Andorra la VellaCapital
Andorra · Country profile
Andorra la Vella is the highest capital of Europe, a small, tidy city of the eastern Pyrenees that sits in a narrow valley where the two rivers of the business streets meet and the mountains rise straight from the rooftops. As the capital of the smallest state of the mountain range, its civic spine runs along the main avenue, a curious mix of the parliament houses, the duty-free shopping malls and the ski-town commerce of the modern principality. The old quarter of the town gathers the stone houses, the church of Saint Stephen and the plazas of the original settlement, while the cable cars and the gondolas lift the skiers and the hikers to the high slopes above the valley. Alpine air, tax-free prices and a moment between mountain kingdoms: the little capital is the perfect stop of a Pyrenean journey.
About Andorra la Vella
Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra. The city's documented population is around 23,000 people. For visitors from abroad, the local currency is the Euro (EUR) and Catalan is spoken; the dialling code is +376.
The Smallest Capital in the High Pyrenean Valleys
Andorra la Vella is a compact alpine capital where the valley walls frame every view and the main avenue carries the whole commercial life of the principality. The days move between the duty-free shops, the modest museums, the thermal baths at the edge of town and the lifts that climb straight to the ski pistes of the mountain ring. It is a friendly, multilingual and completely safe city, small enough to cross on foot, and its character belongs equally to the ski season and to the summer hiking trade. For the visitor it is the interchangeable base of the Pyrenean states: an easy, boutique-edged capital with the mountains never far from the door.
The Ski Winters, the Duty-Free Prices and the Narrow Roads
The Altitude of the valley keeps the winters cold and snowy and the summers mild, with the best snow from December to March and the clearest hiking weather in the late spring and the autumn. The euro is the currency and the French, the Spanish and the Catalan run the streets with the English spoken in the tourist trade. The ski lifts and the thermal centre are the big draws, and the surrounding valleys, with their lakes, their old stone villages and their mountain passes, make the natural circuit of the district. The roads of the valley are narrow and busy at the dawn and the dusk of the ski weekends, so the days are best timed around the rush.
The Old Quarter, the Caldea Baths and the Shopping Streets
The old quarter of the capital, with the parliament house, the church of Saint Stephen and the narrow lanes of the medieval settlement, holds the historic core between the modern shops. The escaping route of the high mountains, the national museum of the transport and the model village of the Casa de la Vall add the deeper layers of the little state, and the shopping avenue, with its famous duty-free prices, is the practical magnet of most stops. The thermal baths of the outside of town give the classic afternoon escape, and the viewpoints of the surrounding peaks, reached by the cable cars, complete the mountain picture of the smallest capital in Europe.
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- Country
- Andorra
- Population
- 23,000
- Capital
- Andorra la Vella
- Region
- Europe
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Languages
- Catalan
- Calling code
- +376
- Country code
- AD
Entry requirements for Andorra
Visa status for travellers from common origins visiting Andorra for tourism.
Frequently asked questions
Is Andorra la Vella the capital of Andorra?
Yes — Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra.
What currency do I need in Andorra la Vella?
The local currency is the Euro (EUR). Languages spoken in Andorra include Catalan.
What is the dialling code for Andorra?
The international dialling code for Andorra is +376.
Do I need a visa to visit Andorra?
It depends on your passport. For the origins we track, the current tourism visa status is Morocco (visa required). Check the entry requirements tool for your own nationality.
Flying out of Andorra la Vella? Check the entry requirements for your destination in our entry requirements tool before you fly.