Andorra provides an exciting cultural life. Each
year, its permanent infrastructures offer more and more events
at the National Auditorium of Andorra (Ordino), the Government
Exhibition Hall (Andorra la Vella), the Lauredià Cultural
and Congress Centre (Sant Julià de Lòria), the
theatre and Congress of Andorra la Vella, and many other cultural
centres in various towns.
Heritage
Visitors will be surprised by the large number of churches
scattered throughout the country. These remarkably sober monuments
are an integral part of the landscape.
Andorra belongs to a geographical zone in which Romanesque
art experienced its most vigorous cultural revival. The concentration
of Romanesque churches and chapels in such a small area is
unique .
Among the gems of Romanesque art, we find : Sant Joan de Caselles
(canillo), Sant Romà de les Bons (Encamp), Sant Martí
de la Cortinada (Ordino), Sant Climent de Pal (La Massana),
Santa Coloma (Andorra la Vella) or Sant Serni de Nagol (Sant
Julià de Lòria), Sant Miquel d’Engolasters
(Escaldes-Engordany).
Secular architecture is represented by the Margineda Bridge
(Andorra la Vella), the largest medieval bridge in the Principality,
and the Sant Antoni bridge (la Massana).
museum pass
Visit all the museums of the country with discounted rates during one year (12 Euros per person, 10 Euros from 2 to 6 persons, 8 Euros over 7 persons and free for children under 12).
List of musemums included in the pass : Motorbike Museum, Automobile Museum, House Casa Cristo, Sacred Art Museum, MW Electricity Museum, Cal Pal Mill Museum, Center for the Interpretation of Nature in la Cortinada, House Casa d'Areny-Plandolit, Post Museum, Miniature Museum, Center for the Interpretation of Romanesque Andorra, House Casa Rull, Forge Rossell, Comic Museum, Perfume Museum, Art Center of Escaldes-Engordany, Center for the interpretation of water and Madriu Valley and Tobacco Museum.
Tickets may be purchased in any Tourist Information Bureau or in any museum of the country.
Museums
House of Areny Plandolit :This noble mansion,
built in 1633, has undergone many alterations and enlargements,
the most important of which took place in the middle of the
19th century. Most of the original rooms have been preserved
: the cellar, the library, ... as a symbol of its glorious
past.
National Automobile Museum :
This museum presents over 90 vehicles, close to one hundred
cycles and a great number of scale models.
Motorcycle Museum : The Canillo Motorcycle Museum is the first of its kind in Andorra. It houses a dynamic collection that will be updated and includes the most remarkable, representative machines of all time, from the beginning of the 20th century up to today.
www.m2r.ad
Postal Museum : A new, original
presentation of the history of Andorra's postal service.
House Museum Rull: An ancestral family home reflecting the
way of life in Andorra at the end of the 19th and beginning
of the 20th Century.
Entrance fee for each museum = 1,20 € /pax (senior citizens,
groups and students), 2,40 € /pax (adults).
Pins Museum : Over 110 different themes,
for more than 66000 pins. This unique museum (the only one
of its kind in the world) holds the Guiness World Record for
"largest pin collection".
Free admission.
Art Center of Escaldes-Engordany (C.A.E.E) : The Art Center of Escaldes-Engordany is an historical edifice of the 30's.
It houses a room dedicated to Josep Viladomat where we can see his sculptures made in bronzes, marbles and plasters. We can also admire feminine bodies inspired by the "Noucentisme". All is based on the first floor.
The room of the art roman's models presents the mains witnesses of the andorran architecture and you can also discover the art roman's peculiarities.
Free visits.
www.e-e.ad
Christianity Museum : Orthodox
religious films, over 200 documentary books and a hundred
icons : the artistic expression of Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
and Byzantine orthodox art from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Siadristyi Miniature Museum: Nicolaï Siadristyi's miniatures
are only visible through microscopic lenses (x 300 !)
Entrance fees for each museum = 3,00 € /pax (adults),
2,40 € /pax (groups), 1,80 € /pax (children and
disabled).
Casa Cristo Museum : This traditional Andorran
dwelling is interesting from an historical and ethnographical
point of view (parts preserved from the original structure
and furniture).
www.encamp.ad
Entrance fee = 0,60 € /pax (adults).
Tobacco Museum : An exhibition of the different
tools, devices and other hiden secrets in the manufacture
and processing of tobacco herb during the first half of the
XXth century.
Entrance fees = 5 € / person (adults) , 3,50 € /
person (retired and students) free for children under 8.
www.museudeltabac.com
Perfume Museum : An exciting trip throughout
the history of perfume: tendences, values, taste and needs
of the different periods.
Free entrance.
www.julia.ad
Museum of the Rocks : The aim of this brand new museum in the open air is to make discover the geological patrimony of Andorra throughout 3 free itineraries : the Garden of the Rocks, the geological tour and the tour around the granite architecture.
www.roquesalcarrer.ad
The Electricity Museum : it is located on the ground floor of the FEDA (Forces Elèctriques d’Andorra) hydroelectric plant.
It is split into three areas :
-
a scientific area for electrical energy
- an exhibition room showing the way electricity arrived in Andorra in 1934 and how it changed locals’ lives
- a space with workshops and pedagogical interactive experiments, mainly aimed at school children.
The museum offers guided tours and an audio guide service in four languages.
www.museumw.ad
Cartoon Art Museum : The Fontetes Hall in La Massana becomes the headquarters of the world of comics. All year long, many exhibitions and conferences held by great designers will delight all comic funs. Unmissable !
Botanical Garden : The Pardines Road, 1630m high and 3km long, links les Pardines and the Engolasters Lake. All along the road 13 delimited areas reprensent 13 different habitats. Visitors will enjoy all along the path the trees, their fuits, the plants and their traditional use throughout information boards.
Cultural visits
Casa de la Vall: Casa de la Vall is an emblematic
building because of its historical significance. The house
was built in 1580. In 1702 it was acquired by the Consell
General to seat the parliamentary assembly.
Social unrest and differences at the end of the 16th Century
explain the presence of a number of defensive features in
a building inspired by Catalan farmhouses.
Free admission but reservations are necessary.
Sanctuaries of Meritxell : Our
Lady of Meritxell, symbol of the national identity of Andorra
and of popular devotion, was declared the patron saint of
the valleys by the Consell General in 1873. On September 8th,
1972 a fire destroyed the sanctuary. In 1974, the Consell
General commissioned the construction of a new sanctuary to
the architect Ricardo Bofill.
Free admission but reservations are necessary.
La Cortinada centre of historical
Interpretation : This centre shelters rehabilitated
industrial facilities from the Valley d’Ordino : the
Sole millstone (17th Century), the ensemble of Cal Pal (16th
and 17th Centuries) and the church dedicated to Sant Martí,
building of Romanesque origins.
Entrance fees for each museum = 2,40 € /pax (adults)
0,90 € /pax (groups, senior citizens and students) Free
for Children (under 7 years old).
www.vallordino.ad
Romanesque Andorra - Interpretation Centre : The Interpretation Centre located in Era i Ereta Torres
de Pal was created with the objective of teaching and
interpreting the history of Romanesque art in Andorra.
Open from May to September.
Nature Interpretation Centre: In
a multi-image conceptual film called the "History of
Mankind and of the Valley of Ordino", a droplet of water
describes the relative connivance between Man and Nature...
A graphic and artistic presentation that leads the visitor
to an interactive exhibition on the fauna and flora of various
natural environments: rocks and scree fields, meadows, lakes
and wetlands, forests, underbrush and scrub.
Entrance fees: 3,70 € / pax (adults), 2,50 € / pax
(groups), 1,80 € / pax (senior citizens and students),
free for children (under 12 years old).
www.vallordino.ad
Gastronomy
In Andorra, you may go to a local "borda" serving typical
dishes or to an international restaurant, it is always a pleasure
to sit down at any table for a meal.
Among many specialities, enjoy the « trinxat »
(cooked with cabbage, potatoes and bacon) and various cooked
meats such as donja, bringuera, bull ….
In order to view the list of restaurants in each parish, click on the map below :
Traditions
During the local festivities and other celebrations, Andorra
shows off its traditional culture, typical dances such as
the " marratxa" (Sant Julià de Lòria),
the "ball de Santa Anna" (Escaldes-Engordany), the
" contrepàs" (Andorra la Vella) or the "sardana".
Other outdoor events take place every year during the Carnival
(in Encamp),such as the "Danse de l’Ours"and
the "Pantomine des Contrebandiers".
Click here to learn more about the cultural activities that will be held in the country for the forthcoming year.
