Andorra la Vella is the capital and largest city of Andorra. It is located high in the east Pyrenees, between France and Spain. It is also the name of the Andorran parish that surrounds the capital.
As of 2023, the city had a population of 24,042, and the urban area, which includes Escaldes–Engordany plus satellite villages, has over 40,000 inhabitants.
The principal industry is tourism, and the country also earns foreign income from being a tax haven. It is at an elevation of 1,023 m (3,356 ft), and is the highest capital city in Europe. The city shares a border with Spain.
Name
Andorra la Vella means "the city of Andorra", to distinguish it from the Principality of Andorra as a whole. Although in Catalan the word vella (like French vieille) is derived from the Latin word vetula which means "old", the Vella here (like French ville and Catalan vila) is derived from the Latin word villa, meaning "city".
History
The site of Andorra la Vella has been settled since prior to the Christian era—notably by the Andosin tribe from the late Neolithic. Andorra was part of the County of Urgell, one of the Catalan counties of the Marca Hispanica created by Charlemagne in the eighth century as a buffer from the Moorish settlers in the Iberian Peninsula.
The settlement of Andorra la Vella has been the principal city of Andorra since 1278 when the French and the Episcopal co-princes agreed to joint suzerainty. Andorra la Vella's old town—the Barri Antic—includes streets and buildings dating from this time. Its most notable building is the Casa de la Vall—constructed in the early sixteenth century—which has been the state's parliamentary house since 1702. Andorra la Vella was, during this period, the capital of a largely isolated and feudal lordship within the Principality of Catalonia, which retained its existence due to this principle of co-sovereignty.
Well into the twentieth century, the area around Andorra la Vella remained largely forgotten. After political turmoil in the 1930s and an attempted coup by Boris Skossyreff, an informal democracy developed.
In 1993, the country's first constitution formalised this parliamentary democracy with executive, legislative, and judicial branches located in Andorra la Vella.
During this period, Andorra also developed as a tax haven, resulting in the construction of modern banking offices in Andorra La Vella. The city also developed its skiing facilities, to the extent that Andorra la Vella was Andorra's applicant city for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, the 2010 Winter Olympics. However, Andorra la Vella was not selected by the IOC as a candidate city, following the evaluation report of an IOC commission. It also hosted both the 1991 and 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe.
Geography
Andorra la Vella is located in the south west of Andorra, at 42°30′N 1°30′E / 42.500°N 1.500°E, at the confluence of two mountain streams, the Valira del Nord (Northern Valira) and the Valira de l'Orient (Eastern Valira), which join to form the Gran Valira. It adjoins the urban area of Escaldes–Engordany. The city is at 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level.
Climate
Andorra la Vella has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with warm days and cool nights in summer, and chilly to cold, snowy winters. The average annual precipitation is 812.3 mm (32 in). Temperatures in the city are lowered by the altitude (1,075 metres) compared with lowland areas.
Subdivisions
The parish of Andorra la Vella is divided into the villages of Andorra la Vella itself, La Margineda and Santa Coloma.
Landmarks
The city's old town is characterized by old stone streets and houses. The central Església de Sant Esteve (Saint Stephen) church is part of the area that guidebooks often label as a picturesque part of the city. This was built in a Romanesque style in the eleventh century. As mentioned earlier, the old town also includes the country's historic parliament building. Probably the oldest building in the city is another church, dating from the ninth century, the Church of Santa Coloma d'Andorra.
Demographics
Native Andorrans account for only a third (33.3%) of the population, with the plurality being Spaniards (43%), and notable minorities of Portuguese (11%) and French (7%). Most of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics. There is a high life expectancy of over 80 years.
Culture
The city is the country's cultural centre, with the Government Exhibition Hall acting as a main theatre and museum. The piazza outside the parliament building is also the location of a number of events, and the town hosts a music festival every winter.
Languages
Catalan is the official language, although Spanish, Portuguese and French are also spoken.
Notable people
- Elidà Amigó i Montanya (born 1935 and died 2020 in Andorra la Vella) historian and activist, a leader in Andorra's women's suffrage movement
- Marc Forné Molné (born 1946 in Andorra la Vella) was the Prime Minister of Andorra from 1994 to 2005
- Lluís Claret (born 1951 in Andorra la Vella), cellist, especially of chamber music
- Albert Salvadó (born 1951 in Andorra la Vella and died in 2020), writer and industrial engineer
- Jaume Bartumeu GCIH (born 1954) lawyer and politician, who served as head of government from 2009 to 2011
- Juli Minoves (born 1969 in Andorra la Vella) diplomat, author and the 13th President of Liberal International
- Pere López Agràs (born 1971 in Andorra la Vella) politician who served as an acting Prime Minister in 2011
- Vanessa Mendoza Cortés (born 1980 in Andorra la Vella) psychologist and activist who campaigns for the decriminalisation of abortion
Sport
Economy and infrastructure
Andorra la Vella is the country's commercial centre. In the country as a whole, 80% of the GDP is derived from the 10 million tourists who visit annually. The city is also the centre for the many banks and businesses that thrive from its tax haven status. The state is not a member of the European Union, but has a customs arrangement with the EU, and uses the euro.
Transportation
Andorra la Vella has direct access to air transportation with commercial helicopter flights from Andorra la Vella Heliport, located in the city centre. Andorra–La Seu d'Urgell Airport is located 24 kilometres (15 miles) south of the city; it is actually located in Spain and since July 2015 operates domestic routes to various airports across that country. Nearby airports located in Spain and France provide access to international flights with the nearest airports being Perpignan (156 km away) and Lleida (160 km away). The largest nearby airports are Toulouse (Tolosa), Girona and Barcelona.
Andorra la Vella does not have a train station, although there are bus shuttle services linking the city to train stations at L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (France) and Lleida in Spain. There are also shuttle buses from Barcelona, Girona and Reus' airports to Andorra la Vella.
Education
Schooling
Andorra la Vella has 11 schools available (10 public and 1 private), with the French system most deeply layered. The multisystem choice allows families to choose between Catalan-based, Spanish-based and French-based public schooling. Andorra la Vella has a complete educational pipeline, from early childhood to secondary, all available within the parish. All schools are built and maintained by Andorran authorities, but teachers in the French and Spanish schools are paid for the most part by France and Spain.
Public schools by system and age
Andorran Public System
- Escola andorrana Andorra la Vella (2–11 years old)
- Escola andorrana de Santa Coloma i del Roc (12–15 years old)
- Escola andorrana Andorra la Vella (16–17 years old)
Spanish Public System
- Instituto español María Moliner en La Margineda (12–17 years old)
- Colegio español Mare Janer en Santa Coloma (2–15 years old)
- Colegio español Sant Ermengol en Andorra la Vella (2–17 years old)
- Instituto Español de Andorra (IEA) (12–17 years old)
French Public System
- Ecole maternelle Française d'Andorre la Vieille (2–6 years old)
- École élémentaire Française d'Andorre la Vieille (6–10 years old)
- École primaire Française Santa Coloma (2–10 years old)
- Lycée Français Comte de Foix en Andorra la Vella (11–17 years old)
Private schools
- The British College of Andorra en Andorra la Vella (3–13 years old but is expanding)
Higher Education
Andorra la Vella does not host higher education itself. The Universitat d'Andorra (UdA) is the state public university and is the only university in Andorra, situated in Sant Julià de Lòria (~7 km away).
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Andorra la Vella is twinned with the following cities:
Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities
Andorra la Vella has been part of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities since 2008, establishing brotherly relations with the following cities:
- Asunción, Paraguay
- Barcelona, Spain
- Bogotá, Colombia
- Brasília, Brazil
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Cádiz, Spain
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Havana, Cuba
- Quito, Ecuador
- La Paz, Bolivia
- Lima, Peru
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Madrid, Spain
- Managua, Nicaragua
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Montevideo, Uruguay
- Panama City, Panama
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- San José, Costa Rica
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- San Salvador, El Salvador
- Santiago, Chile
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Sucre, Bolivia
- Tegucigalpa, Honduras