Our Lady of Meritxell Sanctuary

The Virgin of Meritxell is Andorra's patron and her sanctuary is the country's national shrine, and the building that holds it now is not the old one: the Romanesque church and the twelfth-century carved image inside it burned in 1972, and Ricardo Bofill designed a replacement that went up beside the ruin, a long low structure of arches and slate that quotes the old church without copying it. The shell of the original stands next to it.

What you actually see

• The Bofill building - the 1976 sanctuary of arches and slate beside the old church.
• The burned shell - the ruin of the Romanesque original, kept as it was left.
• The replica image - the copy of the twelfth-century Virgin lost in the fire.
• The national significance - the shrine of Andorra's patron and its 8 September feast.

When to go

May to October is the pleasant season. The feast of Meritxell on 8 September is the national day and fills the site. Winter access depends on the road being clear.

Honest expectations

The original church and its medieval image were destroyed in 1972; what is shown is a replica. The modern building divides opinion sharply. The site is crowded on the national day.

Nearby

Canillo is northeast, and Encamp is southwest.