With a population of around 22,000, the world's highest-altitude capital city (1,023 metres) has been Andorra's main settlement since 1278 and much of its old quarter dates from this period, with some great little Romanesque churches, the former government house Casa de la Vall, and other medieval gems.

But these days this Barri Antic is largely outweighed by modern construction, especially centred around duty-free shopping - with more than 2,000 retail outlets - which for many years made it a magnet especially for Spaniards (and in fact more than 40% of its inhabitants today are Spaniards). These days it's not quite as big a bargain tax-wise, but it's still considered a kind of shopping "paradise," especially for fashion, jewelry, watches, perfume, sporting goods, electronics, and more.


Tiia Monte