Andorra yes or no

Chaps on way back from east coast of Spain we will hit the Pyrenees for 3 days back to Santander. Was going to route through a bit of Andorra but looking back at some old threads the message coming back is avoid. So is it worth at least passing through as the scenery looks stunning and just fancy saying I have been there.

Opinions pls

Thanks

worth going through. We done it a few years back and it was stunning. Dry road with 6ft of snow banked up each side. Plus its tax free and a great dianese shop in the centre. Hotels were very cheap as well.

I have been there several times, usually taking people who have never been. Each time, I ask myself why.

I think it is worth a look, a quick look at least. Then head for the 260 road and ride for mile after mile of fantastic roads all along the Spanish side of the Pyrenees back towards your ferry. You'll have over 200 miles on great roads.

Bit like the curate's egg - good in parts. The scenery is beautiful away from Andorra City. Andorra City is an experience, cheap hotels, duty free shopping and good restaurants but, it stinks of diesel fumes because the main road crawls uphill through the city. If you have the time visit the Caldea.
http://www.caldea.com/es

I like Andorra and do a lot of off roading based from there
But if you want to ride on some great roads i would give it a miss
It's very built up and busy
There are lots of great roads in that area ...You can't go wrong using the N260

I've been once. The valley was full of smog and it was very difficult to get lunch anywhere. I won't go out of my way to visit again.

Been once, many years ago. Saw nothing worth stopping for. A bit of a grey s**t-hole as I remember it

My son likes it when there is snow there though

Shit hole /Avoid

AP11 LAD said:

I think it is worth a look, a quick look at least. Then head for the 260 road and ride for mile after mile of fantastic roads all along the Spanish side of the Pyrenees back towards your ferry. You'll have over 200 miles on great roads.

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Doing the 260 west to east so routing back east to west on more of the French side

Cheers all I think. Will give it a miss then

Nope ...

But the N216 ( or is it the 261 is a bloody good ride for a day or so and then hook right under and round Andora back into france and home

Avoid. You have been warned.

I went.....I wouldn't go back.......Your call........

I thought it was alright

Mind you, I was only there for an afternoon, bloody busy place.

Wonkey donkey said:

Doing the 260 west to east so routing back east to west on more of the French side

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With great respect - I never understand why people do this, i.e. down one side and back the other when there are so many fantastic passes over the Pyrenees one can just hop over an back again, often three or four times in the same day.

You also have the advantage of cheaper and better accommodation in Spain and, IMHO, cheaper and better food! You can also cherry pick for there weather, especially as on the French side it's often cloud/foggy in the mornings while in Spain it's lively and sunny, contrariwise ride in France during the heat of the afternoon and return to Spain in the early evening when a) it's gets cooler quite quickly and b) you don't have to worry about late check-ins either for campings or hotel and c) you don't have to be in a hurry for your evening meal - in fact the 'challenge' is waiting until after 21.00 for the dining room to open, although you can eat tapas and fry-ups anytime more or less.

As for Andorra, yes, it's a total dump. I live an hour away and go twice a year for shopping - yes it's cheap, very very cheap, especially for pharmaceuticals, alone we save about €200 a year on Advantix, etc. for our dog! and if I time it right a full tank of diesel actually pays for the trip. But it's altogether a horrible day out ...

I'm currently working on the 'ultimate' self-guided tour plan of the Pyrenees, using a sort of subscription plan as this is - increasingly! - the 'day job', so if anyone wants to go on a mailing list for updates it will help me feel able to put in the not inconsiderable sums of money to develop the idea, which will be ready for 2018 ...



'Innocent fluffy while clouds as seen from the bottom of a Spain-France pass at about 10.00 ...



... coming down the other side into France in the afternoon - you really don't want to ride there when the fog is so thick you can't see beyond your own front wheel - don't ask me how I know this, I rode for twenty-five kms before i found a safe pave to leave the carriageway and turn back!



You'll mss this pass by just going down one side and up the other ...



... and this if you stay on the same old N-260!



... and better still if you're up for some easy trails!

Regs

Simon
PS - if the Pyrenees idea goes down well i'll do another one for the North, Basque Country, Cantabria, Asurias and Galicia, with great respect to the RIDE routes - you ain't seen nothing yet!







I've already done the hard work ...

NO to Andorra

Just got back last week from a skiing trip. I have to keep reminding myself why I go to Andorra other than for skiing. It is non stop traffic from the Spanish side and from Encamp coming from France. If you miss the priority through roads you will end up in small narrow crowded one way streets all the way through. Yes, it is great for some speciality shopping.
Some of the side valleys like La Massana or Arinsal are nice but not worth the hassle of driving in Andorra. On a good day it can be a fast trip through but if you hit traffic!!!!

CliveS said:

Just got back last week from a skiing trip. I have to keep reminding myself why I go to Andorra other than for skiing. It is non stop traffic from the Spanish side and from Encamp coming from France. If you miss the priority through roads you will end up in small narrow crowded one way streets all the way through. Yes, it is great for some speciality shopping.
Some of the side valleys like La Massana or Arinsal are nice but not worth the hassle of driving in Andorra. On a good day it can be a fast trip through but if you hit traffic!!!!

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To be a bit more even handed, the new road through is now finished so you don't have to drive/ride through the streets quite so much. And the centre of Andorra Vella - the 'capital' has now been more or less completely pedestrianised and is quite smart. But the means it looks pretty much like any other high street with the usual shopping chains. The downside of that is that the other villages, especially Santa Coloma where most of the bike shops are located have become very shoddy.

We go shopping there largely because in Spain there isn't such a culture for discount stores - we don't smoke nor drink spirits, so that's no good - and it's hopeless for computers, etc. Last time I tried this I went to the Macstore but fund in the end that its on-line 'branch, which is based in Spain so you pay VAT, is actually cheaper!

If you still want to go the best bike shops are AMR and Motocard. But neither stocks much. The best deals are end-of-line items so if you're looking for something specific you'll probably be disappointed.

Regs

Simon

We went through it almost 10 years ago on a looping ride entering from the Spanish side after riding the N260, it was between us and our planned way back on the French side of the mountains, did not see anything worth stopping / going back for, I would not avoid it if it was between where I was and where I wanted to be, but would certainly not take a detour.

As for "Scenery" well it is in the middle of the goddamn Pyrenees so of course there is good scenery - for miles in all directions, it is also fair to say that the place is also an ugly blot on this scenery.