Liechtenstein: Six Attractions and Natural Wonders

A principality the size of a small city

Liechtenstein, wedged between Switzerland and Austria in the Alps, is the world's sixth-smallest country and Europe's fourth-smallest — just over 160 square kilometres, home to about 41,000 people, and still ruled by a reigning prince who lives in a castle above the capital. It has no airport of its own, uses the Swiss franc, and is easily seen as a day trip from Zurich, though it rewards more time in its Alpine half. Almost the entire population lives in a narrow strip along the Rhine; the eastern two-thirds of the country is mountains.

The six below can realistically all be seen in two or three days. Summer is best for the mountains and the country-crossing trail; winter brings a small but genuine ski season at Malbun.

1. Vaduz Castle

Vaduz Castle, on a wooded hill directly above the capital, has been the private residence of the princely House of Liechtenstein since 1938 and is not open to the public — but the short walk up to its gates gives sweeping views over the Rhine Valley to Switzerland, and on 15 August (National Day) a ceremony is held outside the castle with speeches by the Prince. The walk itself, through forest above the town, is the real reward most of the year.

2. Vaduz

Vaduz itself is a tidy, compact capital that can be walked in an hour — the Kunstmuseum, the national collection of modern and contemporary art, which also shows works from the princely Liechtenstein Collection, the Liechtenstein National Museum covering the country's cultural and natural history, a postage-stamp museum (the country has long earned income from philately), and a pedestrian main street with cafés.

The town is also the seat of the national parliament.

3. Malbun

Malbun, up the mountain road from Vaduz and less than two kilometres from the Austrian border, is Liechtenstein's only ski resort — a small, family-friendly ski area in winter, and a hiking base in summer with chairlifts running up to ridge trails and views into Austria and Switzerland. It is small and unpretentious by Alpine standards, with free learning areas for children.

The road up from Triesenberg switchbacks steeply through forest.

4. Gutenberg Castle, Balzers

At the southern end of the country, the town of Balzers is watched over by Gutenberg Castle, a medieval hilltop fortress restored between 1905 and 1912 by the Vaduz-born architect Egon Rheinberger, with a chapel and a rose garden. Unlike Vaduz Castle it is not a princely residence, and parts of it are open to visitors. It is a quieter, less-visited counterpart to Vaduz Castle.

Balzers is the last town before the Swiss border to the south.

5. The Liechtenstein Trail and the Alps

The Liechtensteinweg, opened for the country's 300th anniversary in 2019, is a signed 75-kilometre trail crossing all 11 municipalities from south to north — walkable in two, three or more days, or sampled in short sections. Beyond it, the mountainous east has serious Alpine hiking in the Rätikon range, with trails linking into Austria's and Switzerland's networks and a scattering of mountain huts.

Trail markers and a phone app make it easy to do bite-sized stretches without a car.

6. Triesenberg and the Walser villages

Triesenberg, on the slope above Vaduz, was settled early in the 14th century by Walser migrants originally from the Valais in Switzerland, who brought their own dialect, still spoken and actively promoted by the village today. The village terrace gives one of the best panoramic views over the whole Rhine Valley to the Swiss mountains beyond.

It is the natural stop on the drive up to Malbun.

Liechtenstein is small enough that most visitors see it as a half- or full-day add-on to a Swiss or Austrian trip; those who stay longer usually come for the hiking, splitting time between Vaduz and Malbun.