Andorra and the Port d'Envalira

Andorra is 200 km from Barcelona, and the road there is most of the attraction. The C-16 climbs through Berga, bores under the Cadí-Moixeró range in the 5 km Túnel del Cadí, and drops into the Cerdanya; the C-14 and N-145 then follow the Segre and the Valira up to La Seu d'Urgell and the border at La Farga de Moles. Two and a half hours without stopping.

Andorra la Vella is a duty-free high street in a valley. Drive through it and keep climbing on the CG-2 through Encamp and Canillo to Soldeu, where the road leaves the villages and starts the hairpins to the Port d'Envalira at 2,408 m, the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees. In winter the traffic uses a tunnel; in summer the old road over the top is open and empty. Pas de la Casa, on the far side, is the French border.

This is a cross-border rental. Tell us at booking: France and Andorra are allowed with 24 hours' notice and a €60 fee, and the insurance certificate needs to be in the car. Fuel is cheaper in Andorra; fill up before the descent.

At 480 km round trip this is a long day or, better, a weekend: sleep in La Seu d'Urgell or Soldeu and drive the pass at first light. The Turbo S's all-wheel drive and 800 Nm make the altitude irrelevant; the ventilated seats make the descent through the afternoon heat of the Segre valley pleasant.