Stay in La Massana. Ski at Pal.

La Massana offers a more local feel than Andorra's ski villages because it's a busy, year-round town as well as a holiday base. Set at 1,230m in the north west of the country, it has a proper high street of shops and supermarkets, a wide choice of restaurants, and an everyday Andorran rhythm that carries on whether it's ski season or not. It's a popular destination for Spanish holidaymakers, although you'll find a handful of British and Irish here too.

One thing to be clear about: there are no slopes in La Massana itself. The town sits in the valley — the skiing happens up at Pal, and the large, modern gondola departing from the town centre is your direct link to it. Stay here for the town life; ride the gondola for the mountain.

At the top of the gondola you arrive in the heart of the Pal sector — beautiful tree-lined runs with a little more intermediate-level terrain than Arinsal, plus gentle beginner zones and a ski school with English-speaking instructors. The trees make Pal the best place in the area to ski on snowy, flat-light days, and at the far side a cable car links you across to the Arinsal sector to complete the Pal-Arinsal circuit.

At the end of the day, ride the gondola back down and you're straight into town — no transfer buses, no mountain roads, and dinner a short stroll away.

Off the mountain is where La Massana earns its keep. The town has one of the best restaurant scenes in Andorra outside the capital — from traditional bordas serving Andorran mountain cooking to tapas bars, pizzerias and grills — alongside everyday conveniences like supermarkets, pharmacies and cafés that purpose-built resorts simply don't have. And if you fancy a bigger night out, Arinsal's bars are ten minutes up the road.