Approaching Andorra in La Seu d'Urgell
High up in the Pyrenee mountains we find the Principality of Andorra - a miniature country of 75000 inhabitants famous for duty-free shopping and winter sports. While Andorra with its focus on commercial activity and lack of historic artifacts, may be a poor choice for visitors seeking local charm, history and culture, the adjacent town of LA SEU D'URGELL about 10 miles south in Catalonia, has all the ingredients of a perfect tourist destination and one that has to date been a well-kept secret hidden in the Pyrenees of Northern Spain. While the region of Alt Urgell, just south of the border to France and Andorra, has traditionally been economically underdeveloped, La Seu was fortunate enough to have a savvy mayor in the early 1990s that managed to convince officials at the Olympics to choose the Segre river in La Seu for their water rafting and canooing competitions. What was to follow was the construction of the Segre Olympic Complex with millions of euros of invest...