© Lonely Planet Publications 716 717 Liechtenstein HIGHLIGHTS Vaduz Snap a picture of the royal castle with its stunning mountain backdrop in this tiny village masquerading as a capital ( p719 ) Malbun Just to say you did, write a postcard home from this ski resort. How many people really can say they were skiing in Liechtenstein? ( p721 ) Hiking trails Check out the country’s 400km of trails through stunning alpine scenery – this can be accomplished anywhere in the tiny principality ( p721 ) FAST FACTS Area 150 sq km (2½ Liechtensteins would fit into Andorra!) ATMS Found throughout Vaduz Budget Sfr50 to Sfr120 per day Capital Vaduz Famous for sending postcards home LIECHTENSTEIN stamped by the country’s postal service, dentures Head of State Prince Hans-Adam II Language German Population 32,860 Money Swiss franc (Sfr); A$1 = Sfr0.93; CA$1 = Sfr1.10; €1 = Sfr1.57; ¥100 = Telephone Codes country code %423; Sfr1.04; NZ$1 = Sfr0.80; UK£1 = Sfr2.34; international access code %00 US$1 = Sfr1.22 Time GMT/UTC + 1 Phrases guten tag (good day), danke Visas None required for citizens of the EU, (thanks), auf wiedersehen (goodbye), USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and sprechen sie Englisch? (do you speak Eng- South Africa lish?) TRAVEL HINTS The compact size of this principality means that you can stay outside Vaduz and still access all of the attractions. ROAMING LIECHTENSTEIN You can tour the entire country in a day if you want to, but better to spend a night in Vaduz and another in Malbun to really appreciate all it has to offer. It’s true, Liechtenstein makes a fabulous wine-and-cheese hour trivia subject – did you know it was the sixth smallest country?… It’s still governed by an iron-willed monarch who lives in a Gothic castle on a hill… Yes, it really is the world’s largest producer of dentures… But if you’re visiting this pocket-sized principality solely for the cocktail-party bragging rights, keep the operation covert. This theme-park micronation takes its independence seriously and would shudder at the thought of being considered for novelty value alone. Liechtenstein would rather be remembered for its stunning natural beauty. Measuring just 25km in length and 6km in 718 TRANSPORT •• Getting There & Away lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com VADUZ •• Information 719 0 300 m width, the country is barely larger than Manhattan. And though it might not look like much monthly pass is only Sfr10/20 (half-price for ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲVADUZ 0 0.2 miles on a map, up close its filled with numerous hiking and cycling trails offering spectacular views students and seniors). of craggy cliffs, quaint villages, friendly locals and lush green forests. The only drawback is some services finish A B early; the last of the hourly buses from Vaduz INFORMATION HISTORY to bank money anonymously. However, it to Malbun, for example, leaves at 6.20pm. ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲLiechtenstein Tourism.................1 B5 Main Post Office........................2 B5 A merger of the domain of Schellenberg and remains under pressure to introduce more Grab a timetable from Liechtenstein Tourism 1 Vaduz Hospital..........................3 B6 the county of Vaduz in 1712 by the powerful reforms. ( below ) in Vaduz. SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Liechtenstein family created the country. A In 2003 Hans-Adam demanded sweeping Briefmarkenmuseum (Postage Stamp Museum)....................4 B5 principality under the Holy Roman Empire powers to dismiss the elected government, ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲLiechtensteinisches from 1719 to 1806, it achieved full sovereign appoint judges and reject proposed laws. Op- VADUZ Landesmuseum (National Museum)................5 B5 independence in 1866. A modern constitution ponents warned of dictatorship, but the prince Schloss Vaduz............................6 B5 was drawn up in 1921, but even today the threatened to stomp off back to Austria if he pop 5053 SLEEPING prince retains the power to dissolve parlia- didn’t get his way and the population – pos- Vaduz is the kind of capital city where the ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲHotel Engel................................7 B5 ment and must approve every act before it sibly worried about what an empty Schloss butcher knows the baker – with tidy, quiet Hotel Residence.........................8 B5 2 becomes law. Prince Franz Josef II was the Vaduz would do to tourism – backed him streets, lively patio cafés and a Gothic look- EATING Café Wolf..................................9 B5 first ruler to live in the castle above the capi- in a referendum. The following year Hans- ing castle on a hill, it feels more like a vil- Ristorante Cesare Italiano & tal city of Vaduz. He died in 1989 and was Adam handed the day-to-day running of the lage than anything else. It’s also all most ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲ Burg Brasserie.......................10 B5 succeeded by his son, Prince Hans-Adam II, country to his son Alois, although he remains visitors to Liechtenstein see, and at times it DRINKING who has since clashed with the government head of state. can feel like its soul has been sold to cater Beat.........................................11 B5 over his proposed constitutional reforms that to the whims of tourist hordes alighting for TRANSPORT would limit government power. 17 minutes on guided bus tours. Souvenir ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲPostal Bus Station.....................12 B5 In 2000 Liechtenstein’s financial and po- TRANSPORT shops, tax-free luxury-goods stores and litical institutions were rocked by allegations cube-shaped concrete buildings dominate LIECHTENSTEIN that money laundering was rife in the coun- GETTING THERE & AWAY the small, somewhat bland town centre en- 3 try. In response to international outrage, The nearest airports are Friedrichshafen (Ger- closed by Äulestrasse and the pedestrian- ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲ banks agreed to stop allowing customers many) and Zürich, with train connections to the only Städtle. str Swiss border towns of Buchs (via Romanshorn) To SYHA Hostel (1km); Fürst Franz Josef Str 0 5 km Schaun (2km) Maree LIECHTENSTEIN 0 3 miles and Sargans, respectively. From each of these INFORMATION towns, there are usually three buses to Vaduz Liechtenstein Tourism (%239 63 00; www.tourism ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲ LIECHTENSTEIN LIECHTENSTEIN (from Buchs/Sargans Sfr2.40/3.60, Swiss Pass us.li; Städtle 37; h9am-noon & 1.30-5pm May-Oct, Fürst Franz Jose valid). Buses run every half-hour from the Aus- 9am-noon & 1.30-5pm Mon-Fri Nov-Apr) Offers souvenir Landstr trian border town of Feldkirch; you sometimes passport stamps for Sfr2, plus all the usual tourism help. 4 Giessen Canal have to change at Schaan to reach Vaduz. Main post office (Äulestrasse 38; h7.45am-6pm ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲHintergass ᝲᝲ Egertastr f Str A few local Buchs–Feldkirch trains stop at Mon-Fri, 8am-11am Sat) Herrengasse Feldkirch Sennwald Schaan (bus tickets are valid). Telecom FL Shop (%237 74 00; Austrasse 77; Ruggell By road, route 16 from Switzerland passes h9am-noon & 1.30-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) Free Schellenberg Banga rt through Liechtenstein via Schaan and termi- internet access. ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲen ᝲᝲ Tisis 11 Mauren nates at Feldkirch. The N13 follows the Rhine 10 Äulestr 7 Eschen 8 Haag Schaanwald along the Swiss/Liechtenstein border. SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Bendern 9 Nendeln Although Schloss Vaduz (Vaduz Castle) is not Städtle Lettstr Kunstmuseum N13 GETTING AROUND open to the public, the exterior graces many ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲLiechtensteinᝲᝲ6 16 Planken 5 12 Rhine A U S T R I A Postbus travel within Liechtenstein is cheap a photograph and it’s worth climbing up the 1 Bergstr Buchs 4 Schaan and reliable; all fares cost Sfr2.40 or Sfr3.60, hill for a closer look. At the top, there’s a Giessenstr 2 5 SYHA Hostel with the higher rate for journeys exceeding magnificent vista of Vaduz with a spectacular VADUZ Gaflei 13km (such as Vaduz to Malbun). A weekly/ backdrop of the mountains. There’s also a ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲ Silum Sevelen Gerberweg Triesenberg Kirchstr Helligstr Steg EMERGENCY NUMBERS LIECHTENSTEIN DIRECTORY Binnen Canal S W I T Z E R L A N D Triesen Malbun The same emergency numbers apply as in Liechtenstein and Switzerland share al- ᝲᝲ Switzerland: most everything – currency, airports – so 3 Trübbach 6 Balzers for more information about Liechtenstein Ambulance %144 To Telecom basics, check out the Switzerland Directory Giessen Canal FL Shop (1km); Fire %118 Camping N3 ( p1141 ). Since mid-2005, Liechtenstein has ᝲᝲMittagspitze Austr (5km); Balzers Police %117 operated its own postal system. Zollstr (6km); Sargans Sargans ᝲᝲ(10km) 720 VADUZ •• Sleeping Book accommodation onlinelonelyplanet.com at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com AROUND VADUZ •• Malbun 721 set two-course dinners. The menu changes from vertigo, as in places the path is narrow, IT’S LIECHTENSTEIN TRIVIA TIME daily, but always includes a veggie option. The reinforced with rope handholds and/or falls If you ever meet the prince in the pub, make sure he buys a round. The royal family is esti- horseshoe bar, with orchids and low lighting, away to a sheer drop. The hike, which takes mated to be worth UK£3.3 billion. is a perfect place to unwind – there is live up to four hours, begins at the Berggasthaus music some evenings. Shoestring travellers Gaflei (bus 30 from Triesenberg). Travel light There are 80,000 companies registered in the principality – that’s nearly double the popula- will appreciate the cheap takeaway, including and wear good shoes. tion of Vaduz. pasta and brats. Liechtenstein bites into a large chunk of the false-teeth market – it’s the world’s largest MALBUN exporter of the product. pop 100 Liechtenstein is the only country in the world named after the people who purchased it. AROUND VADUZ Nestled amid the mountains in the southeast is tiny Malbun, Liechtenstein’s one and only In its last military engagement in 1866, none of its 80 soldiers was killed. In fact, 81 returned, Outside Vaduz the air is crisp and clear with a ski resort.