SANDWICHED BETWEEN SPAIN AND FRANCE,
SMALL COUNTRY, BUT WORTH SEEING
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 83,888 in 2009. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, being at an elevation of 1023 metres. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, French, and Portuguese are also commonly spoken.
Andorra is a prosperous country mainly because of its tourism industry, which services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually, and also because of its status as a tax haven. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the de facto currency. The people of Andorra have the 2nd highest human life expectancy in the world — 82 years at birth.
Did you know?
The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalonia, Spain.
Shrines and festivals are both key attractions to tourists. Romanesque churches and old houses of interest are located in Ordino, Encamp, Sant Julia de Loria, Les Escaldes, Santa Coloma, and other villages. The best known is the shrine of Our Lady of Meritxell, Andorra’s patroness, between Canillo and Encamp.
In the last five years, its resorts have invested over €50 million in mountain cafés and restaurants, chairlifts and gondolas, car parks and snow-making machines. And once the snows have melted, summer activities are to be had in Ordino & around. There’s great walking in abundance, ranging from easy strolls to demanding day hikes in the higher, more remote reaches of the principality.
In 2003, about 3,138,000 tourists visited Andorra, of whom 72% came from Spain, a 3% decline from 2002. Visitors need a valid passport to enter Andorra. No visa is required.
In 2003, the US Department of State estimated the daily cost of a stay in Andorra at $226.
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| Caldea - The greatest spa center in Europe |
In Escaldes, the Caldea Spa Complex is Europe's largest. Looking like some futuristic cathedral, it's a wonderful place for some soothing relaxation after exertions in the mountains. Fed by hot springs, its heart is a 600-sq-metre lagoon kept at a constant 32°C. A series of other pools, plus Turkish baths, saunas, spas and hydromassage, are all included in the three-hour entrance ticket.
You can sign on for a whole range of extras, including 'Turkish exfoliation', 'body scrub' and the enticing 'full hand care'. Caldea is a 10-minute walk upstream from Plaça de la Rotonda.
Caldea uses the water which emerges from the thermal source in Escaldes-Engordany at 68º C to create a harmonious interrelation between the body and water in futuristic surroundings.
A haven to retreat to, dedicated to rest, getting back in shape, health and beauty.
Imagine a place where everything is light and space, where you can forget fatigue, stress and routine... a new and unique spa where, throughout the year, you will find peace and calm in the beneficial effects of thermal water.
In ancient Catalan, the word 'caldea' means tonifying and warm. In Roman times, the word 'calidae', from which the name of the town of Escaldes in Andorra originates, designated a warm water source. Two thousand years later, Caldea offers you a new form of well-being and enjoyment, an encounter with water in all its possible forms, from steam to ice, from Japan to Finland...
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The Legend of Our Lady of Meritxell
One 6 January in the late 12th century, villagers from Meritxell, Andorra were going to Mass in Canillo. Though it was winter, they found a wild rose in bloom by the roadside. At its base was a statue of the Virgin and Child. They placed the statue in a chapel in the church in Canillo. The next day the statue was found sitting under the wild rose again. Villagers from Encamp took the statue to their church, but the next day the statue had returned to the rose bush. Though it was snowing, an area the size of a chapel was completely bare, and the villagers of Meritxell took this to mean that they should build a chapel to house the statue, and so they did. On 8-9 September 1972 the chapel burned down and the statue was destroyed; a copy now sits in the new Meritxell Chapel.
Pilgrims come from France and Spain to pay homage on September 8th, the festival day of Andorra’s patroness. Each of the larger villages has its own festival during which the sardana, Andorra’s national dance, is performed.
Andorra`s culture
