The tour can easily be started at the gas station next to the Carrefour. If you still have enough fuel to cover the first 40 km, it is best to wait until Andorra before refueling. Gasoline is noticeably cheaper there!

Ax-les-Thermes attracts visitors all year round: they come to walk in the summer, ski in the winter and go for treatment all year round. There are no fewer than eighty springs, with a temperature ranging from 18 to 78 °C. On the Place du Breilh, on the edge of the old town, the vapors rise from the warm Bassin des Ladres (1250). King Louis the Saint had it built for his soldiers who had returned from the Crusades with leprosy. The basin later acquired other functions, for example, clothes were washed in it or freshly slaughtered pigs ... You will also find sources and fountains in the streets, between half-timbered houses from the Middle Ages.

Leave Ax via the N20 towards Spain and Andorra. It is not a difficult road, but on nice days it can be very busy and therefore dangerous, especially because of the tourist buses and groups of motorcyclists on the way to or from Le Pas de la Casa. There is regular surveillance, especially at weekends, and there is always radar control in the valley. About 30 km further you reach the border of Andorra and Le Pas de la Casa. El Pas de la Casa owes its name to a shepherd's hut that stood here at the beginning of the twentieth century (Pas comes from mountain pass, casa means 'house' or 'hut').
This is the highest village in the principality, but above all a paradise for people who want to shop tax-free. It is busy all year round.

Follow the direction of Andorra-la-Vella, not the road via the tunnel, but the route over Port d'Envalira. Just outside Le Pas you will pass several gas stations where petrol is very cheap: a great opportunity to stock up on fuel for the rest of the day.

Port d'Envalira can sometimes be covered in snow, but the problem is always resolved within 24 hours. At 2408 meters it is the highest mountain pass in the mountain range over which a road passes and it is also the highest mountain pass in Europe that is open all year round.
Please note that it can be very cold due to the wind. The pass is located on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea, into which the Valira flows, and the Atlantic Ocean, into which the Ariège flows. You look out over the mountains of Andorra (up to 2942 m).

During the beautiful descent you will see the Pic deis Pessons in the south. In Canillo turn right and follow a nice road. From the Collet de Montaup - and more specifically from the Roc des Quer viewpoint - you can see the work of Andorra's glaciers over 2.6 million years, which have shaped the current U-shaped relief of the valleys. Another striking feature of this viewpoint is the presence of very special birds of prey. Some can be seen all year round, such as the golden eagle, the bearded vulture or the common buzzard, and others only when breeding or passing through in the summer, such as the European honey buzzard, the black kite or the snake eagle. You also have a chance to see some mouflons jumping, as they live in the middle and high mountains.
Along this narrow road you have a few viewpoints of the surrounding mountains.

The valley of Andorra was an iron producing area between the 17th and 18th centuries. The Rossell iron forge in La Sassana is one of the best preserved examples of this iron industry in the Pyrenees.

Andorra-la-Vella, the capital of Andorra, is a modern metropolis: noisy and polluted by heavy traffic. Here too, many people come to do their shopping in the large shopping centers. It is quieter in the streets of the historic center, between the old houses.

! Outside the town, in Sant Julià de Lèria, turn left towards the villages of Aixirivall and Juberri if you want to add an extra loop (optional, 25 km, allow 45 mins) to the route, on mountain roads that are far, far away from the urban bustle in the valley have been removed. Be careful when you return to the main road: there are often traffic jams towards the border crossing with Spain.

After the border crossing you will find Restaurant Masia D'en Valenti along the N145. This is located in a beautiful setting in the Valls de Valira valley. This 18th-century property has a restaurant and a terrace with views of the surrounding countryside. The restaurant is great, the food is unbelievably good, the service is just perfect. The cleanliness and service are just great. The price was extremely low for the high quality of the meal.

The connecting road from La Seu d'Urgell to Puigcerdà, over the Cerdagne plateau, is less interesting.
Anyone interested in visiting the Martinet i Montellà de Cerdanya Bunker Park will turn right in Martinet. Please allow extra time for this. There is an interpretation center dedicated to the history of the P Line, a series of bunkers built by Franco after World War II. The center organizes guided tours to eight of the bunkers still standing in Martinet i Montellà. The bunkers can only be visited with a guide and last just under two hours, depending on the weather conditions. This may be a bit much for this ride.

Cross the border behind Puigcerdà to the small village of Ur. Next to the church it is pleasant to relax on the terrace of the Pénates restaurant with a drink, ice cream or other delicacy.

You now take the direction of Font-Romeu and you then pass through Llivia, a Spanish enclave in France.
The region around Font-Romeu has a fascinating history in the field of sustainable energy. The region has the most hours of sunshine in France and that is why the world's first solar oven was built in Mont-Louis in 1953, followed ten years later by the second in Odeillo and in 1983 by the Thémis solar power station. All three are open to the public and provide a lot of (including scientific) information.

After this you start again on a beautiful part of the route through the pine forest of Bolquère. It extends between Font-Romeu and Mont-Louis, the highest fortress in France. Then climb to the Col de la Quillane, behind which the Capcir Plateau begins. The road runs through the valley and offers views of slopes with pine forests on both sides. In winter this is the domain of cross-country skiers. There are also many lakes in the area, natural and artificial, such as Maternale and Puyvalador.

Beyond Puyvalador you become increasingly enclosed by rock walls until you drive through the gorges of the Aude. Where the road is cut into the rock wall, the bends are tighter and the quality of the asphalt is poorer. Stay focused and slow down if you want to admire the scenery.

At the point where two valleys meet, at the ruins of the Chateau d'Usson, turn left to return to Ax-les-Thermes via Port de Pailhères.
In Ax-les-Thermes you can park your motorcycle in the spacious parking lot directly next to the traffic-free center, which is interesting if you want to explore the cozy city center or enjoy this beautiful tour on a terrace.