Discovering Andorra La Vella, Andorra la Vella, Andorra

Counting the places I have visited is probably my only concession to any appearance of being vain. I have a couple of counts going. One, well documented in this blog, is my opportunistic chase after World Heritage sites. The other is the count of different countries that I set foot on. Seeing as Costa Brava is within a day-trip distance from Andorra, this year I finally added the small country to my list.

Even the most proud Andorreans would probably agree with the statement that there is not much in a way of must-see attractions in Andorra. There are ski resorts – which obviously were not of interest to me in August. There is a large mountain valley area recognized as a UNESCO site – which we will cover in a subsequent post. There are not really any famous landmarks or world-quality museums. With all that in mind, I budgeted less than two hours to get a feel of the country’s capital, Andorra La Vella.

The town anchors the valley that is home to most of the country’s population. A small river, La Valira, disects the capital and runs along the entire valley. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).