Travel: VADUZ, LIECHTENSTEIN (Eurotrip)

*check out my last Eurotrip adventures to Lake Constance here!*

 

One of the great things about Europe is that it really is easy to country-hop. In one day, we drove through five countries, one being one of the smallest countries on Earth – Liechtenstein. What they don’t tell you about Liechtenstein is how impressive the landscape is. When driving into the capital, Vaduz, we were affronted by huge craggy cliff faces that pretty much stopped us in our tracks.

Partway up one of these craggy peaks, you’ll find Liechtenstein Castle, a pretty, geometric castle nestled in front of even more hills and mountains. As with most castles these days, we’d expected visitors to be allowed in, but alas this castle is kept for the royal family alone – definitely worth knowing before you make the trek up there! No matter, it made for some very nice views and gave us something to do before we headed into the town. 

We headed to the Liechtenstein Centre to pick up a map for our self-guided walking tour. Whilst brief (small countries have small capitals), it was still really interesting. Vaduz represents a mix of the old and new – the old-style castle, cathedral of St Florin, and National Museum juxtaposed with the modern art museum, Postal Museum and state buildings – the old all highly decorated and colourful and the new all sharp lines and simple palettes.

We stopped for a lunch of sandwiches and cakes at Balu – it’s worth noting that Liechtenstein is not a cheap place to visit, but the quality seemed good. Afterwards, we headed out the other side of town onto Mitteldorf, pretty streets taking you slightly up the hill with the stunning backdrop of mountains, the castle, and yet more lovely buildings.

 

I’d been surprised by a lot in Vaduz already, but perhaps most surprising was to stumble across a poster for a country music festival – if you’ve read any of the other content on my blog, you’ll know that’s right up mystreet! As we drove out of Vaduz, we passed the Old bridge into the city, which marks the border with Switzerland. The bridge is entirely covered in wood cladding, and is worth checking out before you head back onto the motorway.

Tips for visiting Liechtenstein:

-        It’s not somewhere I would necessarily recommend for a long-term stay (unless you’re big into hiking, in which case I’m sure it would be perfect!) but if it’s en route from one place you’re travelling to another, it makes for a great stop-off. Plan in a few hours and take the city at your leisure.

-        Definitely wander into Mitteldorf – it’s ten minutes out of your way, but is much less crowded than the centre, and offers spectacular views of the surrounds, as well as having some pretty houses to admire and dream about buying! 

I hope you enjoyed today’s travel blog post! There's still a few Eurotrip blogs to come, so make sure to stay tuned on Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when the next one is posted - I'd love to know where you're off to next too! Thanks for reading!