the Travel Enthusiast
- 01 Dec
tibi60 in Travel Planning | NO COMMENTS5 reasons to visit Andorra
photo by Karoly Lorentey
Andorra is a tiny country with only one town (Andorra la Vella, the capital), with more shops per capita than most other countries in Europe and huge and often overpriced ski resorts. So unless you have too much money to spend, why would you want to travel to Andorra?
At the first glance, this microstate might seem like a monument of consumerism, but behind the glitzy shop windows and traffic jams you will find a travel-worthy, hospitable and fascinating place whose size in in inverse proportion with its attractions. Here are 5 reasons to visit Andorra, for those who are skeptical about the charms of this underrated country.
The Pyrenees
Andorra is surely very small, but that doesn’t mean that that it doesn’t have its fair share of mountains. The ski resorts have some good (and sometimes exceptional) slopes, but they are rarely cut out for a budget traveler.
However, if you want to marvel at the craggy, beautiful Pyrenees without paying a fortune, you can just hike and trek. There are plenty of hotels in the vicinity of good hiking routes where you can stay, but camping is possible too. You can trek on your own, but there are guided trekking and hiking tours available as well.
Romanesque Art
photo by Jaume Meneses
Although art lovers will not be overwhelmed with choices of galleries and museums in Andorra, there are more than enough places where you can see and experience art. Andorra has a fair number of rather beautiful churches and altars, most of them built in the Romanesque style.
There are over 40 churches in Andorra’s valleys, medieval churches, some very interesting bell towers, and lots of paintings and murals inside the churches.
Villages
Although Andorra la Vella is the only town in the country, there are several small villages which are worth visiting, especially if you weren’t terribly impressed with the capital. Arinsal is a scenic little village that was transformed into a ski resorts in recent years, but has kept enough old buildings to be interesting.
Escaldes-Engordany has a few interesting churches and it is a pleasant place to visit, while Canillo has a nice historical center and one of the most beautiful churches in Andorra.
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travel search by Travelgrove (get this widget)Historic quarter of Andorra la Vella
photo by fran&el
Although a big part of the Andorran capital is devoted to shops selling cheap (by European standards) electronics, tobacco or clothes, the older, historical portion of the city is picturesque against the backdrop of the mountains. Of course, shops can be found here too, but you can also find some very interesting buildings, churches and bridges.
Shopping!
Many people come to Andorra not with the purpose of admiring the scenery or the churches, but solely to shop. As shallow as it sounds, Andorra does make a pretty penny as a shopper’s paradise, thanks to its great number of duty free goods. If you want to stock up on things before visiting France, Spain or other pricy European countries, then a shopping spree in Andorra is not a bad idea at all.
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