Exploring the tiny nation of Liechtenstein
Written by Amanda Kendle
In some ways, I think that travelling through a country just to add it to your list is not really the right way to travel, but I have to admit that when I was traveling to Lake Constance I couldn’t resist driving a little bit further and visiting the tiny nation of Liechtenstein. It’s just over 60 square miles in size and has a population of 35,000, so it’s basically just two small towns – it’s really strange to imagine that it is officially a “real” country.
There are a couple of touristy things you just have to do if you visit Liechtenstein – I don’t like to play the tourist, but somehow I couldn’t resist. First of all, you can get an official stamp in your passport to say you’ve visited the country – and since passport stamps are so rare in these EU days, it’s nice to have something to look at in your passport (although you have to pay a small fee for the stamp). And speaking of stamps, it is also the “in thing” to send your friends a postcard from Liechtenstein, like you can see me doing in the picture. Presumably your friends should be impressed to get news from an obscure nation like this!
You can also take some nice walks around Liechtenstein, see the castle at Vaduz and do some skiing in winter. To get there the closest airport is Zurich; I wouldn’t make a special trip, but to combine it with some Swiss or Austrian vacation could make a nice outing.
[...] of tiny countries – I was reminiscing about Liechtenstein last week – I think a lot of people might disregard Luxembourg as a good place for a holiday, [...]
In a way this piece, good points though it makes, utterly misses the point about Liechtenstein. To my mind, Liechtenstein is one of Europe’s most engaging countries. I cannot say I know it that well, but I’ve visited a dozen times. It certainly deserves a week or two at the very least, ideally very much more. The idea that one might ‘do’ a country as a day trip is to debase travel and is a bit of an insult to Liechtenstein.
Charlie Connelly’s book Stamping Grounds is a good read for the first time visitor.
Liechtenstein has fabulous Alpine walking (at all grades of difficulty), some picture perfect villages (that make up for the rather sterile capital city at Vaduz), a world class art gallery, some amazing pieces of Russian history (about which I’ve written for hidden europe), even four railway stations (one of which, at Schaanwald, is an absolute gem) and much more besides. For travellers spending a while in the Alps, I’d heartily recommend staying in Liechtenstein for a spell and then making day trips from there.
And if you want that passport stamp, just ask at the border post on the main road at Schaanwald, and they’ll give you a real stamp for free -absolutely no need to pay.
Nicky – That’s just Amamda’s opinion that she wouldn’t make a trip especially to Liechtenstein but to have it as a day trip if you’re in vicinity. Liechtensten would make a good base for day trips to surrounding countries.