Andorra, "almost Spain with a ski slope," the gift that does not even have its own international airport, regularly collects every winter a good harvest of frozen, frozen frost-bound mountain-skiers .The recipe for the popularity of winter Andorra is simple, like a sled .A lot of various routes that are constantly maintained in the best shape and not deprived by the lifts - this is the time $ $ .Quality of service is not worse than "on average for the hospital ... that is, for Europe" - these are two .And the prices are lower than the European ones - it's a fat three .And, almost forgot, an additional bonus: profitable shopping (the whole country is a zone of duty-free trade): for every native of this small country there is more than one store .Many tourists go here light, and come back "packaged" with the newest ski equipment, bought for a very reasonable amount of money .

The capital is Andorra la Vella. Ski resorts: Canillo, Encamp, Escaldes, Grandvalira region, Vallnord region.

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How to get to Andorra

The country does not have its own airport, so they usually get there via Spain or, alternatively, through France. Regular direct flights Moscow - Barcelona (about 4 hours) are carried out by Aeroflot, Iberia, Vueling, in winter, the route is chartered. The transfer from Barcelona to Andorra takes 3, 5-4 hours. When the "French" version is usually flown to Toulouse (usually with docking in European cities), and then go by bus or car.

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Andorra visa

To enter the country you need to get a Schengen visa or a national visa of Spain or France.

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Customs

Andorra is a duty-free shopping area, but due to the entry scheme, when you visit it, you will have to comply with either French or Spanish customs regulations. Import and export of currency is not limited.

Useful phone numbers are

The Embassy of Spain in Moscow: B. Nikitskaya, 50/8; tel .: (495) 690-29-93, 690-30-02; website.

Visa application center of Spain in Moscow: Kaluzhskaya pl., 1 room 2; tel .: (499) 703-18-41, (499) 681-13-58, website is

The Russian Embassy in Madrid: Calle Velazquez, 155; tel .: (91) 562-22-64, 411-08-07; website.

Consular Section of the Russian Embassy in Madrid: Calle Joaquin Costa, 33; tel .: (91) 411-29-57; website.

Consulate General of Russia in Barcelona: av. Pearson, 34; tel .: (93) 280-02-20, 280-54-32; website.

Police: 110, ambulance: 116, Fire: 118, ski rescue service: 112, telephone reference (by country / international): 111 / 119.

Transport Andorra

A network of bus routes covers the whole country and connects all the cities and most of the villages with each other. The timetable is very strict, and even at rush hour intervals are less than half an hour. The fare depends on the distance, the average travel costs about 4 EUR.

In addition, regular buses run from Andorra to Barcelona, ​​Barcelona airport, Toulouse and Toulouse airport. Travel time in both directions is approximately 3-4 hours.

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Rent a car

When you receive a car, a deposit of 150 to 300 EUR is paid depending on the car brand. The deposit can be paid in cash or by credit card, the presence of a "credit card" for rent is optional.

Age restrictions - from 21 years, driving experience - not less than two years.

Security in Andorra

Andorra is one of the safest countries in Europe, which does not even have its own prison. But on the road, in particular - at the airport in Barcelona, ​​you should carefully look after your little things.

The climate of Andorra is

Andorra is the sunniest mountainous region in Europe: there are an average of 250 sunny days per year. In winter, heavy snowfalls are frequent, most precipitation falls from October to May.

Average daily temperature: December -4 ... -6 ° C, January -7 ... -10 ° C, February -8 ... -11 ° C, March -3 ... -6 ° C, April - 2 ... -4 ° C.

Actual information: weather forecast for the main resorts of Andorra for the next few days.

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Andorra hotels - $

All hotels in Andorra have an official category from one to five "stars" officially approved by the Ministry of Tourism of the country. Meals in 90% of "treshkas" and "quads" - buffet for breakfast and dinner.

In Andorra, there are few hotels located directly near the ski lifts in the ski resorts. Therefore, most tourists stay in hotels located in large (by the standards of Andorra, of course) cities. They can be divided into three groups. The first - hotels in the metropolitan cities of Andorra la Vella and Escaldes, from where it is equally close to all the ski stations, so there is the opportunity to go everywhere. There are many shops, bars, restaurants, discos here - in a word, an extensive apres-ski.

The second group - hotels in small towns or mountain villages at a distance of 5-15 minutes drive to the lifts. As a rule, they offer the most attractive prices, as they are at a distance and from the entertainment of a big city and, at the same time, not at a pedestrian distance from the lifts.

The third group - hotels located directly under the mountain, at 100-300 meters from the lifts, are the most popular and expensive. The only drawback is that they limit the skiing areas to one or two of the nearest ones: getting to other stations on regular buses is not too convenient.

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Shopping and shopping

In Andorra, the zone of duty-free trade, you can buy goods at 25-40% cheaper than in Spain or France. Especially significant discounts during seasonal sales in spring and autumn.

In the country, you can profitably buy clothes and footwear of famous brands: updating collections is permanent, and price tags are very tempting. Still here it is worth buying optics, jewelry and watches, cosmetics and perfumes, interior and antiques. In the country even special auto-sales are arranged, on which it is possible to get a very advantageous car.

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Cuisine and restaurants of Andorra

In Andorra you can sit well in bordas - small national restaurants with homemade cuisine and a cozy atmosphere .From local cooking it is worth trying la parillada - a large dish of grilled different kinds of meat (beef, pork, rabbit and turkey), fried Catalan sausage butifarra, served with white beans, traditional thick escudella soup and sheep cheese tupi ±​​$ br >.On sweet it is good to take the national masegada cake with the aroma of anise and tea with jam from mulberry berry (mermelada de mores) .To warm up after a rich ski day will help the Andorrian grog with dried apricots: the country produces good wines .

For tea in local catering establishments, it is customary to leave the standard 5-10% of the order amount (tips are not included in the bill).

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Andorra

Little Andorra holds an incredible number of museums and other attractions .In Ordino you can visit the house museum of the D'Arni family Plodolit with old wine cellars, guest rooms and pompous bedrooms .In the manor garden there are the National Concert Hall and the Zoological Museum .The Museum of Microminiatures collected masterpieces of Ukrainian miniature master Nikolai Syadristy, which can only be seen in a microscope .In Andorra la Vella, we recommend a visit to the house-museum of De la Vall, the building of justice with the famous "closet with seven locks" .Encamp proud of his Museum of historical cars with an extensive collection, and in Escaldes you can not visit the Museum of Russian nesting dolls .

In addition, from Andorra you can go on an excursion to Barcelona, ​​Girona or Figueres, where the Dali museum is located - or to go to the nearby towns of France, for example, in Carcassonne. Andorra also has a rich nightlife, the capital is full of fun bars and restaurants. It is worth at least a day to spend in the thermal complex Caldea with a mass of swimming pools and similar fads or in the snow park of entertainment in Naturland.

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Photos of Andorra (294)