Andorra La Vella

Back on our bus, we wind back down the side of the mountain with Andorra's capital city, Andorra La Vella, below us, the highest capital city in Europe, higher than the highest point in the whole of England. The valley is obvious in this photo. It's also obvious why this place became inhabited many thousands of years ago. I understand the Pyrenees doesn't have many passes and this area became an obvious oasis for early people. There was always going to be an Andorra. The Pyrenees rises gradually from the Spanish side, in what are technically called foothills. There's less of the dramatic cliff edges one would expect from one of Europe's major mountain ranges, but the Pyrenees does have plenty in Spain and France. We're in the more hospital parts.