Andorra or not!

[Shoop]

Were out at our holiday home in Arzens(11) which is near Carcassonne later this month and were wondering how accessable Andorra was? I,ve heard some horror stories about mountain passes and conjested roads so any advice on times, distances, routes etc or indeed the fact that its a duty free state would it make it a worthwhile day out? Also along the the same theme has anyone any advice on travelling to Barcelona either by road or train.

 

                               Thanks.........................Steve 

 

[Richard-R]

It's a bit of a drive for a day out. If you are used to mountain roads and are a confident overtaker you could make the round trip in about 10 hours I would think.

It is a great drive, if you do it use the toll tunnels much faster.

[Gardian]

Not been there myself recently, but am told by recent visitors that it's a dive.  Cheap booze etc, but do you need to save a few quid on the odd bottle?  I think that it was voted "No 1 most disappointing place in Europe" by some Brit hol survey.

Much nicer places elsewhere in the Pyrenees, but those more local will be able to advise better. 

[Davidball]

t's about 2 hours from Carcasonne to Andorra.

3 Choices of route really....

easiest but longest, head to Toulouse on the motorway

turn left on the Foix interchange and  follow the signs.

otherwise, take the N whatever to Toulouse, turn left at mirpoix and follow the signs to Foix

(Take a map!)

or head south through Limoux, take a map and follow the signs

and pick up the road from Barcelona.

the last two routes take about the same . . .with the second one pasing

with in metres of the Spanish border, so you can have a gander there too.

Andorras a bit of a dump at the border, but it makes a great day out

especially if you want to have an afternoons skiing in the season :)

PS re,member to fill the car with non drinkers and smokers so you

can get their duty free allowance too. On the was home stop at Ax le Thermes,

open one of your duty free bottles and sit with your feet in the thermal

pool enjoying a nip or two with friends :)

David

[Jon 1]

Fantastic scenery en route.  We have fond memories of driving to Andorra with the soundtrack of Gladiator playing on the cd, and the dramatic scenery outside.

If any passengers suffer from car sickness take ginger pills beforehand.

Andorre la Vella is quite uninspiring.  It is basically just one really very long street of shops.  Some of the the vendors are quite hard bitten.  They have seen it all for years!

I am not sure of how worthwhile the bargains really are in the electrical goods.

Fill the car fuel tank there.

I will be there myself, next week as friends want to hit the shops.

[SaligoBay]

Yes, beautiful scenery, but towns truly ghastly!   Nothing but tacky commerce commerce commerce.  There can be horrendous queues on the way out of Andorra, but not all the time. 

[Gardian]

[quote user="SaligoBay"]

Yes, beautiful scenery, but towns truly ghastly!   Nothing but tacky commerce commerce commerce.  There can be horrendous queues on the way out of Andorra, but not all the time. 

[/quote]

Apparently, if you're British (or rather non-French) - registered, you often get waved through.

[Shoop]

Thanks for all the replies, must admit a bit of a mixed bag so theres only one way to find out we,ll take a trip out there next week although the longe range weather forcast doesn,t look promising

 

                          Thanks again.....................Steve

[Smiley]

I have a place about  50 minutes south of you (Belesta, Ariege) and can tell you, you would be hard pressed to do it in 2 Hrs, unless of course you drive a formula 1. I drive accross the mountain passes, through Ax Les Thermes and then on to Andorra takes about 1hr 45 from mine.  If I go to Foix and then take the main route it takes just as long but is half as far again. Go in summer and you see the towns for what they really are, duty free dumps. Stay away from them apart from doing your shopping and it's lovely. However go in winter and the mountains are beautiful. Scary on the mountain passes though.

2 litres of gin around 7 euros, fags around 18-20 euros for 200, wine a bit cheaper (but not much). Perfume can be very cheap at some outlets (not that I wear it myself !)

Be careful of the Douanes though on the passes and on the tolls coming back. Think the fags limit is 300 p/p.

Oh and diesel at 75 cents per litre.