At 1,023 metres, Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe. It is also small — you can cross the centre on foot in twenty minutes — and it runs along a valley floor with mountains rising directly behind the buildings on both sides.
The old quarter
The Barri Antic is the part worth your time. Its centre is Casa de la Vall, a sixteenth-century stone manor that served as the country's parliament from 1702 until 2011 — an extraordinarily long run for a building of that size. Inside are the council chamber and the famous Cabinet of the Seven Keys, the cupboard holding the national archive, which could only be opened when a representative of each parish was present. Around it, narrow paved lanes hold the church of Sant Esteve and a handful of quiet squares.
Shopping, honestly
Andorra's reputation rests on low taxes: the local IGI is a fraction of Spanish or French VAT, so electronics, alcohol, tobacco, perfume and sports equipment are genuinely cheaper. Avinguda Meritxell is a kilometre of shops running through the middle of town and it can be pleasant or exhausting depending on the day. Two things are worth knowing: prices vary a lot between shops, so compare before buying; and there are duty-free allowances when you leave, checked at the border, so a car full of purchases can cost you at the customs post.
Escaldes-Engordany
The capital merges seamlessly into Escaldes-Engordany, and you will cross between them without noticing. This is where the thermal springs surface at around seventy degrees, and where the Caldea spa complex stands with its glass spire. The riverside promenade along the Valira is the most agreeable walk in the urban area.
Beyond the shops
The Museu Carmen Thyssen shows rotating selections from the baroness's collection. Just outside town, the Sant Miquel d'Engolasters church and the lake above it make an easy half-day walk with a view straight down onto the capital. And within fifteen minutes by car in any direction you are in the mountains — which is, in the end, why anyone comes.
Getting around
The capital has no metro and needs none — it is walkable end to end. National bus lines radiate from the centre to every parish, run frequently and cost very little, which makes it entirely practical to stay in town and take the bus up a valley for the day. Parking is the real difficulty: the centre is congested, street space is scarce and the underground car parks fill by mid-morning on winter Saturdays. If you are driving, choose accommodation with its own parking and leave the car there.