There are some fascinating excursions to be made from Andorra whether on a self-drive basis or through organised coach trips from local companies. On the French side, places of special interest include the mediaeval walled city of the troubadors at Carcassone; the perfectly preserved half-timbered town square at Mirepoix; the fortified village of Camon; the last redoubt of the heretic Cathares at the Castle of Montsegur; and the two French border towns fortified against the Spanish during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, at Mont-Louis and Villefranche de Conflens. There are innumerable grottoes, caves and underground rivers throughout the region that are also worth visiting and Ax-les-Thermes is famous for its open hot-springs in the centre of the town where casual visitors may freely sit and bathe their feet the waters.

On the Spanish side, La Seu d'Urgell is a must. It is one the best-preserved mediaeval towns in northern Spain, with the oldest cathedral in the country. There is a traditional market in the vaulted main street on Tuesdays and (half-day) Saturdays.
Part of the Bishop's Palace is on foreign soil because it doubles as the Palace of the Co-Prince of Andorra. Right under the walls of the town, there is the ultra-modern Parc del Segre, built as the canoe and kayak centre for the 1992 Olympic Games, which is open to the public as a park and water activity centre.

From La Seu one can see the rugged sierra of the Cadí mountains. The range is surrounded by the Cadí-Moixeró national park. There is easy access by road, passing the strange Sant Antoni chapel built by a 19th century magnate which adorns a hilltop close by. There is also Castellciutat, just outside La Seu which, apart from housing the remains of a spectacular mediaeval castle has within its walls one of Spain's finest restaurants. Further afield is the hilltop town of Puigcerdà, with its 16thC centre and lakeside Victorian villas and just a few kms further there is one of the strangest places in the world - the Spanish enclave of Llívia.

This village is surrounded by France, has no controlled border and can be accessed either formally via France or informally via Spain! Llívia also, curiously, has the oldest pharmacy in Spain, which is preserved as a museum. Closer to home (in fact, one can only access the place via Andorra) is another strange Spanish enclave called Os de Cívis, which has now become a centre for rural tourism, with shops and restaurants. Driving to Cardona in Barcelona province will only take an hour or so, and its mediaeval town centre houses one of Spain's finest parador hotels in the castle that dominates the town.