Llívia is a Spanish enclave inside French territory — about three kilometres from Puigcerdà and reached by a short corridor road that crosses no border. Its anomalous status dates to the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, which redrew the frontier across the Cerdanya valley but exempted Llívia because of its formal status as a town.
The old village sits on a small hill, with a hexagonal medieval castle ruin at the top and steep stone lanes below. The Farmàcia Esteva, in operation since 1415, is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe and is now a small museum of historic apothecary instruments. The walk up to the castle from the village takes ten minutes and gives a clear view of how completely France surrounds the place.