Ok, I’ll admit the title Summer in France: Andorra is a little misleading. Andorra is not in France. Landlocked between France and Spain, Andorra is a small country, a principality, outside of the European Union. Many people have never even heard of it, including Danny. So naturally it’s on my list to visit.
Andorra is headed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the President of France. It’s the world’s only co-principality and the only country with Catalan as its official language. The capital and largest city is Andorra la Vella. Andorra is only 181 sq miles with a population of 79,034, but approximately 10 million tourists visit each year. Skiing, tourism, and duty free shopping are the primary activities here.
Leaving France and driving to Andorra
As we approach the French border, the fog starts blowing through but we continue to climb steadily higher toward Andorra.
We knew we’d be driving through the Pyrenees mountain range to get to Andorra, unfortunately the weather forecast called for cold, fog, and rain. Just our luck. So, we decided to map the route to get there. At first, the mileage seemed really low for the amount of time it would take to get there. Then we noticed why. You drive through the highest paved road in the Pyrenees, the Envalira Pass, at 7,900 feet in elevation. YIKES! Here’s the map of this very steep winding road with many 180 degree hairpin turns around the cliffs of the mountains.
My first thought is “wow, this will make great panoramic pictures”. Then about three seconds later I recall a series of rental car accidents and a couple more recent auto collisions (which you can read about in my previous posts Funny travel mishaps and More funny travel mishaps). So I began to panic a bit about the drive. Notice I did not say driver in that sentence! I then saw that there was a toll tunnel that went through the mountains instead of up and around. Given our history, I decided that the tunnel is the much safer option for us. Phew, danger avoided, for now.
Although we bypassed the treacherous route above, it wasn’t a “piece of cake” as they say. We still had lots of winding curves, twists, hairpin turns and moments where you just couldn’t peek over the flimsy looking railing down the mountainside. Here’s a snapshot of just one part of the winding road we took up the mountain to get to the tunnel. There’s also a view of the landscape from the top.
Arriving at the hotel
Celebrating how well Danny managed to navigate and arrive in town safely, we shouldn’t have jinxed things. Our hotel happens to be on a pedestrian shopping street in the heart of the city. I hadn’t thought through the practicality of that convenience.
How do you drive to an underground parking of a hotel when it’s not actually on a street that the GPS allows a car to be on? Well, we decided the shortest distance between two points is always a straight line, so disregarding the multiple signs that show WARNING DO NOT ENTER and PEDESTRIAN ONLY—we drove down the darn pedestrian street! Unlike bowling, you try not to hit anyone or anything as you make your way down the lane. Finally, we arrived at the hotel. The photo on the left is the entrance we drove into to get to the VERY small parking entrance. Strangely enough, they told us at registration that’s the ONLY way to drive to the hotel. Would you drive your car between the potted plants and the pole by the shop? CRAZY!
What’s even crazier is there’s only one entrance both in and out of the garage with no way to know if someone is coming up while you’re driving down. Do you know how difficult it is to REVERSE your vehicle up a backward spiral TWO levels down? It’s NOT easy!
We finally made it down to level -2. Woohoo! Then we saw the parking spaces. What is with these boxes that they call a parking spot? Thankfully, we had experience with this before. The only way to fit the car inside the box was for me to exit the vehicle with the luggage first, before parking. We also had to bend in both side mirrors so that Danny could carefully back in and squeeze out his side door. Not gonna lie, parking is half the stress of driving here.
Andorra la Vella
We spent the weekend in Andorra la Vella. We quickly realized how cheaply things can be bought here. Gas was 35-40% cheaper than in France and the stations here are full service, no pumping your own gas. Next, booze is a fraction of the cost compared to the US. It was quite shocking. We wanted to load up. There are electronic, perfume, and cigarette shops galore which I’m sure are also cheaper than elsewhere. Not to mention clothing and luxury goods. Oh, there’s also no tax, bonus all the way around.
The city is surrounded by mountains and a river runs through it. At its heart, is a sculpture by Salvador Dali with a melting clock and a sign with the city’s name among the many shopping streets.
A few night photos.
Mirador del Roc Quer—what a view!
On day two, I wanted to visit the incredible vantage point called Mirador del Roc Quer in the town of Canillo about 25 minutes from our hotel. It was a beautiful morning with no rain, so we once again mapped our route. Well, here we go again with the crazy twists and turns driving even further (4 miles) up the mountains. The elevation of the lookout point is approximately 6,600 feet. There’s also a walkout platform 66 feet long over the mountain cliff. I think we’re up for another adventure. So, off we go.
You can follow our harrowing journey up the mountain with the pictures below. We finally arrived at the top and pulled into the parking lot. Note the parking spaces. You drive up to the cliff’s edge, park and engage your emergency brake. There are NO railings in the lot! I told Danny when we leave, be ABSOLUTELY sure the car is in REVERSE and not in Drive when he presses the gas. This no railing thing will become a recurring theme later on.
Once parked, you walk the rest of the way to the top. I didn’t realize I had a bit of altitude sickness, but it was hard to breathe while walking and I was starting to sweat. But, maybe I was still freaking out from the drive up and parking with no railing. As we are nearing the lookout, here’s the first view.
Notice anything strange here? What a great place to sit and enjoy the view…with NO railings. REALLY? One very small step in wrong direction and it’s a LONG away down. Nope, not me. I’ll just take the picture from here. I don’t need to sit and rest, thanks anyway.
We’re almost at the platform now and the view is even better.
We finally made it to the edge of the walkway. WOW, is all I can say. At the end of the walkway, you will see a man in a relaxed posture, enjoying the views and conveying that the height in the mountains give him strength and security. It’s a sculpture by the artist, Miguel Ángel González.
Just a couple more fun photos, but we’ll be careful and won’t back up, because there are still no railings!
What a great weekend in Andorra. Tomorrow we leave for Barcelona, Spain so stay tuned for chapter 8 Summer in France: Barcelona.
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