Mauritius

Itinerary

The Resort

Exploring the beautiful property

• Puente Andorra la Vieja:A famous bridge with Andorra La Vella written across it
• Plaça del Poble: A nice little plaza down by the river, with views of the bridge
• The Nobility of Time: A sculpture by Salvador Dali, in the plaza
• Caldea Spa: The biggest spa in Europe. We decided against going, but it was worth a look from the outside due to its unique architecture
• Church of Sant Esteve: Beautiful 12th century church

The Beach

Sun and sand

The rest of our first day was spent back in Soldeu, a smaller town back in the eastern part of the country that we picked due to recommendations from co-workers and its proximity to a main Grandvalira gondola up to the mountain. In fact, our hotel, the Hotel Himalaia Soldeu, was literally no more than a 2 minute walk from the lift, and across the street from a ski rental place, so the location couldn’t have been more convenient. The hotel itself was the perfect mix of a ski resort / lodge feel with beautiful views and all the amenities we needed, including a small spa (to relax our muscles after the next day’s skiing) and breakfast each morning. The hotel lobby was casual but cozy for a drink. 

Soldeu is basically one main street, but it packs a surprising amount of restaurants. On our first night, we wandered down to a late dinner (note: some places don’t even open until 8:00pm on the weekends) at Glassbar 1850, a more casual but still nice bar/restaurant in the Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa, which we would highly recommend. It felt like we were in an upscale chalet with fantastic food (spicy shrimp tempura, gyoza, and salmon poke) and a talented pianist to match.

Activities

Mini and real golf

The rest of our first day was spent back in Soldeu, a smaller town back in the eastern part of the country that we picked due to recommendations from co-workers and its proximity to a main Grandvalira gondola up to the mountain. In fact, our hotel, the Hotel Himalaia Soldeu, was literally no more than a 2 minute walk from the lift, and across the street from a ski rental place, so the location couldn’t have been more convenient. The hotel itself was the perfect mix of a ski resort / lodge feel with beautiful views and all the amenities we needed, including a small spa (to relax our muscles after the next day’s skiing) and breakfast each morning. The hotel lobby was casual but cozy for a drink. 

Soldeu is basically one main street, but it packs a surprising amount of restaurants. On our first night, we wandered down to a late dinner (note: some places don’t even open until 8:00pm on the weekends) at Glassbar 1850, a more casual but still nice bar/restaurant in the Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa, which we would highly recommend. It felt like we were in an upscale chalet with fantastic food (spicy shrimp tempura, gyoza, and salmon poke) and a talented pianist to match.

Transportation

Getting there & around

We usually save this section for last, but like Liechtenstein, Andorra is a bit tricky to get to because of the lack of an airport in the country itself. You basically have two options if you want to fly into a larger city – Barcelona or Toulouse – and then you drive into Andorra from there. We decided on the latter, and so we took an early flight into Toulouse from Gatwick and rented a car at the airport. We found a few buses that would take you there, some of them offered through the Andorra hotels, but we decided to go for the freedom of a rental, which would allow us to stop in Carcassonne on the way back as well.

The drive from Toulouse to Andorra La Vella was a bit long and took just under 3 hours, with the longest part coming towards the end as you wind through the mountains (although the scenery was beautiful). If you would like to have your passport stamped in Andorra, you need to specifically ask as you drive through border control at Pas de la Casa, which is first town across the border into Andorra from France. It’s just a tourist stamp, and not needed to enter the country, but we made sure to get it.