During our time in Barcelona was took a day trip to the neighboring country of Andorra! Andorra is a landlocked principality and it does not have an airport, so the only way to visit is via a land crossing from France or Spain. The drive from Barcelona to Andorra la Vella (the capital) was 3 hours each way, so we decided to go for it! I mean, when would we be closer to it than at that moment, right?
Andorra is the sixth smallest country in Europe. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 feet) above sea level. Fun fact: Andorra is governed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the president of France.
For this day trip, we rented a car from Sixt Rent a Car from their Rambla/Plaza Catalunya office, and had a great experience renting from them. The entire process was very smooth, and the car drop off was straight forward as well.
The drive was pleasant, and the roads were in great shape. After arriving in the capital, we found a parking garage and then we made a quick pit stop at Xocolateria Valor, where we had the most scrumptious hot chocolate we’d ever had! From there, we headed out to explore the old town and to find the visitor center to learn how to best spend our day in Andorra. The lady working at the visitor center was super helpful and knowledgeable, and gave us great suggestions. If you visit Andorra, I strongly recommend you check out the visitor center and get ideas from the people working there!
What We Did
Explored the Historic Old Town, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. During the holidays they had a game for kids where they had to locate 5 different elf statues scattered around the city. This was super fun for the kids, as they were very enthusiastic about exploring the Old Town in search of the elves!
Spot the “7 poetes” sculptures. These sculptures fly above ground in the front yard of the Commune administration building and they represent the seven parishes of Andorra. They are definitely a unique sight!
Checked out “La Noblesse du Temps,” a beautiful bronze sculpture by Salvador Dali. The sculpture weighs 1,400 kg and it about 5 meters tall. It symbolizes the passing of time, which dominates over humanity. This is a very special piece to see, especially if you are a fan of Dali’s genius work.
Drove to Pal to play in the snow. We parked our car right by the Coll de La Botella/Telefèric Arinsal-Pal., crossed the road, and played in the snow for a couple of hours. The best part? The incredible view of the Pyrenees from this spot!
Explored the town of Pal. We checked out the Sant Climent de Pal church as recommended by the woman at the visitor center. This church dates back to the 11-12th centuries, and was very unique and beautiful.
Went on a short walk to see the Pont de Sant Antoni de la Grella. This bridge dates back to Roman times! There is actually a longer hike you can start in the old town that runs next to the river all the way to this bridge.
Weather
The weather was quite pleasant during our visit. Even though we visited in late December, most restaurant still had outside tables setup for eating. We loved that people were eating and drinking al fresco, even in the 35F degree weather!
Traditional Food
These are the traditional foods we tried while in Andorra:
Andorran style cannelloni are a variant of the Catalan recipe featuring a mix of minced lamb, pork and chicken inside pasta rolls and served with bechamel sauce. I got this dish and thought it was delicious!
Trinxat de montanya is a typical Pyrenees dish made with winter cabbage, potatoes, garlic and cured sausage.
Escudella is a light pork stew with seasonal vegetables. Our kids really liked this dish because it was just like goulash, which they love!
We found the food to be very tasty in general. Our kids tried a bit of every dish and liked them all. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant/hostal right by the Casa de la Vall and really enjoyed our meal! This is also where we had the best gluchwein of the entire trip!
We would love to go back to Andorra some day during the warmer months. The hiking there looks great, with lots of routes and interesting places to explore and check out. In the meantime, I’m just happy we made it to Europe’s 6th smallest country!
For more European destinations, click here.https://backpacksrugrats.com/category/places/europe/
