Andorra packs busy shopping streets, Romanesque churches and high Pyrenean valleys into a small stretch of land between France and Spain. Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany bring together stores, hotels and traffic along the valley floor. A short drive away, stone houses line parish villages and pine-covered slopes rise towards peaks near 3,000 metres. Winter skiers fill the upper valleys; in summer, walkers and cyclists head for mountain passes and glacial lakes.
The country’s older buildings give the landscape a human scale. Near Canillo, Sant Joan de Caselles stands beside the road with its narrow Romanesque bell tower and painted interior. Santa Coloma, outside the capital, has an unusual round tower. In Andorra la Vella, Casa de la Vall served as the seat of parliament for centuries. These places reflect a country shaped by its co-princes and by long ties with Catalonia, France and Spain.
Catalan is the official language, and local cooking draws on the food of both sides of the mountains. Order escudella, a hearty stew of meat and vegetables, or trinxat, made with potato, cabbage and pork. Many restaurants occupy former farm buildings known as bordas. Leave the main commercial streets behind for the parish villages, churchyards and high valleys, then settle in for a long meal. Andorra makes a good place to slow down between the mountains.
