This is not my recommendation on what to do in Liechtenstein in 24 hours. It is not an itinerary. It’s a blog post about how I spent my time there as a backpacker.
Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. It’s Europe’s 4th smallest country at just over 62 sq. miles, one of six European Microstates. It is one of the 193 UN Member States; it is not in the EU but is part of the Schengen Agreement and the EEA. The official language is German. Since 1920, they have used the Swiss Franc as their currency.
Despite having worked next door in Switzerland for 16 seasons over 12 years, I had never bothered to come here. Don’t ask me why.
I am spending some time checking off all the missing countries. Filling in the gaps. Liechtenstein needed to be explored and checked off the list.
I flew from Reykjavik to Zurich, took a train to the Hauptbahnhof and another to Buchs in the canton of St. Gallen. I then walked across the border, Switzerland to Liechtenstein, across the Rhine River.
Crossing into Liechtenstein (refers to photo) at 15:06:
Schaan-Vaduz
After the obligatory photos, I carried on in the rain to the Schaan-Vaduz station:
I backpacked Schaan a bit.
The Pfarrkirche St Lorenz:
The “S Landweibels-Huus”, a historical house with parts dating from 1562:
One night in Liechtenstein
A bed at the Jugendherberge Schaan-Vaduz (YHA) is perhaps the only option for low-budget travellers:
And it’s a great place. I loved the friendly welcome and had the chance to speak in German again.
The options for getting a meal in town were limited and it was tipping it down so I ate a meal at the hostel and downed a few beers:
Cheers with an Alpagold Liechtensteiner Lagerbier at the Jugendherberge in Schaan-Vaduz (YHA), Liechtenstein:
Backpacking Vaduz
After an endless breakfast, I put my stuff in the free locker and went and backpacked Vaduz, which was 30 minutes away, on foot.
The Vaduz Schloss was my destination:
Stopped off at a souvenir shop to get a Liechtenstein flag:
Follow the signs to get to the Schloss (castle):
Awesome views on the way up:
Here are some shots of the Vaduz Castle:
Yeah, and it is not open to the general public as it is, in fact, the private residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein, no less.
Construction started in the 12th century. It underwent major restoration between 1904 and 1920 and again in the 1930s and has been the official residence of Liechtenstein’s Princely Family since 1938.
So it’s not possible to enter. Thankfully, they built a mini version in town, so you can get some idea of what it looks like:
Having a quick coffee at the Balu Bäckerei Konditorei:
Then some time to check out the art of Vaduz:
Figure in a Shelter” Sculpture – Henry Spencer:
I even went in the Liechtensteinisches Post Museum:
In the Kathedrale St. Florin, I sat quietly for 15 minutes to remember not only my mum and dad, but for Dalai and the father of Miss CDMX:
I have been doing this since July 2023. The world has gotten too noisy. I am not a religious kinda guy, but I always like to spend a short while remembering, and a church seems the most appropriate place.
Passing by the Rathaus, that’s the town hall:
And then back to the hostel to pick up my bag and then back to Vaduz again, yeah, clocking up the kilometres, 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there. It sure adds up.
How to get from Liechtenstein to Milan:
FlixBus has affordable buses from Vaduz to Milan.
Waiting for the FlixBus to Milan:
My rules for bagging a country have changed. I used to require only that I spend 1 night in the country to make it count, but my friend Jonny said that he could see more in 8 hours during the day than I could spending 8 hours during the night when I was most likely sleeping. So I adjusted my rules. I must stay 24 hours. But in Liechtenstein, I failed by a few minutes. Dang!
I had arrived at 15:06 (I had missed the earlier connection in Zurich), and the Flixbus to Milano crossed back into Switzerland soon after 15:30. So, really, my 24-hour stay in Liechtenstein was only 23 hours and 30 minutes. Dang!! Never mind, eh? Slight technicality.