Is Andorra Worth Visiting?

Doesn’t Andorra just sound magical? Maybe it’s just because it sounds so similar to Pandora. Either way, when I was in Barcelona and realised how kinda close Andorra is, I decided to go there on a day trip. In this article, I’m gonna try to answer the question: Is Andorra worth visiting?

I quite enjoy going to tiny countries, it’s just fascinating how small a country can be. So far, I’ve been to Liechtenstein and the Vatican. And now I can add Andorra to my “Tiny Country” list. 

Andorra is the sixth smallest country in Europe, and its main income is winter tourism.

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Getting There 

Not sure why, but I’m always hesitant to make a day trip with public transport when the journey is very long. So I decided to take the “Barcelona: 3 Countries in 1 Day Small-Group Tour guided tour” with Get Your Guide to see Andorra. 

You can get to Andorra from Barcelona by public transport as well though. The bus takes about 3 hours one way. 

The countryside you drive by looks amazing, a lot of nature, hills, mountains, and trees. I went in mid-October and the trees were so colourful, so much yellow and red sprinkled amongst the green. But I have to admit, I slept a lot on the ride (don’t know why), I was just so tired on that day. 

Stops on the Way

If you’re going on an organised tour, you’ll probably have some stops on the way to Andorra. The tour I took stopped in the Spanish town Bagá and the French town Ax-les-Thermes. 

The first stop is, in my opinion, just for the coffee addicts who haven’t had their fill yet (the tour sets off at 7 am from Barcelona). It’s a nice enough village with a lovely medieval centre, it just felt a bit rushed. We only had about 10 minutes to walk around on our own. 

Everyone from the tour had lunch in Ax-les-Thermes. If you’ve ever been to the French countryside, you know it doesn’t look good for vegan food. So I recommend bringing lunch from Barcelona, walking around the French town, and finding a nice spot where you can eat your lunch. I enjoyed my walk to the viewing platform. The town also has a couple of natural hot springs, so you can dip your feet into a nice warm pool. You can also see the spring where the hot water comes out, you can smell the sulphur and it’s almost too hot to touch. 

What to do in Andorra La Vella

If you visit Andorra and it’s not a skiing trip, chances are high you’ll end up in Andorra’s capital: Andorra La Vella.

Our tour guide said if you love shopping, spending six hours here would be enough. If you don’t, one hour is too much. Well, that’s an exaggeration, of course, but there’s really not much you can do in Andorra La Vella. There’s one very cool statue by Salvador Dali, a famous Spanish impressionist artist. If you like it and want to find out more about Dali you can learn more about the artist on an amazing day trip from Barcelona to Cadaques. Behind the statue is a bridge with the capital’s name on it, and there you have your money shot. 

Is Andorra Worth Visiting?

If it’s worth going to Andorra depends on your expectations of the trip. 

Are you expecting to visit a European capital city and do a great sightseeing tour? Then you will be disappointed.

Are you expecting to go on a shopping spree? Then you should go, but not with an organised tour since the one-hour free time won’t be enough. 

Do you just want to tick off Europe’s sixth smallest country on your “Been There” list? Go for it. You get some nice scenery included in the deal. 

So, all in all, I think the whole country looks like one big ski resort, and the capital is like a massive duty-free shop. You need to decide for yourself if you want to see that and if Andorra is worth visiting.