Does Liechtenstein really exist?

I only remember one mention of Liechtenstein in the years I've been reading the forum, but of course I don't read ever post.

I'd put Liechtenstein inquiries in the General Europe section as you have. If no one responds here, I'd try the Swiss forum. I don't know what percentage of forum visitors read the All Topics view vs. the individual country forums they're most interested in.

It exists. Driving from Milan to Innsbruck via S. Bernardino and Arlberg pass, I drove through Liechtenstein maybe 20 times. I even stopped for lunch once; but there is very little to see and generally speaking Feldkirch (more) and Chur (a bit less) are more attractive than Vaduz. Even Heidiland, south of Liechtenstein, is nicer and more attractive. The princes' castle, said to house a collection of fine art, is closed to public visits. The main reason to go there would be opening an offshore bank account or setting up some tax haven gimmick. The main industry is dental products.

In general, all Europe's tiny states never reached such a critical mass to be architecturally, artistically and now touristically interesting - excepting the Vatican, a tiny state but the center of a large spiritual empire.

There is nothing exceptional about the small country, except Switzerland and Austria are great places to visit.

Liechtenstein can only be accessed through the wardrobe.

Lee, I recall someone describing Liechtenstein as a suburb of Switzerland. I was on a bus in Switzerland when the driver pointed to a town on one side and said "that's Leichtenstein over there". I'd post in the Switzerland forum, but you know that most regulars go to the "All Topics" so it will pop up on most peoples view wherever you post. I do recall a few older threads asking basically the same questions.

Drove through it on a couple different occasions, the first being in 1980. It only take about 30 minutes to drive across and I don’t recall anything exceptional about it. The countryside is the same as the bordering countries. Other than saying you were there, I feel it could easily be skipped.

I can swear that Lichtenstein exists, because I pass through every now and then on my way to the Lower Engadin. You can also get a stamp in your passport as proof of your visit at the Tourist Office (for a small fee). But the neighboring Vorarlberg is not only more attractive (e.g., Feldkirch and the church castle in the neighboring Rankweil) and has more beautiful mountain roads (e.g. the one up to the Furkajoch (not to be confused with the Swiss Furka Pass), but it is also cheaper.

"I was on a bus in Switzerland when the driver pointed to a town on one side and said "that's Leichtenstein over there"."

Stan! That's exactly what happened on my GAS tour. The bus drove by, Carlos the guide pointed and that was that.

I recall that Rick produced a program on Europe's five micro countries - Andorra, Vatican City, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino - which might provide some of the information you're after. Ne c'est pas?

https://www.liechtenstein.li/en/

Yes, it does exist, all 62 square miles

For comparison, DisneyWorld is 40 square miles. The city of San Francisco is ~46 square miles.

I was looking for a forum where I could ask what is worth seeing, but I guess some of you answered that question already - basically nothing. But I had forgotten about the "Five Micro-countries" episode on RS Europe. I have the 20-year Anthology set, so I looked it up, it's on the "Benelux and Beyond" disc.

there's a McDonalds on the side of the road. I went in. I ate. My wife ate too. It is clean. The road is straight and a nice shade of black asphalt. The cars have black number plates with white numbers. Small white numbers - there aren't very many of them.

Looks like everything else nearby.

I've never felt a need to return.

Post in the Switzerland Forum - they work together on most things.

In 2013 on a trip to Switzerland, our group went to Vaduz, Liechtenstein for a wine tasting. The visitor's center will stamp your passport for 3 Euros (to prove you've been there and that there really is such a place).

I have been to Lichtenstein back in the '80s. Got a postcard from the castle and sent that home to Friends. We were driving through and thought it was worth a look. It's OK for a day trip but I don't think I would go out of my way to visit. I have been back to Switzerland numerous times and never gone back to Lichtenstein.

Margaret

I haven't been to Leichtenstein but have seen the RS show on the micro countries. I always imagine it as the type of place that has a sign just outside saying "Welcome to Liechtenstein" and the other side of the sign reads, "Thank you for coming".

I drove through it in 2018 on my way from Austria to Switzerland just to say I did, Could not tell the difference between the three frankly.
But it did ad one more country to my list of places I have been to.

If not for the pandemic I could have answered that for you as I was scheduled to be there just last month. But obviously that didn't happen. From my research I found what others have said - nothing special - other than being one of the smallest countries in the world. I've been to Germany, Switzerland and Austria several times and never 'bothered' with Liechtenstein. But this trip I would be half hour away so I figured it might be interesting just for the experience. I think it's probably worth a few hours if you are right there. I was just planning on walking around and looking at the outside of the castle (since you can't go in). Supposedly a decent view from up there.

When biking around the Bodensee, I was in Margrethen, Switzerland, and decided not to go 2 hours out of my way just to set foot/wheel in Liechtenstein. It kinda looked like it might be uphill in both directions....
Have not regretted that decision.
I did, however, stop to see a cool Friedensreich Hundertwasser-designed building in that general area.

I biked across in ‘73. I might have sent a postcard from there.

We pretty much followed the north side of Bodensee to Feldkirch route as part of our honeymoon, via St Gallen. We dipped into Lichtenstein from Feldkirch, on our way to Vipeteno, more or less to say we'd been there, border control at the time. The short drive to Vaduz is nothing out of the ordinary if visiting other parts of the Alps, and neither was Vaduz as I remember - the castle is a bit imposing from the outside, never went inside.

We spent a day and night in Feldkirch, and have returmed once since. If you have not been, it's a lovely river town inside a steep valley, archtecturally pretty and colourful, hiking paths in the hills above. An impressive cathedral and castle, the latter of which houses an interesting 'haimat' museum.

Our 2017 trip to Europe included a couple of hours in Vaduz in route between Zurich and Bavaria. We enjoyed it and it was pretty much right off the highway we were using anyway. If nearby it's worth a stop.