On my first solo Christmas Market trip to Europe, I was within an hour of Liechtenstein during the Switzerland part of my journey. I really wanted to take a detour and visit this microcountry. However, I just simply ran out of time before I had to move onward to my next scheduled destination in the opposite direction of Liechtenstein.
So, on my second Christmas Market trip, I made sure to include Liechtenstein (and some of Europe's other tiny countries) in my itinerary. After all, if it's planned and on my schedule, I'll be sure to make it happen.
Training and Bussing it to Vaduz
The day prior to going to Liechtenstein, I spent the night in Zurich at a hostel that was a little outside the city center. So, I had to take a tram back to the HB (central station) in order to catch my train towards Liechtenstein.
There isn't direct train service to anywhere within Liechtenstein. Therefore, if you're in Zurich, you must take the IC3 to Sargans, Switzerland and then catch a bus to Vaduz, Liechtenstein's capital city.
On the IC3 train, it took about an hour to reach Sargans. Once I arrived, it was easy to spot the neon-green bus parked near the entrance to the Zoological gardens.
As a note, there are two busses that service this route. Both go in the direction of Vaduz Post, and you'll get off at the last stop (Vaduz Post). The 12E is the express bus and leaves every hour. The 11 is the local bus and leaves every half hour. The express will take only about 23 minutes while the local is about 30. The price is (at the time of writing) 8 CHF (approx 9 USD) and you can pay your fare right on the bus. I can't recall if credit cards were accepted, so be sure to have some Euros on hand just in case.
And, PS. Google maps is a fantastic way to get your public transportation, driving, or walking directions while you're traveling!
Both the train and bus ride were beautiful on this winter wonderland day. The entire region had just received record snow falls, so the expansive fields and craggy mountains were frosted in a thick layer of marshmallow fluff. Across the Liechtenstein countryside, I marveled at all the castles perched cliffside. Beautiful. As an FYI, if you want to tour the castles, it's really advised that you rent a car because bus service is limited or nonexistent to many of them.
Vaduz: The Beating Heart of Liechtenstein
Upon arrival in Vaduz, I was surprised at how tiny the capital city was. The main drag through the capital (that includes the bus route) is Landstrasse. When you get out of the bus on this street, you literally walk around the corner and you are on Städtle street, which is the city center.
Städtle is considered the heart of Vaduz. On this street, you have a few shops and restaurants, an ice skating rink in the winter, the Rathaus (town hall), the visitor center, some banks, and a government building at the church which truthfully looks like a palace!
Perched above the town is the Liechtenstein castle where the Prince of Liechtenstein actually lives! Apparently, you can get some great views from the castle perch, but there's no bus that goes up there and walking in winter would be dicey. So, you'd need a car if you wanted to visit in the snow!
Getting My Passport Stamped
My first stop in Vaduz was the little gift shop called the Central Plaza to get my passport stamped. This is obviously not an official border crossing stamp--I mean, after all, you're getting it done in a gift shop, haha. It's more of just a novelty thing to do. You also have to pay for the stamp, which you wouldn't need to do at a border office.
It was fun getting my passport stamped, but after the fact, I regretted it a little. I have traveled a lot over the last several years and I'm running out of room in my passport, so I really should have saved that page for a real border entry! Oh well, lesson learned!
The gift shop was a fun little spot. First, at the checkout counter, they had a framed picture of Ronald Reagan, which I thought was pretty fun! I asked about it and the lady said it was given to the owner of the shop by Ronald Reagan himself when he visited the area.
I was also super grateful for this shop for three other reasons. One, they pointed me in a direction of a free public restroom to use (such a rarity in Europe) and let me store my bag free of charge in their back storage room. After dragging my stuff around with me every day for more than a week by this point, this was SO much appreciated. Third, they gave me advice on what to do in the town. Admittedly, the lady confessed, there really wasn't much to do here, and so taking a bus up to the ski resort was always a fun option. I had a day to kill here in Vaduz because I was supposed to take a night train from nearby Feldkirch, Austria that wasn't scheduled to leave until 22:00.
If you're in Vaduz, definitely stop off at the Central Plaza gift shop, get your passport stamp (if you can spare the pages) and pick up a souvenir or two. They have some great things there!
Heading to the Ski Resort in Malbun
Since I had a lot of time to kill, I decided to take the Central Plaza employee's recommendation and catch the bus up to the ski resort. It was the number 21 and picked up on the opposite side of the street where I got dropped off when I came into town. I was able to buy my ticket on board (roundtrip was cheaper) from the bus driver with a credit card.
The drive up to the resort was beautiful. The recent snow fall had piled the snow high in the mountains, creating an absolutely beautiful scene. However, I can definitely tell you that I was super glad that a professional bus driver was hauling me up the mountainside and I wasn't having to worry about the driving!
Once I got to the top and the last stop, I asked the driver when the next bus left and he said it would be an hour. I got off the bus and started my way walking through the resort area. However, it didn't take me long at all to really question my decision to do so. Nothing was plowed. The pathways were tromped down, but there was still a lot of snow to wade through. Nothing was open. In one of the parking lots, people were digging their cars out with shovels.
I'm a quick one to admit I've made a mistake. I turned around after only having left the bus about 5 minutes before and saw that the bus was starting to leave. I flagged the driver down, and kindly he stopped. He opened the door, I pointed to my shoes and said "I'm not wearing the proper shoes for this." He smiled, agreed, and let me get on to head back down.
The funny thing is, I looked like a novice based on my footwear. However, I am anything but. I grew up in a very snowy place with mountains and resorts just like this, which is 100 percent why I knew this footwear was not going to cut it! I was so grateful that this bus driver was kind enough to stop and didn't just leave me stranded up there for an hour with nothing open!
The drive back down was just as beautiful and I recorded video, took pictures, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Honestly, I didn't have a big agenda for the day. I was just there to experience anything and everything, including a 1-hour roundtrip bus ride to a beautiful ski resort in Liechtenstein!
Onward in Vaduz
When I got back to Vaduz, I explored the city a little more, stopping in at the official visitor's center and photographing the beautiful spots along the way including the Kathedrale St. Florin, Vaduz's cathedral.
Then, I grabbed some food at the restaurant owned by the same guy who owns the Central Plaza gift shop. It's an Asian restaurant and really delicious. Check it out if you go. It's right above the watch shop and called Cafe Restaurant Engel. It was kind of fun (and unexpected) to eat some Thai red curry chicken in a cozy restaurant while watching the snowflakes fall on the street below. It was a perfect way to end a fun and carefree day in one of Europe's smallest countries.
Overall Impressions
Am I glad I went to Liechtenstein?
Absolutely. It's a really beautiful country, even covered in a blanket of snow in the winter. If winter sports are your thing, you'd definitely want to consider checking out the ski resort at Malbun, too. Here's the link for more information: Ski Resort Malbun. If you journey up to the resort, though, just make sure you're wearing winter boots. Unless, you just want to go for the bus ride and turn right around and go back down like I did. And that was still lovely!
I've heard Liechtenstein in the summer is another brand of BEAUTIFUL. The country is a brilliant shade of green when it's not covered in snow, and mountain adventures like hiking, biking, and the likes are definitely in the cards at that time of the year. And then, of course, visiting in the fall with the hills covered in a palette of oranges, reds, and yellows would also be spectacular!
Other advice?
Well, if I was going in a non-winter season, I would most likely rent a car. It would just be easier to get around and see the entire country, including the cliffside castles if you had your own wheels.
Another thought is that you can get to Liechtenstein from Austria, too. The town of Feldkirch is only a bus ride away, so if you happen to be in that area, add Liechtenstein to your itinerary for sure!
Happy Liechtenstein travelling!
