Casa de la Vall, Andorra's old parliament house

Some buildings are worth seeing for their looks, others for what happened inside. Casa de la Vall is firmly the second kind, though the stone front with its corner turrets is handsome enough. For over three centuries Andorra’s parliament met here, trials were held here and the country’s papers were locked away here. This is how I’d do it.

From family home to parliament

The house was built in the late 16th century for the Busquets family, on a rock looking over the Valira valley. It follows the square three-bay plan of the grand Catalan farmhouses, with a ground floor and two upper storeys in stone bound with lime mortar. The Consell General bought it in 1702 and used it as its seat until 2011; for much of that time it doubled as a court.

The last major refurbishment came in 1962, which tidied up the building, unified it and gave it a better session chamber. Some of the defensive touches that look old date from then. According to museus.ad, of the two corner watchtowers, the left-hand one as you face the façade is 20th-century. I like that detail, because it makes you look at the house more carefully.

Parliament has met in the new building next door since 2011, but the old house hasn’t become a mere museum. museus.ad notes that the most formal state occasions are still held here, which is why opening hours can shift at short notice. If you’d like to know who sat on those benches and with what powers, I explain it in Andorra’s political system.

What’s inside Casa de la Vall?

The visit works from the bottom up. On the ground floor is the Criminal Court, furnished and panelled in wood, and for me one of the most striking rooms in the house. It’s a reminder that justice was done here too, not just law-making.

The first floor holds the Hall of Lost Steps, the grandest room, with original 16th-century wall paintings. Alongside are the session chamber, the kitchen and two objects heavy with history. One is the bell once rung to call members to a plenary. The other is the Cupboard of the Seven Keys, which keeps important documents of the Principality, among them the Manual Digest, a mid-18th-century account of Andorra’s history, government and customs. If I could keep only one thing, it would be that cupboard.

Upstairs, the attic was where members slept after long sittings. From 1987 to 1991 it housed Andorra’s Postal Museum, cleared out because the committee drafting the 1993 constitution needed the space. Today it’s a multi-purpose room.

The square and the façade, for free

Even without a ticket, the square deserves a stop. You can see the dovecote, the pitched slate roof and the doorway with its granite voussoirs. On the main front are the Busquets family arms and the national coat of arms, with the motto «Virtus, Unita, Fortior», «Virtue united is stronger». Recent sculptures in the square recall the Pariatge and the 1993 constitutional referendum. After dark the façade is floodlit, and the local tourist office suggests it as an evening visit together with Plensa’s 7 Poetes a few metres away.

Opening hours, tickets and the guided tour

Outside summer it keeps two sessions a day, morning and afternoon, Tuesday to Saturday, with Sundays and Mondays shut; from June to September Sunday mornings join in and the afternoons run later. The table above has every slot. A standard ticket is €5, a concession €2.50, and under-10s go free, going by the government’s museum site on 28-9-2026.

You can go round alone with an audio guide or book the guided tour for €1.50 more by phone or email. This is where I wouldn’t save. A house like this lives on its stories, and a guide tells them better than a recording; just ask about English when you book. The ticket is part of the PassMuseu, so if you’re adding Espai Columba it soon adds up.

On accessibility, the two official websites contradict each other. museus.ad says access is adapted, the tourist board says the old building isn’t. If you use a wheelchair, phone first.

Nearby

The house is at the heart of the Andorra la Vella old town, and in an hour you can add Sant Esteve church, which is free, and the quarter’s granite buildings. For more, my guide to museums in Andorra covers the rest and which ones I’d pay for. If you’d rather see it as part of a guided walk round the capital, look at this free walking tour of Andorra la Vella.