Andorra
01 to 05/01/2015
2 adults
Itinerary
01/01 - Lisbon - Madrid
02/01 - Madrid - Andorra
03/01 - Andorra
04/01 - Andorra - Lourdes - Vitoria
05/01 - Vitoria - Lisbon
Accommodation
01-02/01 - Hotel Ibis Budget Madrid Centro las Ventas
02-04/01 - Hotel Montané
04-05/01- Hotel NH Canciller Ayala Vitória
Our Stories
In 2015 Camila still lived in Brazil and came to Portugal just to spend a few days of vacation at Christmas and New Year's Eve and as she had never seen snow before, we decided to make a quick escape to Andorra where we would certainly see a lot of snow.
The plan was to spend the year at home and go out on the 1st of January by car to Madrid and so we did.
January 1st
We left Lisbon already in the afternoon heading to Madrid so Camila could see a bit of this city too. André lived there for a year so he knows the city but since we were going to have to go there we took the opportunity to at least get to know the most popular tourist spots.
We arrived at the end of the day and looked for a hotel to stay before going to dinner. We opted for the Plaza Mayor area so that Camila would already have the opportunity to visit one of the most touristic areas in the city. In addition to the Plaza Mayor, we could also see the Royal Palace and the Cathedral of Almudena before dinner, but it was so cold that we saw little more that night. We had some tapas at a bar there and went back to the hotel.
January 2nd
The morning was dedicated to getting to know a little more about the city. As the time to visit the city was short, we focused on the area of Cibbeles, Sol, Callao, Opera and the Royal Palace before continuing on towards Andorra.
After leaving Madrid, and on the way to Andorra we stopped in Zaragoza to see the cathedral and the city center and from here we continued to Andorra.
The last kilometers between Lleida and Andorra were "painful" because there is no motorway and as it was already night it was not possible to enjoy any of the views. For a couple of hours this trip seemed endless. But we finally arrived in Andorra. Without a hotel booked, we stopped at a cafe to get access to the net and thus look for a place to accommodate us. That's how we discovered Hotel Montané.
It is located in Arinsal, right in front of the ski lifts that lead to that ski resort. The price-quality ratio seemed good when we found the hotel on the net and it proved to be a good choice.
It is an old hotel but it is well maintained, we were lucky to stay in a family room even though there were only two of us and we had a view of the cable car station. Breakfast was good and so was dinner.
It was here that Camila had her first contact with the Andorran snow. The next day would have many more opportunities!
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January 3rdo
It was a day totally dedicated to touring Andorra. We started at the Arinsal ski station as we were staying right in front of it and then we took the opportunity to visit Andorra-la-Vieja, the country's capital and some other areas of this small principality. We also took the opportunity to go for a walk to Engolasters Lake. We had been told that it was worth the visit and as the day was beautiful (despite the cold) we decided to enjoy it.
The lake cannot be said to be the most fantastic we have ever seen but the ride there was very pleasant and beautiful and well worth it. It is about 2 km on relatively flat ground and easy to do.
After this tour, we dedicate ourselves to visiting some of the most popular ski resorts in Andorra. Even without skiing, we sat in a restaurant having lunch in Soler and enjoying the views of the trail where dozens of people ventured into this winter sport.
We returned to our hotel and had dinner there before going to sleep.
January 4th
We started the return to Lisbon but as we had come through the south summit we decided to go up and make the return trip through the French Pyrenees and thus we would also have the opportunity to visit the cathedral of Lourdes.
It was a day trip with just a few stops to take photos and to see Lourdes before we arrived in Vitoria where we stayed. We stopped in Vitória at dusk and looked for a hotel to stay. Right in the city center we found the NH Canciller Ayala hotel and stopped to ask if they had availability. As they had availability and it was within the budget we had, we decided to stay.
It is a good hotel for this type of stay. Simple, clean, the rooms are level 4 * and very central in the city allowing you to walk around the center easily.
January 5th
We left Vitória in the morning heading to isbon.
We stoped for lunch in Salamanca and visited this beautiful Spanish city before returning home. We had the opportunity to see the Plaza Mayor and the beautiful cathedral of Salamanca with its Astronaut sculpted in one of the columns at the entrance of the New Cathedral. This "mystery" has a very simple explanation indeed. "The answer lies in a renovation the church underwent in 1992. The "Porta de Ramos", as the north entrance to the Cathedral is called, was badly damaged due to the action of time. During the restoration work, the sculpture of the astronaut was added by the mason Miguel Romero, under the guidance of the architect Jerómio García de Quiñones, the person responsible for the revitalization. The fact would have followed an old tradition, in which the restorers usually include some modern element whenever the church undergoes a new work of In addition to the figure of the astronaut, other amusing images were also sculpted, such as a dragon eating ice cream. Although there is a convincing explanation for the space traveler's presence on the facade of the cathedral, many people still prefer to believe in conspiracy theories. "
The truth is that with or without Astronaut the cathedral is very beautiful and worth the visit as well as the city of Salamanca.
