London,
12
September
2014
|
16:38
Europe/London

ANDORRA V WALES…it’s not all about football!

This week, the nation of Andorra hosted the Welsh football team for a Euro 2016 qualifier. We were invited to speak on BBC Radio Wales to explain to Welsh fans, they key highlights of the destination.

So where is Andorra?

Located in the eastern Pyrenees, Andorra is a tiny principality at the bottom of France and top of Spain. The nearest airports are Toulouse or Barcelona both of which are about a two and a half hour drive.

As a direct comparison, the population is half the size of Swansea!

What kind of place is it?

Stunning! It is very popular with British travellers as a ski destination, many people travel to Andorra for their first experience of skiing, it is less expensive than the Alps and has a wide range of accommodation and resorts for all pockets and tastes. In the summer it is a super sporting destination packed with walkers, hikers and bikers.

It’s a bit of a tax haven isn’t it?

It is tax free so plenty of duty free shopping! It also means that as a holiday destination it is less expensive than most of Europe. It always comes out as one of the best value destinations in the Post Office currency exchange survey.

The talk today is all about the Andorran football team of course but the country is sports mad generally isn’t it?

Over the years the sports facilities have developed and more and more famous sporting events are held there.

Every year they hold a triathlon and ultratrail. This weekend is the Trail of the Nations, the Motorcycling World Championships, other events include Mountain Bike World Championships in 2015 and they have hosted stages of the Tour de France and Vuelta de Espana. In the winter, next year the Alpine Skiing European Cup takes place in March and the Speed Skiing World Championships in February. – February 2015.

Events aren’t all dedicated to sport, there is an annual Music and Wine Festival in the summer and next year will be the third year that Cirque du Soleil perform for free in the capital city of Andorra la Vella.

What’s so special about the place?

Andorra is a stunning country. As a comparison to Wales, Snowdon is 1085 metres high, Andorra has over 65 peaks over 2,000 meters high, that makes for a sunning landscape in the summer and winter.

Any country that has a national gastronomy that is a hybrid of France and Spain is one to love! 

Boilerplate

Images from left to right:

1. Abriendo Mentes, Costa Rica, Copyright KateHood.com
2. Nuevas Esperanzas, Nicaragua 
3. Vidarte Space, Brazil