxat, a cabbage and potato cake fried with bacon, escudella stew, grilled meats and a lot of charcuterie.
A menú del dia at lunch runs €13 to €18, which is the sensible way to eat here, and dinner in a restaurant is €20 to €35.
Because the border is a few minutes away in both directions, French and Spanish cooking are both well represented, and the wine list is usually better than the food.
Alcohol and tobacco are noticeably cheaper than in France or Spain, which is half the reason the coaches come.
Nightlife
Going out in Andorra la Vella
Modest, and it swings entirely with the ski season. In winter the bars around the centre fill with French and Spanish skiers down from the slopes, and a few clubs run late at weekends.
In summer it is quiet — a handful of bars and a much older crowd.
A beer is €3 to €5 and spirits are cheap by the standards of either neighbour, which is part of the appeal for the weekend traffic.
The real nightlife in Andorra is up in Soldeu and Pas de la Casa during the season, both of which are après-ski towns rather than places anyone lives.
Getting around
Getting around Andorra la Vella
There is no airport and no railway. Buses from Barcelona take about three and a half hours and from Toulouse three, and both cross a border with real customs checks — Andorra is not in the EU or the Schengen area.
The nearest stations are L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre in France and Lleida in Spain, both with bus connections.
Inside the country, the national bus network is cheap and good: €1.50 to €3 gets you to any parish, and services run every half hour along the main valley.
The capital itself is walkable, and steep once you leave the valley floor.
Costs
What Andorra la Vella costs
More expensive than you expect for a place people visit to save money. Beds are €25 to €60, a lunch menu €13 to €18, and a beer €3 to €5.
A day is €55 to €90.
Caldea at about €45 is the main fixed cost, and a ski day pass in season is €45 to €60.
The savings that bring people here are electronics, alcohol, tobacco and perfume, which are cheaper because indirect tax is 4.5 per cent rather than the 20-odd either side. Duty-free allowances on the way out are enforced.
Safety
Staying safe in Andorra la Vella
Andorra has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and the capital is safe at any hour.
The risks are altitude and weather, and they start the moment you leave the valley. The country runs from 840 to 2,942 metres, weather changes fast, and the trails above the town are proper mountain terrain even where they look gentle from below.
In winter, roads to the passes close with snow and the border crossing at Pas de la Casa can shut entirely.
Andorra is not in the EU, so an EHIC or GHIC card does not cover you — travel insurance with medical cover is genuinely necessary here, and mountain rescue is charged for. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Andorra la Vella
The whole country is within an hour of the capital by bus.
Vallnord and La Massana
The western ski area, a cable car up to Pal, and a bike park that hosts World Cup rounds.
Ordino and Sorteny
The prettiest parish, with a Romanesque church, a nature park and far fewer people.
What's on
What is on while you are there
The ski calendar and one very long-running summer festival.
December to April
Ski season
Grandvalira and Vallnord
The biggest lift-linked area in the Pyrenees, and the reason most people come.
August
Andorra la Vella Festa Major
City centre
The capital's festival, with concerts, parades and giants in the streets.
Summer
Cirque du Soleil
Parc Central
The company has staged a summer residency here for years, under canvas in the middle of the city.
Summer
Mountain bike World Cup
Vallnord, Pal-Arinsal
World Cup downhill and cross-country rounds on the western slopes.
December
Christmas shopping
Meritxell
Coaches from France and Spain, lights along the main street, and the busiest retail weeks of the year.
When to go
Two seasons, and they are different holidays: December to March for snow, June to September for the mountains.
Jan
Peak ski season. Busy weekends, cold and bright
Feb
Best snow of the year. Book ahead
Mar
Spring skiing, longer days, cheaper
Apr
Between seasons. Lifts closing, trails still snowbound
May
Quiet and green. High trails still under snow
Jun
Hiking season opens. Excellent and quiet
Jul
Warm, with every trail open and the bike parks running
Aug
Busiest summer month, with French and Spanish holidays
Sep
The best month. Clear, warm and empty
Oct
Autumn colour, and things starting to close
Nov
Between seasons again. Very quiet
Dec
Ski season opens and the Christmas shopping traffic arrives
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs in the capital at 1,023m. The ski areas sit 1,000 metres higher and are considerably colder, with snow on the high trails into June.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Ski passes at €45–60 a day and Caldea at about €45 sit in the doing line. Summer is considerably cheaper than winter across the board.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Andorra la Vella travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Andorra actually duty free?
No. Indirect tax is 4.5 per cent rather than zero, which is still far below France or Spain and is why electronics, alcohol, tobacco and perfume are cheaper. Allowances on the way out are enforced and the customs checks at both borders are real.
How do I get there?
By bus. There is no airport and no railway. Barcelona is about three and a half hours and Toulouse three, and both cross a genuine border — Andorra is outside the EU and Schengen.
How long do you need in the capital?
A night. It is a shopping city with a spa and a small old quarter, and the reason to be in Andorra is the mountains that start twenty minutes away in any direction.
What is Caldea?
An enormous thermal spa fed by hot springs at 70 degrees, under a glass spire in Escaldes: lagoons, saunas, Roman baths and outdoor pools looking up at the mountains. About €45 for three hours, and worth booking in winter.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes, more than in most of Europe. Andorra is not in the EU, so EHIC and GHIC cards do not apply, and mountain rescue is charged for.
When should I visit?
December to March for skiing, with February the best snow, or June to September for hiking. April, May and November fall between the two seasons and a lot is closed.
Is there anything to do besides shop and ski?
The Madriu valley, a UNESCO-listed glacial valley with no road into it, starts from Escaldes and covers a tenth of the country. Caldea, the Rec del Solà path and the Romanesque churches around Ordino fill the rest.
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