Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra and, at 1,023 metres above sea level, the highest capital city in Europe. It sits in the Valira river valley surrounded by the Pyrenean mountains, and despite being the political and commercial centre of the micro-state, it retains a genuinely small-town feel.
The Barri Antic (Old Quarter) is the historic heart of the city, where winding cobblestone streets and stone houses give a sense of what Andorra looked like before the duty-free shops arrived. The Casa de la Vall, a 16th-century building that served as Andorra's parliament since 1702, is the most significant historic building in the capital and is open to visitors.
The city has become a shopping destination drawing visitors from France and Spain looking for cheap electronics, tobacco, and alcohol, but there is more here than retail. Andorra has a surprising number of museums given its size — the National Car Museum, the Matrioshka Russian Doll Museum, and the Ordino Museum of Miniatures are among the more eccentric examples of the country's fondness for specialist collections.