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In many ways Andorra seems like Luxembourg gone south - sparklingly clean, eminently wealthy and ultra-organized. Crossing the virtually non-existent border from France to Andorra is a confusing affair. You are not quite sure when you have hit the principality (the transition from one place to another is barely signaled) and once inside, it’s anyone’s guess what language you should be speaking. With a little further exploration and a few false starts you’ll discover that the official lingo is Catalan, followed by Spanish and then French. And if you can’t stretch your linguistic skills to any of these, in most places English will do just fine. With over ten million visitors passing through the borders each year, this is a people used to diversity and at times you could not be blamed for thinking that everyone has been to English speaking finishing school in Switzerland.

Andorra doesn’t do ‘tack’ and those looking for kitsch would be well advised to look elsewhere. But those in search of up market fashion labels will have difficulty containing both themselves and their bank balances. In the main city, Andorra La Vella, Prada, Armani and Lacroix paraphernalia cry out to the buyer from sumptuously decorated shop windows. The duty free prices make compulsive purchasing a tad more attractive than elsewhere. The new trend for Europeans may be to fly to Dubai and New York for their shopping but that comes with a serious risk of jetlag. If you don’t want to go that far there is always Andorra and while not quite on the same scale in terms of size, it’s not to be sniffed at for variety. Apart from the high-end labels, there is a good mid market range in the shops that stretch the length of the pretty main street and into the side streets beyond.

Well known for its ski resorts in winter, it also attracts large numbers in the summer season. Mid-week in early June was almost eerily quiet in the villages, but we were assured that come mid-month and continuing into September the place fills with summer revelers, mostly families. A huge number of Spanish tourists visit to escape the heat of the cities and breathe in the mountain air. It is also proving popular with the Russians, many of whom in recent times have been busy redistributing their burgeoning wealth in the four and five star resorts.

Hewn into the eastern Pyrenees, it is only 468 square kilometers in size, the landscape a winding strip of gorges and narrow valleys surrounded by scaling mountains. Much of the land is forested, but there are several areas of rich pastureland in the valleys. With four rivers and several mountain lakes there is a lot crammed into this small circumference, but there is a feeling of fresh air and spaciousness.

For the few remaining travelers insisting on going au naturelle – refusing to invest in the most brilliant invention of modern times, the satellite navigation system - there is very little risk of getting lost. Unless, of course, they are on an unguided tour of the mountain terrain, where only the goats fear to tread. There is just one main road stretching the length of the principality, and it is a pretty good one. Buildings are simple and elongated, with foundations struck into the sides of the valley; plain stonework and simple wood finishes are made to blend with the landscape. There is not a hint of the decorative white cottages of Andalucia nor the sun baked red roofs of the Algarve, these are designed in harmony with the backdrop of the Pyrenees. Andorra is to landscape what minimalism is to interiors – there is no fear of finding the frilly or decorative.

Following the road south from the French border, Andorra la Vella lies where the tributaries of the Valira River merge. While home to a fine 12th-century church and the Casa de la Vall, the ancient seat of government, it is neither Florence nor Venice when it comes to cultural richness. Let’s say that the focal attraction for visitors lies in more consumer-friendly, but tasteful, activities. So bringing a credit card is highly advisable. Local legend has it that Andorra's modern role as a centre for duty-free shopping grew out of the business of smuggling French goods to Spain during the Spanish Civil War and Spanish goods to France during WWII.

You have to wonder how such a tiny place has retained its borders in tact. It is often assumed that Andorra has always been a haven for the rich but in fact its history and origins are more complex. It is the last independent survivor of the Marca Hispanica, the buffer states created by Charlemagne to keep the Islamic Moors from advancing into Christian France. From 1278 control was split between nominees of Spain and France, making it a co-principality, and its borders have remained unchanged since then. In the 15th century the heads of the principal Andorran families began to exercise some control internally. A relatively poor enclave, its continued existence for the next 300 years was ensured by tax concessions granted by the French and Spanish governments, but at times it has struggled to survive. Now in the Council of Europe, since 1993 it has been an independent, democratic 'parliamentary co-principality', with sovereignty in the hands of the Andorran people.

Today’s commercialism is only a part-reflection of a small society that retains many of its traditions. Less than 22 percent of residents have Andorran citizenship, which means that in practice a very small percentage of the population has the right to vote. Women only received suffrage in 1970. In this peculiarly a-political climate old habits die hard in the strangest of ways. Popular belief has it that Andorra still pays the long established but anachronistic annual tribute or questia to the co-rulers - four hams, forty loaves of bread, and some wine.

But far from the old traditions, it also keeps abreast of newer and experimental trends and the explosion of fusion cuisine in Europe has not passed it by. The Sol i Neu Restaurant at the Sport Hotel Hermitage in Soldeu is competing with the best. A tempting menu reads as an exercise in emerging styles of fusion cooking, sometimes bewildering as well as varied – utilizing Thai spices, Japanese seasonings, Chinese vegetables and French style sauce reductions. If you can stretch your taste buds to appreciate sushi accompanied by a rich white chocolate sauce, this is the place to be. But there are also more moderate choices like cod dishes and meats roasted on volcanic stones. Tarte tatin with cream and vanilla ice cream will cater for most tastes and according to the chef ‘culinary deconstructionists’ can opt for crème brulee with burnt sugar foam. Despite repeated attempts to find out, we left without discovering what a ‘culinary deconstructionist’ is exactly.

Leaving the fashion of fusion cuisine behind, traditional dishes are served in the handful of local restaurants dotted along the main artery. Coques are flavored flat cakes, Trinxat is a hearty potato and cabbage dish, and Truites de carreroles is a type of mushroom omelette. And as in Catalonia and the nearby French territories, the mountain and valley terrain foster production of some good charcuterie and cheeses.

To counteract the intake of calories, most visitors head for the spas. And here we are talking serious spa experiences. A visit to the Sport Wellness Spa in Soldeu is not merely a treat for the work weary urban soul - it is also a lesson in architectural design and hydraulic engineering. At least, that’s one way of justifying the expense. Four floors house a litany of options for pure self-indulgence. There are 18 treatment rooms, some occupied by bath-shaped machines reminiscent of a radiography department. Beyond these is a circuit built to compete with Mondello Park. Saunas and steam rooms with music therapy, aromatherapy and chromotherapy, contrast pools, bi-thermal and jet showers – if you don’t drown you’ll certainly emerge fully revitalized.

Dare you venture from sunshine, shopping, spas and mountain hikes, there are still some sights to see. The parish of Canillo shelters lovely chapels and Romanesque buildings - Sant Joan de Caselles, dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, is an architectural gem. Not far away, the modern Sanctuary of Meritxell is the work of architect Ricard Bofill. Its original church was destroyed by fire in 1972 and today’s structure is curiously streamlined in form. The Moles waterfall, on the road from Canillo to Soldeu, cascades from 35 metres, bringing the higher mountain waters gushing into the valley.

If you are a fan of ‘quaint’, or you crave excess when it comes to sights, smells and sounds, you should probably head further south for your travel experiences. Andorra, however, is strong on form and function and it has a type of stark beauty. In any case, you could just come and lie around the spas all day - it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

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