Travel report: Andorra

Date of visit: October 2018

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“What the f*** am I supposed do in Andorra?!” – my colleague, when I asked her if she was up for a hike in the tiny micro-state between Spain and France.

Yeah. Finding someone interested in a trip to Andorra seemed more difficult than establishing democracy in North Korea. I thought if I asked my hiking buddy, I’d probably have the best chance, but I didn’t convince her.

Anyway, I have to admit that Andorra was also one of the least intriguing country to me. Why? Because traveling to this country takes time and effort. Andorra is the least accessible country in Europe, as the nearest airport is more than three hours away (Barcelona). Besides, I had just come back from Afghanistan, and Andorra didn’t seem to be the most thrilling country after the previous one.

Another thing that made the country rather unattractive to me was its similarity to Switzerland. When you check out the pictures of the micro-state, you soon find out that it doesn’t look very different from my home country. This isn’t a bad thing, but I like to see new things and not similar landscapes that I can see back home.

Andorra – facts and figures

Before I start with the travel report, I hereby provide a few facts and figures. Some facts make the country unique:

• Andorra is Europe’s highest country. The lowest point of the country is 840 meters above sea level. That makes Andorra also the third highest country in the world (after Lesotho and Rwanda).
• Andorra la Vella is also the highest capital in Europe having an elevation of 1,023 meters.
• It is the only country worldwide that is ruled by two foreigners: the Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the French President.
• Andorra is not part of the European Union but its currency is the Euro.
• The official language is Catalan.
• It’s the 16th smallest country in the world by area.
• It’s the 11th smallest country in the world by population.

The long trip to country #78

The good thing about Andorra is its proximity to Barcelona. I have visited the Spanish city ten years ago, but I didn’t see much of the city back then. That’s why Barcelona was high on my to-do list anyway. And when I started counting countries, I knew that Andorra would be linked to my next visit to Barcelona. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.

After a very short night in Barcelona (arrival at the hotel at midnight) I sat the next morning in a packed bus towards Andorra.

I was tired, but I had a 3h15 long ride and I could catch up a little bit of sleep. When I woke up, I realized that we were almost there, although we needed about an hour for the last 20 kilometers. The reason were the customs controls. I cannot remember when I have seen custom controls the last time in Europe (outside of an airport).

Seven hours later, I was sitting in the fully packed bus. I was tired, but I had a 3h15 long ride and I could catch up a little bit of sleep. When I woke up, I realized that we were almost there, although we needed about an hour for the last 20 kilometers. The reason were the customs controls. I cannot remember when I have seen custom controls the last time in Europe (outside of an airport).

I arrived in Andorra La Vella, the country’s capital, at 10.15 AM. My bus back to Barcelona was at 2.30 PM so that I had only a little bit more than four hours in this country. As I didn’t leave the capital, this time-frame was more than enough. Andorra la Vella is a little village and it doesn’t take long to see all of it.

Four hours in Andorra la Vella

I started my tour in a bakery on my way from the bus terminal to the city center. I didn’t eat anything in the morning and two churros with chocolate were my breakfast. The only waitress who spoke English wanted me to keep a coin and pay with another one. She explained to me that the coin I gave her was a 1 Euro coin from Andorra. They have their own symbols on the coins. However, I don’t collect coins but notes. That’s why I politely declined the nice offer. It seemed that the waitress couldn’t understand my ignorance, because she was looking at me as if I was the dumbest person she has seen in a long time…

Orientation in Andorra is more than simple, because street signs lead you to the historical center. Besides, Andorra la Vella is so small that you couldn’t get lost anyway. I didn’t head directly to the historical center but explored a few side streets first. It didn’t take me long to realize that the village was cute with beautiful architecture and colorful houses. I liked what I saw.

A long street full of shops and fast food restaurants led me to the city center. It was quite chilly up there to be honest, and I was glad that I brought a jacket with me.

The village was nice. Really. However, it also looked more or less like an average mountain village in Switzerland. It didn’t blow me away therefore. But the city was full of people, and I think a lot of them didn’t live in Andorra. What I didn’t know before I booked the trip was that Andorra was a tax haven. Prices are significantly cheaper than in Spain and France so that many people from the neighboring countries do their shopping in the micro-state. Especially for luxury goods it is worth going to Andorra.

The main sight in Andorra la Vella is a sculpture by Salvador Dali called Noblesse du Temps or “Dali-Clock”. It’s an interesting and nice sculpture surrounded by statues. Moreover, it’s probably the most pictured spot in Andorra’s capital city.

My sightseeing tour ended here. After 15 or 20 minutes! There aren’t many sights in Andorra la Vella and it doesn’t take long to see all of them. But that’s okay, I didn’t have much time anyway and I also needed some time to have lunch.

I left the little square with the Dali clock and entered another shopping street. I usually hate entering shopping malls when I’m traveling, but the prices were too tempting and didn’t give me much of a choice.

Four hours and 15 minutes after my arrival, I was on the bus again heading towards Barcelona. I was almost a bit disappointed that I didn’t have more time, because I could have easily spent more time in the malls and stores of Andorra la Vella.

My travel experience in Andorra

Andorra was one of these country I have only visited during a day-trip, which is more than fine though. I had a good time there, but mostly because of the cheap prices in the shopping malls.

Is Andorra worth a visit? That depends. This tiny country offers beautiful scenery and is great for traveler who like hiking or skiing. The country’s economy heavily relies on ski tourism by the way. However, if you live in Switzerland, you can do the same things in your country. I wouldn’t mind traveling back to Andorra if the country had an own airport. But you know the story.

Taking a flight to Barcelona and spending more than three hours in a car or bus doesn’t make the country very appealing to me anymore. Never say never, but if I had to tell you now, then I would have to say that Andorra is a country that will probably not see me again.

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Find the travel reports of the other countries I’ve visited here!