Andorra

Steep valleys high in the eastern Pyrenees make up Andorra, drained by the two branches of the Valira, which meet at Escaldes-Engordany and flow south into Spain as the Gran Valira. Coma Pedrosa is the highest of the peaks that ring them, and the glacial valley of Madriu-Perafita-Claror, with its shepherds’ huts, stone terraces and high lakes, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Winter brings deep snow to the slopes above Soldeu, Pas de la Casa and Arinsal.

Legend credits Charlemagne with founding Andorra, but its form comes from a paréage of 1278, when the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix agreed to share sovereignty. The count’s rights passed in time to the French head of state, so the co-princes are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell. The valleys lived from flocks, smuggling and tobacco, and refugees crossed their passes in the Spanish Civil War. A constitution of 1993 made Andorra a parliamentary co-principality.

Romanesque churches stand in almost every parish; Santa Coloma’s bell tower is round. The sanctuary of Meritxell, Andorra’s patron, burned in 1972 and was rebuilt to a design by Ricardo Bofill. On midsummer night burning torches, the falles, light the towns, as across the Pyrenees. Escudella, a stew of meats and vegetables, and trinxat, cabbage and potato fried with bacon, warm the winter. Ski resorts, duty-free shops and the Caldea spa draw visitors, and tobacco still grows on terraces in the south.