Andorra is potentially the country in Europe that is hardest to tick off your travel wish list. It is just a tiny country with under 80,000 inhabitants on 468 km² in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. There is no airport and no railway station, your best chance is to fly to Barcelona or Toulouse and take a bus ride into the mountains which lasts 3-4 hours. It is a bit unusual that the capital city Andorra la Vella is so complicated to reach but the trip through the mountains is very scenic and well worth the effort.
I decided to book with Andbus and to start at the Gare Routière next to the Matabiau railway station of Toulouse. The bus also passes by the airport of Toulouse-Blagnac and if you’ve got a good timing it might be wise to catch it there. The trip is then non-stop but you can choose between a large number of bus stops to be dropped-off within Andorra. Prior to departure the driver will ask you about your nationality as Andorra is not part of the European Union. Visitors from within the EU nevertheless can simply pass, visitors from outside the EU need a passport and go through a short border control.
Surprisingly, the border control is just done by France and you will only have a French stamp in your passport – Andorra doesn’t care and even if you are a collector and want an Andorran entry stamp you’ve got no chance. Final stop at Andorra la Vella is the Estació Nacional d’Autobusos del Principat d’Andorra in the west of the capital city. From there it is a short walk along the La Valira to the city center. For completeness: the nearest railway station is the Gare d’Andorre-L’Hospitalet at L’Hospitalet-prés-l’Andorre in France. From there it is nearly three kilometers to the border and still 45 kilometers to Andorra la Vella. There is no bus shuttle and you could only try to take a taxi.
Andorra la Vella
Andorra
Toulouse
France
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