EL TARTER

EL TARTER is sister resort to the slightly larger Soldeu and is separated from Soldeu only by a bend in the mountain road leading down to the capital. They are so close that they are often referred to as one. Nevertheless El Tarter has its own access lifts to the Grandvalira ski zone’s 193km of marked ski runs, from 18 beginner-green runs to 22 black plus off-piste routes. One lift pass covers all of Grandvalira.

El Tarter has a style of its own, with plentiful accommodation and bars and restaurants but a quiet peaceful feel. The resort is particularly good for beginner skiers with plentiful English speaking instructors. Though lower than Soldeu, its snow cover is just as reliable and two runs down from Grandvalira through the trees offer a black route or a blue route depending on your ability for your return home to the resort itself at the end of the day.

Purpose-built hotels sit side by side with converted Andorran stone farms giving a true village feel. There’s plenty to do by way of après ski despite its small size.

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LA MASSANA

FOR a taste of the real Andorra, La Massana is hard to beat. Just a few kilometres from Andorra’s capital, the shopping paradise of Andorra La Vella, La Massana offers direct access by cable car to the Vallnord ski area with 63km of runs in the Pal-Arinsal sector, all at between 1,500 and 2,650 meters so there is plenty on snow from December right through until April making it an excellent skiers’ destination and ideal for beginners.

The Vallnord is also the place to go if you prefer Telemark or don’t want to ski at all but simply walk in spectacularly-beautiful scenery bathed in winter sunshine. And La Massana itself, a quaint town of 7,000 plus inhabitants, is bustling all year round so avoids that feeling of being purpose-built for skiing and skiing only. Nightlife is not its speciality.

For that head to nearby Arinsal. But mingle with the locals instead and enjoy Andorra’s fine mountain-style food with heart-warming casseroles to keep out the winter chill. Then stroll the streets to enjoy the fine stone buildings that are typical of Andorra’s traditional Pyrenean architecture, picking up duty-free bargains from the many shops as you pass by.

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PAS DE LA CASA

BORDER town Pas de la Casa is entry point to Andorra from France and also the largest ski resort in the principality. Purpose-built in a horse-shoe shape around the main ski lifts, it is the best resort of all for reaching the slopes with high-speed access to the start of the Grandvalira ski zone’s 193km of marked ski runs, from 18 beginner-green runs to 22 black plus off-piste routes!

One lift pass covers the whole area. And when the day on the slopes draws to a close, skiing or boarding back into Pas is an easy run. With low-cost accommodation and plenty of bargain restaurants it is fine for families. There’s a municipal sports centre with pool and dozens of shops offering duty-free bargains from high fashion and perfumes to cheap spirits plus supermarkets with all you could wish for if self-catering. But above all, “Pas”, as it is known, is ideal for the young.

This is a border town that can feel like the Wild West after dark as skiers and boarders throng to bars like The Milwaukee and The Underground to revel in its night life. Not much to look at, Pas is nevertheless great for atmosphere and fun on a budget.

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SOLDEU

MORE village than town, Soldeu is a family-orientated resort and in some ways offers the most up-market of Andorra skiing. Besides beginner slopes in Soldeu itself, a telecabin provides access to Grandvalira ski zone’s 193km of marked ski runs, from 18 beginner-green runs to 22 black plus off-piste routes. One lift pass covers all of Grandvalira.

And it is great for snow boarders with a boarder’s snow park. Back in Soldeu, restaurants and hotels are strung out along a valley road, each offering outdoor terraces for lunching on sunny days with fabulous views. Accommodation ranges from the fabulous five-star Sport Hermitage to comfortable rooms at, for example, the Naudi.

There’s a Swiss chalet feel to the pine-built local architecture and a relaxed friendly atmosphere, but local night life too with occassional late-night bars and discos plus superb restaurants. The resort boasts a stylish municipal spa bath and, if you get your dates muddled, in summer the slopes become the highest golf course in Europe! Plenty of shops offer duty-free bargains in the capital, Andorra La Vella, nearby. The pine-clad mountain slopes around Soldeu itself offer fabulous walks and there is ice skating plus a host of other non-skiing activities.

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