The seven parishes of Andorra, one by one

First-time visitors often picture Andorra as one long town strung along a main road. In fact it’s seven parishes with very different characters, and picking the right one to stay in changes your trip more than almost any other decision. One is the capital, one lives off skiing, one has kept its meadows and old barns, and one is the doorway from Spain. Here’s what each offers and which I’d pick for what.

What is a parish in Andorra?

It’s the country’s administrative unit, the nearest thing to a municipality. The tourist board explains that each has a consul and an administrative seat, the comú, and the capital’s comú adds that parishes are split further into quarts, smaller political and administrative units. The name is ancient. A church document from Urgell in the mid-9th century already names the parishes.

For centuries there were six. In 1978 Escaldes-Engordany split from Andorra la Vella to become the seventh, and according to the capital’s comú it’s the only change ever made to a very old structure. That explains a detail I love, the national flower, the grandalla, has six petals, which legend links to the six original parishes.

The two in the east, for skiing

Canillo comes first in protocol order and is the largest, at 120.86 km², just over a quarter of the country. It has 6,614 residents and is growing fastest in percentage terms, up 4.4% in a year. Soldeu and El Tarter on the Grandvalira slopes are here, along with the Incles valley, Sant Joan de Caselles, the Meritxell sanctuary and the Tibetan bridge. For me it’s the most rounded parish, covered in full in Canillo.

Encamp has 13,751 residents and about 82 km², nearly 18% of the territory according to its comú. It has one quirk that trips up plenty of ski-package bookers. Its comú counts six settlements, and the furthest from the town is Pas de la Casa, 25 km away beside France; the others are Vila, Les Bons, La Mosquera and El Tremat. From Encamp, the Funicamp cable car climbs to Grandvalira.

The two in the north, for summer

Ordino is the least populated, with 5,851 residents, and it’s where I’d spend a summer week. Its comú recognises eight villages, and the valley has been a Biosphere Reserve since 2020. It has the Tristaina lakes, the Sorteny park, the Ordino Arcalís resort and the stone villages of La Cortinada and Llorts. It’s all in Ordino. If I had a week of July to spend anywhere in the country, this is where I’d book, because every morning could start at a different trailhead without getting back in the car for long.

La Massana has 12,402 residents and sits at 1,240 m. Its main settlements, according to the tourist board, are La Massana, Pal, Arinsal, Erts, Sispony, Anyós and L’Aldosa. Here you’ll find Comapedrosa, the country’s highest peak at 2,942 m, and the Pal Arinsal resort, with a free ski bus from the town. It works just as well in summer as in winter.

The centre, for shopping and Caldea

Andorra la Vella is the capital and the smallest parish, yet the most populated, with 24,840 residents. It has Casa de la Vall, the old town and Avinguda Meritxell, plus Santa Coloma and La Margineda. Right next door, Escaldes-Engordany has 16,347 residents, Caldea, Avinguda Carlemany and the way into the Madriu via Engolasters. Together they hold the shopping strip the tourist board calls The Shopping Mile, stretching for more than 1.5 km. The capital is covered in Andorra la Vella.

The south, the way in

Coming up from Spain, Sant Julià de Lòria is where you arrive first, which is why the tourist board calls it the gateway to Andorra. It has 10,300 residents, the Naturland resort with the Tobotronc, the Canòlich sanctuary and villages such as Auvinyà, Fontaneda and Nagol. I’d use it for a first night if you arrive late from Barcelona.

How to choose, in one line per parish

Skiing at Grandvalira, Canillo or Encamp. Lakes and stone villages, Ordino. Skiing and mountains from one base, La Massana. Shops, Caldea and the best buses, Andorra la Vella or Escaldes. A night in transit or a day at Naturland, Sant Julià. For a parish-by-parish list of every village, see towns and villages in Andorra, and how to split your nights is in where to stay in Andorra. The best of each, in the order I’d see it, is in places to visit in Andorra.