On our last day in Andorra, my friends and I will be driving from Andorra to Perpignan in order to catch a train to Barcelona that evening (departs at 6.30PM / arrives at 9.45PM). We would like to do some shopping in Andorra la Vella, and make a stop in La Seu d%26#39;Urgell before heading to Perpignan.
- Is it convenient to visit Seu d%26#39;Urgell before heading to Perpignan? Will we run into any difficulty with travelling in/out of Andorra/Spain/France?
- How much time should we allot to visiting Seu d%26#39;Urgell, and for travel to Perpignan from there? Would it be sufficient to grab lunch and some quick sightseeing before taking off?
- Also, does anyone have any idea what the Roser d%26#39;Ordino festival is all about? I have surfed online for hours and have not found anything (at least, anything in English) that tells me what the festival is or what festivities to expect.... All we know is it falls during the period we will be in Andorra
Thanks!
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You should count on at least 2 hours to drive down from La Seu to Perpignan.
You will have to go through customs when leaving Andorra (which is not part of the EU). They are rather strict !
IMO you should do your shopping in Andorra la Vieja the day before and leave Ordino early in the morning to enjoy a leisurely drive down. The road from Pas de les Cases down to la Seu through the Puymorens Pass will be very busy.
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Hi Pvoyageuse,
What if we skip La Seu? Can we shop in Andorra in the morning and then make our way down to Perpignan? It looks like the drive will take 2-3 hours. If we leave Andorra at lunch time, can we still take a leisurely drive to Perpignan? How much time should we allot to going through customs?
Thanks!
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Last summer they did not even stop us as we drove thru customs maybe it was because of the rental car .... they just flagged us thru!
We saw many French police stopping cars and going thru the cig. and counting the cartons but ... they never even stopped us.
We only spent about 200 euros because we thought the prices of many things were so much higher than what you can get in the USA at Costco.
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Be sure to fill your car up with gas in Andorra it is so much cheaper than France!
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%26quot;If we leave Andorra at lunch time, can we still take a leisurely drive to Perpignan? %26quot;
Yes, certainly. However, you%26#39;ll have to drop off your car at the rental agency. Is it anywhere near the station? They are completely remodelling the area (works started last week and are supposed to last a year !) and it is going to be a real mess gettiing there.
%26quot;How much time should we allot to going through customs?%26quot;
It depends on the line of cars ahead of you. I%26#39;d say half an hour at most, but you never know. Since Andorra is not part of the UE, the number of cigarette cases and alcoholic beverages you can take back to France is limited. Perfumes are no cheaper than in France.
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Thanks for all the advice - we%26#39;ll definitely remember to get gas in Andorra!
We are going to arrange to drop off the rental car at the Perpignan train station, so hopefully it won%26#39;t be too bad. I%26#39;m glad we%26#39;re alloting extra time, given the possible mess....
I don%26#39;t think we%26#39;re planning on buying tons of cigarettes or alcohol, given that we will be hopping a train from Perpignan into Barcelona, and will likely be lugging backpacks. So hopefully that will not be a problem! How is the rest of the shopping in Andorra La Vella?
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Hi Pvoyageuse and Discover,
I am one of twocupsofjoe%26#39;s travelling partners. Thanks for your advice. I%26#39;d like to know a couple more things, if you are able to tell me.
- If we decide to skip La Seu d%26#39;Urgell, is there a faster way to Perpignan, instead of having to leave Andorra, enter Spain and then France?
- There are 5 of us who will be in the rented car. None of us are smokers so no ciggies there, but prob some alcohol. But we%26#39;re heading to Spain after that, and I%26#39;ve heard that food and drink are pretty well priced there. If that%26#39;s true, should we bother buying any alcohol - because if we don%26#39;t, is it likely we%26#39;ll get past customs much more quickly?
Thanks so much for your help guys!
=)
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%26quot;We are going to arrange to drop off the rental car at the Perpignan train station, so hopefully it won%26#39;t be too bad. I%26#39;m glad we%26#39;re alloting extra time, given the possible mess.%26quot;...
As you reach Perpignan, follow the sign %26quot;centre ville-gare%26quot; at the first roundabout. Continue straight ahead for about 3 km until you see a bridge. Drive under it and turn right immediately after the bridge on avenue du Conflent. The station is 100 m further away.
%26quot;How is the rest of the shopping in Andorra La Vella?%26quot;
CD%26#39;s, electronic equipment, cameras, watches, sunglasses, etc... are cheaper than in France. There is a big department store on the main street of the city.
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- %26quot;If we decide to skip La Seu d%26#39;Urgell, is there a faster way to Perpignan, instead of having to leave Andorra, enter Spain and then France?%26quot;
No, there is only one direct way to drive from Andorra to Perpignan (you don%26#39;t have to enter Spain at all). Drive from Andorra la Vella to Pas de las Cases, enter France, drive down the Puymorens pass down to Latour de Carol and turn left to get to Mont-Louis through Col de la Perche. The other road (through Ax-les-Thermes) takes much longer.
- %26quot;There are 5 of us who will be in the rented car. None of us are smokers so no ciggies there, but prob some alcohol. But we%26#39;re heading to Spain after that, and I%26#39;ve heard that food and drink are pretty well priced there. If that%26#39;s true, should we bother buying any alcohol - because if we don%26#39;t, is it likely we%26#39;ll get past customs much more quickly?%26quot;
It is certainly not worth carrying umpteen bottles down from Andorra when they are almost as cheap in Spain. I would not bother unless you really want to save a few €.. If you buy strong liquors in Spain (whisky, gin, vodka, etc...) read the labels and buy those who are NOT bottled in Spain but in Scotland, the UK, etc... The alcohol is not the same.
Re customs : it really depends. You will be in a long line of cars and they check at random.
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Thanks SO much Pvoyageuse, you%26#39;re a gem! =)
twocupsofjoe - maybe we%26#39;ll just skip La Seu, esp if we%26#39;re not going to be doing any rafting/hydrospeeding/canoeing - would love to though!
Pvoyageuse - it doesn%26#39;t sound like we%26#39;ll save much on shopping so we might just delete it altogether from our itinerary to save time. Seeing that we%26#39;ll only have about 3-4 hours, where do you think we should spend our time at - La Seu or Perpignan?
Once again, thanks for your fantastic input - we really appreciate it!
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