Things to see
The comarca’s capital, La Seu d’Urgell, lies in a northern plain just beside the meeting point of the region’s two principal rivers, El Segre and La Valira. La Seu has a charming historic centre of colourful façades and streets lined with centuries-old arched walkways. On Tuesdays and Saturdays it doubles up as a market, with stalls selling everything from clothing and bags to hand-made food products. It is also the location of some of the most important buildings in La Seu, such as the 19th-century Palau Episcopal, the official residence of the Bishop of Urgell, who is also co-Prince of Andorra (a position the bishops of Urgell have held since the late 13th century).
La Seu’s Catedral de Santa Maria is held to be one of the grandest Romanesque buildings in the Alt Urgell. The cathedral has three naves and was constructed in the 12th century. It was restored at the beginning of the 20th by Catalan Modernista architect and politician Josep Puig i Cadalfalch. Other places to visit in the area include the Museu Diocesà d’Urgell, which houses a collection of religious art like Romanesque virgin statues and murals, as well as a Gothic altarpiece and a number of silver artefacts.
To the west of the historic centre, past the chalet-style houses of the main residential area, is the small green space of the Parc del Valira, by the river of the same name. Built in the late 20th century, the park presents a more modern representation of the cathedral in its shady cloister (a replica of the one adjoining the cathedral) with the rather unusual addition of sculptures of influential 20th-century figures like Winston Churchill and Pablo Picasso.
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