“Tiny nations are fiercely interesting and unusual sights. Most of all, they are defined by an enormous number of layers in a small, geographic zone.” – Old Sean
Rock A By Mountains
After our time in Andorra, Thor and I drove north heading to the small nation of Andorra, one of the few European countries I’ve never been to.
It’s understandable because Andorra is a tiny country, the sixth smallest in Europe. It takes a singular, very specific route to reach. Modern Andorra is a sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula located in the eastern Pyrenees Mountains. It’s bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south, making it a unique waystation between the two.
The nation is believed to have been founded by the legendary Frankish king Charlemagne, who reportedly granted independence to its people in exchange for their support against the Moors in the 8th century. Historically, Andorra was ruled by the Count of Urgell until the year of 988, when it was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell.
The present principality was formed by a charter in the year 1278. It is currently headed by two co-princes: the Bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain, and the president of France. Responsibility for the country’s management is divided between the two nations. Interestingly, Andorra does not have its own military. Its defense responsibilities are shared between France and Spain under treaty agreements, although Andorra maintains a small police force which is often seen on patrol in the capitol city.
The nation’s citizens are clearly rich, especially since the country is something of a notorious tax shelter and tax-free shopping center. Andorra is a tax haven with no value-added tax (VAT) for most goods, making it a popular shopping destination for tourists. It’s also notable that the country is a popular skiing destination.
Though English, Spanish, Portuguese and French are all spoken to some degree, the official language and culture of Andorra is Catalan. Due to its mountainous terrain, Andorra remained relatively isolated for centuries, preserving its Catalan language, traditions, and governance while neighboring regions underwent significant changes through the course of history. During World War II, neutral Andorra served as a smuggling route for goods and as a refuge for those fleeing Nazi-occupied France.
Despite its long history, Andorra didn’t issue its own currency. It used the French franc and Spanish peseta until adopting the euro in 2002, despite not being part of the European Union. Though Andorra isn’t a part of the European Union or Schengen Area, there is no border checkpoint barring entry to the country. Going from Spain to Andorra to France doesn’t require any visa stops. However, it’s good to know that police patrols are fairly attentive in the area to prevent people from speeding on mountain roads.
McDonald’s McMorning
The drive to Andorra was a long and slow one. Thor and I took naps and listened to audiobooks while driving. Ultimately, however, we weren’t able to drive very quickly. Numerous switchbacks, two-lane roads and slower vehicles slowed our progress dramatically. Hidden along the driving route is a rather insane number of bunkers, many barely visible. These roadside bunkers are part of the P line bunkers, which were built in the 1940s. The bunkers were built to protect against attacks on one of the most important routes through the Pyrenees. The region of Cerdanya was considered to be of high strategic value, so many defensive points were constructed around there.
When Thor and I entered the city, a fair amount of time was spent just looking around for a place to park and eat. Parking in Andorra, due to the constrained nature of the mountains and valleys, is at a premium. We finally settled on McDonald’s for breakfast, since it was one of the only areas opened so early.
Afterwards, Thor and I decided to spend the day outside the city. I wanted to see more of the country’s natural features, as we hadn’t gotten many hiking opportunities since our road trip had started.
Up the Iron Trail
Our walking route took us past imposing mountains, lush valleys and numerous small towns. We were on the road called Ruta del Ferro, a very easy hiking route touching on Andorra’s historical heritage as an iron-mining nation.
The route follows hundreds of miniature waterfalls streaming off the sides of the mountains. The route mostly followed the Valira d’Orient River, one of the main water streams eventually leading into the central valley.
The route is spotted with unique and gorgeous flora, including purple flowers with soft petals, red mushrooms with idyllic white spots, rolling ferns, craggy pines and leaning hardwoods. The trail itself is crafted of gravel, sweeping from forest to hillside to open plain to water points.
There’s also plenty of artwork and historical markers on the route. Statues of unique designs gaze down valley trails. Abstract sculptures are grafted into stones. Freestanding ruins full of corroded iron brush red against the grey and green. Through the entire walk, Thor and I were speckled by drizzling rain occasionally split by sharp rays of pale morning light.
The Olden Land Cottages
After our hike, Thor and I stopped at the town of Llorts to eat at the restaurant known as Restaurant L’Era d’en Jaume.
The small towns of Andorra are vastly more visually aesthetic than the central city. Buildings are made of many-layered stones, shedding water easily. The roofs are dark, expensive slate, lichen brushing their surfaces gently. Churches are nestled among cobbled roads and the entire town is built on a tilt to easily handle rainfall. Grazing fields for cattle and horses are below, cut by fast-moving streams.
Thor and I settled in for a feast, dining on roasted duck, chocolate-glazed cheesecakes, honey-touched yogurts and other delights. The quality of the meal was stellar. It was such a sharp contrast to our breakfast at McDonald’s, I nearly wept at the sharp upscale in quality.
We continued driving through the rainy northern valleys, occasionally stopping to view some of the local architecture while Thor made some very long-distance phone calls to his bank back in the States. Sornàs, Ordino, La Massana and La Cortinada were all lovely little townships which we enjoyed passing through.
Down the Storm-Touched City
Once Thor and I returned to Andorra’s capital, our time was spent moving onto chores. First, we checked into our hotel which was, by an order of magnitude, the nicest place we’d stayed on the entire trip. Large, stately with a corridor shower in the bathroom, we opened the doors to the second-story balcony to let chilled air rush in.
After settling briefly into the hotel, we made a long hike up the road to reach a nearby laundromat. The walk doubled as our midday tourism route, since we had plenty of nearby things to check out while Thor’s clothes were tumbling in cleansing circles. We passed the La Noblesse du Temps surrealist melting clock sculpture by the famed Dali, the strangely geometric Pont de París bridge, the iconic Caldea Spa building, a garden cat, the geometrically designed Parc de la Mola, a tiny pastry shop called PASTISSERIA De Lisi Ós, numerous puzzle and entertainment stores and impressive overlooks gazing down upon the city and valley.
My favorite part of the walk, which was cut a bit short by a sudden downpour of chilling rain, was past the central river which was bordered by strange, twisting pipes as well as brightly colored buildings.
We were fairly pleased to finish our chores. Done with excess work for the evening, Thor and I decided to head into the downtown area to try our luck finding a decent place to eat and drink. We wanted beer for a change. Spain is absolutely top-tier when it comes to enjoying cheap, delicious wine, but their beer scene is a little lacking.
Lights Along the Way
Our evening walk was completed in a light drizzle. Lights glowed out from buildings on every corner, the sounds of traffic and soft-rushing water making an interesting combination. We skirted the northern edge of Parc Central, passed the St. Esteve of Andorra Church and spent a very enjoyable evening drinking at Atelier by Aitor Estela.
Thor and I essentially whittled the rest of the night away, deciding to lounge back for a while.
This was the point of the trip where I felt our energy first starting to fray a bit. We weren’t tired exactly, but instead getting to the point in travel where overstimulation tends to making pushing forward more of a chore and less of a pleasure.
I was pleased to call it an early night in anticipation for a slow start the following day. Americans in particular tend to struggle with vacation saturation; that is, planning too many activities in too short of a time frame. Thor and I were doing an excellent job managing this, but Andorra was the point in our journey where we rested on the upper threshold of that.
Northish Switchbacks
The following morning, Thor and I woke up as late as we could before heading downstairs for an absolute feast. Our hotel had some truly wonderful meal options and we loaded up our plates over and over again in a great example of gluttony.
At that point, it was time to get on the road again. We piled back into the car and started north, planning to turn towards France and the city of Toulouse.
So until then, best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written October 16th 2024
View a list of attractions in Andorra Here
