Andorra in three days, the capital and the two valleys around it

Given three days, Andorra stops being a shopping street and becomes a country. The reason is geography. Andorra is essentially two valleys, the Valira d’Orient coming down from Canillo and the Valira del Nord coming down from Ordino, both feeding into the Gran Valira beside the capital. Give each piece a day and you leave with the whole map in your head, which is what this plan sets out to do.

Where to stay for three nights

I wouldn’t move hotels. Encamp sits halfway between the capital and Canillo, and in winter has the Funicamp up to Grandvalira; Escaldes-Engordany is better if Caldea and shopping matter to you. Coming from the UK, either works whether you land at Toulouse or Barcelona, as the coaches from both airports run to Andorra la Vella, a short hop from each.

Day 1, the capital and Escaldes

Day one is arrival day, so I’d do it on foot. Start in the old quarter with the Casa de la Vall (€5) and Sant Esteve church, followed by Avinguda Meritxell and Fener Boulevard down to the Plaça de la Rotonda and the Dalí sculpture. I’ve covered this part in more detail in Andorra in one day. In the afternoon, Caldea, three hours of thermal water that set you up nicely for two mountain days.

Day 2, the Canillo valley

I’d begin at Meritxell, whose sanctuary opens every day, then continue to the Roc del Quer viewpoint, a €6 stop you can only reach by car. If you’d rather do the Tibetan bridge, 603 m long, it’s €17 (€19 in high summer) and you get there on the official bus from Canillo. I’d choose one.

After lunch, the Motorcycle Museum in the gondola building in Canillo, with around 150 bikes, from an 1867 steam machine to Dakar rally bikes, for €5.50. It shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan around that. Just past the last houses, on the road to France, Sant Joan de Caselles is 11th and 12th-century Romanesque, open inside only between mid-June and mid-September.

Day 3, Ordino and the Valira del Nord

Day three is the calmest, which is why I leave it till last. In Ordino the Casa d’Areny-Plandolit belonged to the only family in the country with a noble title, with a hologram show about the baron Don Guillem, for €7. A few steps away, the Miniature Museum has pieces you study through a microscope, for €10. The Casa d’Areny-Plandolit shuts on Mondays and, from October to May, Sundays too; the Miniature Museum opens Monday to Saturday and on Sunday mornings.

In the afternoon, La Cortinada, with Cal Pal and Sant Martí, whose Romanesque paintings can be seen inside only in July and August. From Llorts begins the gentlest section of the Iron Route in Andorra, 4.24 km of easy descent to La Cortinada among iron sculptures. In summer, I’d swap that afternoon for the Tristaina lakes at Ordino Arcalís, a circuit of about three hours.

Without a car, and with the PassMuseu

You can do nearly all of this without a car. The Ordino day is the easiest, since the L6 bus climbs from the capital to Ordino and La Cortinada twice an hour on weekdays, between 6:55 and 21:55. The Canillo day is harder, because the L3 skips Sundays and pauses for much of Saturday, and no bus goes to the Roc del Quer. Even the dearest single, across three zones, is under €5.

With three paid museums on the plan, the PassMuseu is worth it. It costs €2.50, gives 50% off at three museums and lasts a year; buy it at tourist offices or the museums themselves. At the Casa d’Areny-Plandolit, the last hologram showing is an hour before closing, so don’t arrive at the last minute.

What about winter?

Then the plan shifts. Day one stays the same, capital and Caldea, but days two and three become ski days, one at Grandvalira, from Encamp or Canillo, and one at Ordino Arcalís or Pal Arinsal, smaller and quieter. For 2026-27 the three resorts share one calendar, with snow open between 4 December and 4 April. If you have a spare day, I’d give the fourth to the south, Santa Coloma and Sant Julià, and a walk in the Madriu, which is what I add in the Andorra 4-day itinerary. With a whole week, the full plan is in a week in Andorra.