Andorra la Vella has a cultural centre which provides classical and popular concerts, folk singing and dancing, jazz festivals and art exhibitions. The national auditorium at Ordino is the venue for the prestigious annual festival of music with artists of international fame such as Montserrat Caballe and Narcisso Yepes. Each Comú holds an annual fiesta lasting about 3 days. There are numerous events such as: motor time trials, sheep dog trials, ski races and demonstrations, show jumping, pop concerts and chess tournaments. For those who enjoy eating out there is a wide selection of excellent restaurants offering international cuisine. Prices are considerably lower than in Britain. It is still possible to get a good four course meal with wine for around 20 Euros. For people who like to meet other people and engage in pursuits such as bridge or amateur dramatics there is an International Club.

Andorra lies on the same latitude as Rome and enjoys an average of 300 days of sunshine a year. The high sunshine average allows full enjoyment of most outdoor activities such as Alpine and Nordic skiing, shooting, fishing, riding, tennis, swimming pool and mountain walking. Barbeque picnics at home or in the mountains are a popular event.

All of the seven communes in Andorra now offer a variety of facilities (indoor tennis, squash, swimming, keep-fit, weight training, etc.) in new sports centres. These facilities are amongst the best in Europe and are inexpensive, e.g. family membership of Les Seradelles (Andorra la Vella) is 110 Euros. The facilities available at these sports centres include Olympic size swimming pool, ice rink and indoor tennis courts.

At one time one of Andorra's main claims to fame was that it provided the cheapest skiing in Europe. Now attention is drawn by the quality of the five ski resorts of Arinsal, Pal, Arcalis, Soldeu/El Tarter and Pas de la Casa/Grau Roig. Millions of Euros have been spent on extending, improving and equipping these resorts. For those with a car, an undoubted attraction is having a choice of five resorts all within some 30 minutes driving radius of Andorra la Vella. Andorra's southerly position ensures an unrivalled amount of sun throughout the winter. The ski season lasts from mid December to mid/end April. Downhill, snow boarding, alpine ski touring and nordic cross country skiing are all available. Soldeu/El Tarter boasts the largest number of English speaking instructors in Europe outside the UK. Inexpensive, welcoming apres-ski and, on the slopes, well maintained pistes and high speed chair lifts provide sport for skiers of all standards. All resorts now have snow cannons for manufacturing artificial snow which guarantees the ski stations being open throughout the season.

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Information courtesy of Andorra Property News. For details of Andorra property for sale visit www.propertyandorra.com.

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