Andorra

Andorra is mountainous, with an average altitude of 1,996 m, and its loftiest peak, Coma Pedrosa, rises to 2,946 m. The country is divided by three valleys which run into each other as the valley of the country's main river, the Valira. Its climate is a kind of temperate-Alpine.

Andorra is a remnant of the old Marca Hispanica, the series of buffer states established by Charlemagne for protection from the Moorish invaders who had occupied almost the whole Iberian Peninsula. It is a high, landlocked country, squeezed between France and Spain, and sovereignty has traditionally been shared between the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French state as co-princes. In other words, it is a principality without a prince. Isolated by the difficulty of its access, it has passed the centuries almost entirely detached from European affairs, to such an extent that no-one remembered to invite it to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles ending the First World War (neither does anyone in Andorra seem to have taken this very seriously: they declared themselves neutral in the Second World War, easy to do with the theoretically neutral Spain to the south, and finally got round to declaring peace in 1958. It is not known whether Germany expressed relief or not). Another indication of the country's isolation is that full women's suffrage did not arrive until 1973.

SPV Articles and Links Pages

Andorra Links Directory

Skiing in Spain and Andorra
There are various possibilities for skiing in Spain, from the Pyrenees to the Sierra Nevada. Here is a short article on the subject to help you fit a bit of snow in on your Spain visit.

Skiing in Spain (and Andorra)
Selected, annotated links.

Elsewhere on the Net - Selected Links

Agencia de Movilitat
The Andorran Traffic Department's site informs of the state of mountain roads, passes, etc. in real time. No English version, but you can choose between Catalan, Spanish and French.

Andorra
This is the site of the Tourist Board of Andorra and has all you would expect: maps, pictures, information about shopping, skiing, culture. First-class. It used to have a section on "Healthy Activities," as though Andorra were the place to go to recover from a life of debauchery.

Andorra.com
Even somewhere as minute as Andorra needs its dot-coms. And there is little fault to find with this portal.

Andorra Online
I prefer this portal to Andorra.com. You are entitled to your own preference.

Andorra Web
This portal seems to be aimed mainly at skiers. It is the personal effort of Jordi and Ester, who are to be greatly commended.

Andorramania
A likeable French-language portal, with versions in Spanish, Catalan, German and not very good English.

Caldea
Caldea, in Andorra la Vella, claims to be "Europe's largest health spa" and "Europe's largest recreational spa."

Guiand
A good, commercial site, with plenty of information for the curious: Andorra, its history and parishes, as well as the usual gen on hotels and restaurants.

Les Vallees
A French-language portal for Andorra, with a Google translation into English.

Principat d'Andorra
The Andorran government's site. Andorra is a principality without a prince, being a parliamentary democracy with nominal joint heads of state, the French head of state (i.e., president) and the Spanish bishop of Urgel.