7 reasons why not to go to Liechtenstein

7 reasons why not to go to Liechtenstein. Read why we do not recommend a trip to Vaduz and when you necessarily want to go there, check what to do to get the most out this trip.

1. Vaduz Castle – medieval castle towering over the city. It is a picturesquely located on the hillside symbol of Liechtenstein and in particular its capital. Its history reaches back to the 12th century, the oldest part of the structure comes from that period. However the biggest part of the palace was built in 16th century. First owners were the family of Werdenberg-Sargana. As we can read in guidebooks there is a noteworthy St. Anna chapel with a gothic altar from 15th century. Everyone ready to start climbing to see it we have to hold back. It is disappointing but the castle, symbol of the city and country, is not publicly accessible. So anyone who climbes up to see it has to satisfy themselves with the view of medieval walls from the outside and the panorama of the town lovely located in the valley. Signs “private” are disappointing, but it feels better when you find out that the castle performs the function for which indeed it has been built – it is the residence of of local rulers. Today it still is the primary residence of Liechtenstein’s Princely Family.

Those whose castle appetites were not satisfied we advise located nerby Gutenberg Castle in Balzers.

2. Städtle street – the center of Vaduz, a street stretching from town hall to governmental area and Vaduz Catredral. A walk from parliament to municipal building will take you no more than 5 minutes. On this small area you will find most of city attractions, souvenir shops and restaurants.

3. Wine – it is one of the things Liechtenstein is famous for. First vineyards you will find right outside the city center, few steps from Städtle. But term backyard garden seems to be more appropriate here. In whole country there is only over a dozen hectares of vineyards and the majority of Prince of Liechtenstein wines come from Austria, where most of his lands are. Purchase of local Riesling is quite difficult and expensive. For those interested in the matter of wine we suggest visiting winery Weingut des Fürsten von Liechtenstein Fürstliche where you can walk among vines, find out more about wines from local crops and of course try their  best wines. Going there you have to know that such pleasure is not cheap and the groups are highly welcomed. In the local shop we found bottles from all over the world like California and South Africa and among them four bottles from Liechtenstein. Vinery is particularily proud of their pinot noir and chardonnay.

4. Postage stamps – Liechtenstein is an important place in stamp-collectors’ world. Walking Städtle street you will surely come across the museum of this national good. Size of the institution and the exhibits is directly proportional to the size of the whole country. Museum presents all stamps released in Liechtenstein history in an impressive number of 300 series since 1912. In the nerby tourist information you can get a stamp of Liechtenstein to your passport, of course in the shape of postage stamp.

5. Shopping – Vaduz seems to be looking for rather wealthy tourists. First what we saw on Städtle street were two stores with best watches brands. Foreign tourists often drop into but be very careful with shoping because at the current exchange rate of the Swiss franc, which is the currency of Liechtenstein, it doesn’t really pay off. What is more this sector seems to be dominated by single owner – three of four shops in the city center are of the same ownership.

6. Majority of our readers are significantly or slightly but over 18, so even the fact that alcohol in Liechtenstein is accessible for younger than in most of European countries teenagers will not be something that will make you want to visit Liechtenstein. As the matter of fact thare are some other easily accessible countries in Europe that allow, as Liechtenstein, to buy beer and wine at the age of 16 years.

7. There is another city attraction – “the best” one – a trip around the city by the red city train. The ride might be interesting for little kids but luckily those still older than Ola. Thankfully she didn’t make us ride it along the route which would take the same amount time on foot.  One round takes approx. 30 minutes and costs CHF 10.50 per person. It seemed for is that the train route can be effortlessly covered on foot and in similar time. 

And that would be it as for the attractions of Vaduz that did not really charm us. But there is something that draw our attention in the city. This is street funrniture and sculptures which can be found mostly along Städtle street. Seems like nothing special but such sculptures and installations give the city that lovable character. We paid attention on it probably because in general we like such elements that make the cities more enjoyable and we appreciate situations when art takes to the streets. Vaduz boasts a pretty good collection of installations on Städtle street, and those who would like to have a loger meeting with art we want to direct to the art gallery – Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein.