Things to do in Andorra, Andorra: The Best Churches & Cathedrals

The building dates from the 11th-12th century and follows the architectural style of other Andorran Romanesque churches: it has a rectangular single nave with wooden ceiling, a semi-circular apse andLombard-style belfry. It conserves two archways probably built in the16th and 17th centuries.The interior has remains of a 12th century Romanesque stucco crucifix surrounded by a mural showing the crucifixion with Longinus andStephanon accompanied by the Sun and Moon. Behind the altar grillis a highly artistic 16th century altarpiece showing Italian and German Renaissance influence with scenes from the life and martyrdomof Saint John, author of the book of Revelations and patron saint ofthe church.

Open from 15 July to 15 September. A 12th century Romanesque church with additions from the 17th and18th centuries. It preserves mural paintings by the masterartist of La Cortinada from the end of the 12th century.The church was extended in the Baroque period: the direction of thenave was changed and the new high altar was decorated with a 17thcentury polychrome wood altarpiece dedicated to the church's patronsaint. The side chapels also house Baroque altarpieces dedicated tothe Virgin Mary, Saint Anthony the Great and Our Lady of the Roses.The wrought iron rails, 17th century wooden furniture and the carillonor confessional box are other important features of the church. Othercivil architecture features to be seen near the church include the CalPal millstone and sawmill - an example of small traditional industry and the ancestral seat of Cal Pal with its unique white dovecot.

Open from Mai to October. Pal is one of the best-preserved rural villages in Andorra and has beenpart of a special traditional architecture protection plan since 1997.The church, the site's most outstanding structure, dates from the late11th to early 12th centuries, with modern additions. The nave is rectangular and conserves a large part of the Romanesque walls. Thepresent apse is square (17th-18th centuries) and replaces an originalRomanesque structure.The Lombard-style belfry has three double-windowed floors, the topone featuring twin double windows, unique in Andorra. Inside thereis a granite font, a Romanesque statue of Our Lady of the Remedies(13th century), two processional polychrome wood crosses and analtarpiece dedicated to Pope Saint Clement, the church's patron saint (1709).Visitors can also go to the Andorra Romanesque Interpretation Centreto see how the Romanesque evolved in the Andorran valleys.

Open from 15 July to 15 September. [ING]This pre-Romanesque building houses a rectangular nave with a woodenframed ceiling and a quadrangular apse. The circular Lombard belfry wasadded in the 12th century and is one of the few examples of its kind in the Pyrenees.The building was decorated with 12th-century Romanesque mural paintings by the master painter of Santa Coloma. These paintings left the country in 1930,and were recovered by the Andorran Government in 2007.At present, only the Agnus Dei flanked by two angels and the geometricdecoration framing the overhanging arch remain in the church. The church preserves a polychrome wood statue of Our Lady of the Remedies (12th to 13th centuries) and a Baroque altarpiece (18th-century) dedicated to Saint Coloma, the church's patron saint.The church's location means visitors can enjoy Santa Coloma old town with its traditional buildings, as well as Els Russos tower, designed by Cesar Martinell, of modernist style an example of Andorra's granite architecture.

Open from 15 July to 15 September. This church, Romanesque in origin, was built sometime before the 12thcentury. The rectangular layout has a nave, a semi-circular apse, a gable roof, a belfry and a later porch. The building is peculiar for the disproportion between the nave and the 17-metre high belfry. The top level of the belfry preserves one of the few examples of Romanesque sculpture in Andorra: heads carved in the centre of the double window arches.On show inside are reproductions of Romanesque mural paintings bythe master artist of Santa Coloma from the 12th century. The apse isdominated by a Christ Pantocrator surrounded by the tetramorph wherethe Archangel Michael, the church's patron saint, merges with the symbol of Saint Matthew. The original paintings are now held by the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).