In the north of Catalonia, this is a smallish market town. The parador, although mostly new, does incorporate the cloister of a Renaissance convent. The principal public rooms have a glass roof which makes for curious light effects and, on warm days gives one the feeling of being inside a greenhouse. There's a large Romanesque cathedral next door, but the chief attraction is the Principality of Andorra, twenty minutes to the north. If you happen to be an over the line nut like me, you'll go there to visit the half dozen or so small, primitive Romanesque churches, constructed in the Lombard style, but most people are drawn to Andorra by the shopping. Andorra has no sales tax and consequently has been transformed into a gigantic discount mall. There is no manufactured article, be it jewelry, clothing, electronics or just about anything else one could name, that can't be bought there at a discount. But be advised that, at any hour of the day, this results in bumper to bumper traffic on the roads leading into the capital.
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