Almost hidden in the confluence of three valleys deep in the Pyrenees, wedged between France and Spain, the 66,000-population, 180-square-mile Principality of Andorra has become a recreational powerhouse for skiing, hiking, camping and SHOPPING.

Merchandise here is duty-free and, for now, also free of high European Union sales taxes.

Andorra has been more or less indpendent since the 1200s, when the Spanish archbishop and a rival French prince agreed to share it instead of fighting over it; a home-rule "Council of the Land" took over day-to-day governance in the 1400s. Although Andorra is technically still a "parliamentary co-principality," it joined the United Nations in 1993, has an elected president, and considers itself a sovereign nation.

This is high, rugged country: its lowest point, near the Spanish border, is still 2,756 feet above sea level. The highest is 9,562 feet --- a huge difference in altitude for such a small territory. The skiing facilities at Pas de la Casa are said to be the best in the Pyrenees; a visitors’ guidebook boasts of 60 "hotels and pensions" in the central area alone, offering 5,626 beds. (Who could resist the "Funicamp" --- reachable only by cablecar?)

You won’t be bored in Andorra.

Quick Tips:

It was hard to find English speakers in Andorra. The principal language is Catalan, which resembles Spanish with borrowings from French and Portugese but has syllables and sounds foreign to all of them. A working knowledge of Spanish does help considerably.

Euros are the only currency you’ll need.

The Tourist Information Office where the three valleys intersect had English speakers who gave me almost a half-pound of maps, guides, brochures, and a 108-page hotel directory. There are similar centers, marked with a large blue (i), in other visitor-intensive locations.

A couple I met downtown told me that they were staying in St. Julia de Loria, a few miles down the valley toward Spain, because it was quieter and more "laid-back." After visiting there myself, I agree --- although it had a huge outlet shopping mall just beyond downtown. Were I to return to Andorra --- and I likely will --- I would probably spend at least a night in Soldeau or Canillo. (See "Road from France.") Prices in four- and five-star hotels there ranged from 40-150 euros/night, according to the government-published guide, varying by season.

Useful Addresses:

www.turisme.ad (Ministry of Tourism & Culture) tourisme@andorra.ad

www.uha.ad (Hotel Assn. of Andorra) uhotelera@internet.ad

http://www.seat61.com/Andorra.htm

Best Way To Get Around:

Local transit buses run as far as Pas de la Casa (limited service) on the east and St. Julia de Loria to the southwest. Service between St. Julia and Encamp is fairly frequent, two or three trips per hour, with somewhat less frequent service to Canillo and Soldeau. Buses stop only at designated locations. Fares are around one euro with no transfers; pay a new fare each time you re-board. Many of the "local" buses use longer-haul equipment with plush, and often reclining, seats.

You can hire a taxi with driver for EU 20/hour; a good bet for serious photographers wanting to stop at scenic spots along the way. Eight buses per day connect with the French rail system at La Tour de Carol or L’Hospitalet, at EU 9.30 per one-way ride to the former. You can catch these buses at designated stops along the main highway (Avinduga Meritxell in the businss district). Buses to Spain leave from the main terminal on the southwest side of Andorra la Vella.

The highway from France may be shut down during winter snowstorms!

This large (177-room) hotel earns four out of five stars in the official government rating system and I agree with that assessment.

Appropriately named, the Panorama is built into the side of a high ridge with a commanding view of the three valleys below; the main entrance, on the bypass highway toward Spain, is on the fifth floor! The hotel is in two sections, sharing a large reception and dining area. The lower floors, built into the hillside, have west-facing rooms only. Every guest, at least on the third and fourth floors, has a fine view. (The photo "Morning Sunlight" was from my room at the Panorama.) Floors 6-10 are in a tower rising above the ridge and highway, and appeared to be reserved for tour groups or higher-paying guests.

Fortunately for the car-less, there’s an elevator from the lobby down to a back entrance about a block from the main street. It’s at the end of an obscure alley leading uphill from an only slightly less obscure little plaza across from the Church of St. Pere. Unless you find an English speaker who knows where to look, you’ll probably have to take a taxi to the Panorama’s main entrance when you first arrive. This somewhat awkward location may be one reason the Panorama lacks the fifth star. Another could be the lack of air conditioning, although this wasn’t a serious problem in the high mountain climate of Andorra.

My room had two large beds, plenty of space, and cable TV. The bathroom, too, was spacious and well-equipped with complimentary toiletries. At roof level, there was a heated, indoor swimming pool, about 25 by 50 feet, with a small jacuzzi. These, alas, were largely claimed by familiy groups with many children. A recreation room contained several coin-operated video arcade games and a pay-per-game pool table.

The young people at the front desk were very friendly and efficient, but not totally comfortable with the English language. All did well on the usual tourist topics --- reservations, rates, directions, dining options etc. --- but not all could discuss more complicated questions. ("How is your country governed?", for example.)

The main restaurant had marvelous views through a semi-circular glass rotunda, but the buffet-only dinner wasn’t especially outstanding. Dinner service didn’t begin until 8pm, an unfortunate but prevalent European custom. A pastry/snack shop served light orders throughout the day and early evening.

The complimentary breakfast buffet had no hot meat dishes but offered plenty of cold meats, cheeses and bakery items as well as a very well-stocked fruit and cereal bar.

I was booked on a special promotional rate that may no longer be available: 43 euros, with breakfast, in mid-summer. Though short of five-star amenities, the Panorama is a better-than-average tourist (or business) hotel and would have been well worth it at twice the price. I liked it well enough to extend my stay an extra night.

With a semi-circular wall of glass commanding glorious views, and beautifully set tables with crisply starched pink linens, this was one of the most attractive restaurants of my European travels. Too bad the food was "ok" but not "great."

This is a buffet-only restaurant. There WAS a generously stocked salad bar with a wide variety of greens, tomatoes and crudites and platters of varying cheeses. The fruit/dessert bar was equally plentiful. Unfortunately, the main buffet had only one cooked meat entree, pork tenderloin on this particular night, and a few seafood options. Worse, they were more lukewarm than hot. Menu selections change nightly, and it’s possible there would have been a greater variety on another evening.

The less-than-attentive beverage waiter had wines only by the bottle or half-bottle; if a bottle was too much for one night, he could label it with my room number and save it for the next. However, a very good regional red, Torres Corona, was only 5.75 euros the half-bottle. At that price, one could afford to waste the last glass.

This is not a bad restaurant and I was very glad to have it available when a window-rattling rainstorm kept me from venturing downtown. I was just disappointed because given its gorgeous setting and decor, it could have been far more memorable. (See the hotel entry for a photo.) If you’re already at the Panorama, this is a worthwhile dinner option. If you’re staying elsewhere, it’s probably not worth a special trip.

As was the case with practically every decent restaurant I’d scouted the previous evening, the buffet at the Panorama didn’t open for dinner until 8pm.

Alternative Recommendation: The restaurant at Hotel Valira, Av. Carlemany near Placa Santa Anna. Classic Continental menu and classically attentive Old-World service, but in a bright, airy room rather than the bistro-like atmosphere so often found. Takes credit cards; dinner begins at 8pm.

Tourists wave gaily from an open-top deck. An overpriced tour on a double-decker bus? Nope. An inter-city passenger train on France’s national rail system, crossing the Pyrenees en route from the Mediterranean seacoast to a nostalgia-crammed village called "La Tour de Carol" and a bus connection on to the equally ancient principality of Andorra.

Le Train Jaune --- the Little Yellow Train --- is primarily a popular tourist attraction. I’m probably one of the few truly through passengers, having joined it after riding an overnight sleeper train from the Italian Riviera to the French port of Perpignan and, from there, a connecting train to the foothills community of Villefranche. From here, the Yellow Train twists and turns over a narrow-gauge mountain railroad, crossing several picturesque viaducts and gorges as it surmounts a 5,223-foot-high pass. That’s not high, as mountain passes go, but it’s steep; we’re still less than 50 miles from sea level. Allowing time for the change of trains at Villefranche and some sightseeing stops en route, we’ll take nearly four hours to traverse just 65 rail miles.

The open-air car is already almost full when my connecting train arrives, but friendly passengers lift my luggage aboard and find me a seat. Most of them are tourists out for a morning’s excursion; a few are hikers or campers using the Yellow Train as I am: for connections even further inland. You’ll need to be compatible with strangers here: the conventional train cars have lights but we don’t; tunnels will be totally dark and it can take several minutes to pass through some of the longer ones.

There are several classic stone viaducts to cross, plus some white-knuckle ravines where the trestles are narrower than the width of the car; nothing to see but rocks and river w-a-a-a-y down below. At Olette/Canaveilles les Bains, and again at Mont-Louis, the conductor announces a 15-minute stop to await a train coming the opposite way. We’re free to hop off and photograph it, explore nearby buildings, or wander down the road to commune with nature. A map and trip brochure shows many old churches, monasteries, and historic ruins that one could explore by staying behind and reboarding a later train. Throngs of passengers do leave our train during these "meets" --- and the other train’s passengers join ours --- as day-trippers reverse course in mid-journey. Others continue to La Tour de Carol and return by bus.

At La Tour de Carol, regional express trains run south to Barcelona and north to Toulouse on convenient schedules. The backpackers and I will have an hour and a quarter to wander around the depot and adjoining hotel/restaurant and pick up schedules for future excursions. The village proper, about a mile and a quarter away, has some centuries-old ruins and an active hotel that looks almost that old.

Cook’s European Timetable calls the La Tour-Barcelona train "One of Europe’s scenic rail journeys." I concur --- but "The Little Yellow Train" beats it handily.

I knew I’d enjoy Andorra before we ever got near the main city. We’d climbed into the mid-Pyrenees in an open-top railcar to reach the bus connection at La Tour de Carol, France; now, our bus has just crossed the French/Andorran border by ascending one of the most tortuous sequences of hairpin and reverse curves within memory. I’m in the shotgun seat, looking DOWN at clouds shrouding the ski lifts at Pas de la Casa. When we crest the pass at Port d’Envalira, 7,900 feet above sea level, the road ahead unwinds in loops and coils below us like the unravelling of a fancy Christmas bow. We can see where we’re going, a cluster of buiildings in a narrow cleft in the mountains just a few miles away, but it will take us more than a half-hour to get there.

We’re on RN 20, one of two main roads into Andorra. The other, lower and less precipitous, runs southeast through Spain and offers direct bus connections between Andorra la Vella and Barcelona. Buses serving France connect with trains between Toulouse and La Tour de Carol or the more northern town of L’Hospitalet. (Where a huge contingent of hikers and campers boarded our northbound train later that week.) The bus to La Tour also connects with trains to Barcelona, a scenic alternative to the direct bus from Andorra la Vella.

Here are some of the mountain communities along the La Tour-Andorra highway and my impressions of them:

La Tour de Carol. A very picturesque old village, about a mile and a quarter up a moderate hill from the rail station. Nearby, we passed the ruins of an early brick kiln or other basic industry. The road north of here follows the railroad through a very attractive, and walkable, river valley. This would be a fine place for a hiking enthusiast to spend a half-day or so. Train photographers could capture some nice images of the tracks along the river.

Pas de la Casa. A few miles short of the summit, this is where we pass French and Andorran Customs/Immigration facilities. The duty-free stores begin less than 100 yards beyond the reach of French tax collectors, proof that shopping is as important as skiing to the modern Andorran economy. Continuing uphill, we pass several long ski lifts radiating upward from a large base camp. This is said to be the largest and best ski facility in the Pyrenees. Pas de la Casa Village had a least one hotel that appeared to have the amenities a North American visitor would want.

Soldeau. A small, attractive collection of chalet-like lodges lining the highway for a few hundred yards. 6,046 feet above sea level and near what the map identifies as a "summer activities zone."

Canillo A moderate-sized community notable for old stone houses and religious buildings progressing in tiers up the mountainside. The official government tourist guide lists one five-star hotel (The Ski Plaza) and six four-star hotels here. We’re at a more moderate 1,525 meter (5,003 foot) altitude now, and in the heart of another "summer activities zone."

Encamp. Encamp is at the foot of a steep, 3-mile hill culminating in a sharp reverse curve; a nice photo opportunity had the sun been in the right place. Near here is a roadside park featuring a 50- to 80-foot stone monolith shaped like a giant fang and pocked with strange-looking indentations. A monument from a long-lost civilization? No, a very modern climbing wall. Encamp is home to the serious hikers, climbers and backpackers. Access for casual walkers was hampered by hilly, winding, shoulderless highways bereft of sidewalks. However, the surrounding hills and river basin were laced with trails: some of them paved and gentle enough for my 66-year-old legs, others unpaved, steep, and without handholds, and clearly meant for more experienced hikers. The guidebook showed only two four-star hotels and some two- and three-star ones here. It’s about 4 1/2 miles from Encamp to the business district in Escaldes.

Fog --- actually, low-hanging clouds --- can be a hazard at the higher altitudes on this highway. And, THE PASS MAY BE CLOSED during winter snowstorms.

Think of a somewhat lopsided "Y." The Gran Riu Valira d‘Orient (Great River of the East) courses down a steep, narrow valley to form the right-hand leg. From the left, down another mountain valley, comes the Riu Valira Nord. Where they come together to form "The Great River Valira" is the country’s metropolitan center and home of most of its people.

Most of the (extremely modest) government buildings and public facilities are in Andorra la Vella, the Capitol. Escaldes, to the east, has most of the in-city hotels and the toniest shops. Engordany, sprawled amongst the hills and along the cliffs north of downtown, is the primary residential section.

First-time visitors will encounter a strange blend of medieval custom and modern practicality. The governing council still meets in a small, 500-year-old stone building that served as a dormitory and stable for members who lived too far up in the mountains to ride home at night. Many maps don’t even show the capitol building; the practical-minded and space-starved Andorrans built a parking lot atop it. However, just steps from the Old City and its narrow lanes and stone bridges, one finds a main street lined with the shops of Gucci, Prada and the rest of the high-bracket elites.

Planning a walking tour takes some faith and guesswork: streets that appear to intersect on the map may actually be separated by 50 or 100 feet of stairway, or not connected at all. When in doubt, follow the rivers downstream. The eastern river, in particular, has some lovely, tranquil walkways along its banks, insulating one from the river of tourists a block away on the main drag.

The buses from France enter Escaldes down a steep, winding hill; you can begin your walking tour at the first bus stop inside the built-up area. It’s about 25 minutes downhill from there to the city center, but don’t just follow the main street. If your legs are able, climb the stone stairway behind the little waterfall near the bus stop. This is the beginning of a hiking trail that continues several miles to Encamp (A haven for the backpacker crowd). The first long flight of steps will take you to a high ridge with a panoramic view of the city.

The building with the large McDonald’s sign is on the edge of a must-visit little riverfront park, where some of my favorite Andorra photos were taken. The ancient stone bridge pictured below is on Placa Santa Anna, an easy entry for exploring an old residential neighborhood. Near here, back on the main street, is la Eglelsa Saint Pere Martir --- the Roman Catholic Church. Many tourists joined the locals for Mass here on the evening I visited. It’s a relatively plain church but the sanctuary is just that ---a place to restore tranquility to the soul. I’m non-religious, but I enjoyed a few minutes there nonetheless.

The modernistic glass-spired structure that dominates the skyline near the confluence of rivers is the Caldea, "a monument to the paradise of water," symbolizing the Principality’s renowned spa waters.

Walking to the Caldea will take you to where the north and east branches of the river come together. Turning left will take you along a large boulevard leading back to the main shopping street. There are plenty of benches along here and, where Avinduga Consell d’Europ and Avinduga Meritxell come together, Andorra’s main tourist information center.

This is a good place to pause, stock up on maps and guidebooks, and rest on one of the benches while planning your further explorations. To visit the government buildings and other historic sites, you’ll need to be walking uphill from now on.