Road trip 2024 Day 12 - Loupia, Andorra and Lleida 294km
Sunday 13th October and this was our final day in France, and as we had already driven in Spain, France, Monaco and Italy, we thought why not add another country to the list and drive through Andorra before heading back over the border into Spain
The French Pyrenees are a stunning mountain range that forms a natural border between France and Spain, stretching approximately 430 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) to the Mediterranean Sea, we drove over the Catalan Pyrenees stretch, which is the easternmost section of the Pyrenees mountain range and the route provided us with some stunning natural landscapes along the way.
Road Trip 2024 Day 12 - Andorra
Driving from France into Andorra was not difficult, yes there is a border control and they do pull the occasional car over to check but we drove through without any problems. This is now our second visit to Andorra, as we spent 3 nights here back in 2019 on our 2nd road trip.
Andorra is a small, landlocked principality nestled in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Despite its size, Andorra is a popular destination known for its tax-free shopping, world-class ski resorts, and breath-taking mountain scenery even this time of year, before the first snowfall.
Road Trip 2024 Day 12
Andorra is considered a micronation. In fact, it is considered the 6th smallest state in Europe and the 16th in the world.
Some of the hairpin roads as you enter Andorra can be a bit daunting, but these are very popular with cyclists.
Many of these ski slopes are used by mountain bikers out of ski season which typically runs from late November to early April, depending on weather conditions and snow levels.
And of course the architecture is very different here, in recent decades, Andorra has embraced modernity, incorporating contemporary designs and materials while maintaining harmony with its natural surroundings, using a lot of wood, stone and glass with quite bold and innovative buildings often inspired by the surrounding mountains.
Andorra la Vella is the capital and largest city of Andorra, serving as its economic, cultural, and political hub. It’s located in a high valley at an elevation of 1,023 meters, making it Europe’s highest capital city.
It is renowned for its tax-free status, the city offers a wide range of goods, including electronics, fashion, perfumes, and luxury items, our short visit here was to fill the car up with cheap diesel, buy some cigarettes and a new camera, being a Sunday, the shops were only open until 14:00hrs, so we did not have much time to shop around but having been here before we knew exactly where to park to get to the main high street, which saved us some time.
We also enjoyed lunch here of hot chilli burgers in one of the many restaurants available in the town centre.
The official language spoken here is Catalan, although Spanish, French, and Portuguese are also widely spoken, so we found it difficult to remember what language to use.
Feed and watered and shopped out it was time to continue on our journey back over the Spanish boarder and head to our overnight accommodation which we had booked in Lleida.
A lovely coffee stop along the way, with the back drop of stunning scenery and more importantly coffee at Spanish prices again.
Our next stop was Lleida - Located in the Catalonia region of Spain, is a historic city known for its rich cultural heritage, picturesque landscapes, and strategic location on the banks of the Segre River. It’s one of Catalonia's oldest cities, blending Roman, medieval, and modern influences. As the capital of the province of Lleida, it serves as a gateway to the Pyrenees.
We arrived quite late and it was dark so headed straight to our hotel. After checking in we decided go out and explore, but for the first time ever in Spain we both felt incredibly uncomfortable and unsafe walking around, we did find an area that felt slightly safer and stopped for a glass of wine and a few croquetas but could not get back to the hotel quick enough, I did not even take the camera out, which shows you how unsafe we felt.
Road Trip 2024 Day 12
To be quit honest we really did not like this city, not sure if it was due to just picking the wrong area to stay in so we may be willing to give it a second chance is in this area again on a future road trip it again if in this area on another road trip.
Road Trip 2024 - Night 12 Accommodation - Ramon Berenguer IV - 47.22, including city tax, parking was an additional 8€
The Ramón Berenguer is located in the commercial and financial centre of Lleida, opposite the train station and the AVE (Spanish high-speed train network) terminal. The hotel was located on Lleida's Rambla de Ferrán.
We had booked a double room, which was quite spacious and had everything we needed for a one nights stay, there was a cafe outside and even this did not feel safe at night.
We were thankful that the car was parked in a secure garage attached to the hotel.
The whole area did not have a nice atmosphere at all, and although the hotel was more than adequate, we could not wait to get away in the morning.
Planning our next nights stay we could not really find anywhere suitable, but did not want to what had been a fantastic holiday on a sour note, looked again before leaving and found somewhere just outside Teruel.