Which capital city is the highest in Europe?

Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, standing at roughly 1,023 metres above sea level. It lies high in the eastern Pyrenees, between France and Spain.

The capital sits where the Valira del Nord and Valira d’Orient meet to form the Gran Valira. Its mountain setting helps explain both the elevation and the city’s close connection with winter tourism, hiking, and other activities associated with the Pyrenees.

Andorra la Vella has been the principality’s principal city since the 13th century, when the 1278 agreements established Andorra’s unusual co-principality arrangement. The historic Barri Antic includes the Casa de la Vall, built in the early 16th century and used as the country’s parliamentary house from 1702.

The title refers to national capitals, not the highest cities or settlements anywhere in Europe. It is also distinct from the highest capital in the world, commonly identified as La Paz, Bolivia. Andorra la Vella’s name means “the city of Andorra”; “Vella” comes from a word meaning city, not simply “old.”