Micro States of Europe

Malta is also a micro state (not sure why it's left out). It is hard to imagine that a tour would cover these efficiently because they are so far apart, and most average folks don't even know about many of these...so this would be a very "niche" type of tour that appeals to a very small subset of tourists. I can see going to these as a side trip to a main destination that is nearby/adjacent but not an entire tour of jumping around from one micro state to another at the expense of bypassing everything in between.

If you could share your experience with this tour, that would be great. You mentioned that there are some stops in between (I think there have to be such options for the simple reason of making such a tour marketable) but this means that the tour could get very long in duration (this would be an issue for non-retired folks who don't have the vacation time to put toward a trip like this).

(EDIT: I just looked at the tour and it's 20 days in length and ~ $7,800 (that's pretty steep), which underscores my point. And the tour leaves out Malta altogether).

The countries described as Micro-states are usually Vatican City, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and Liechtenstein. Malta and Luxembourg are usually counted as "normal", even if they are somewhat on the small side. Malta and Luxembourg are both full members of the EU. But, on an opposite argument I have even seen Iceland included in the list as it has a smaller population than Malta!

If you are collecting political anomalies, you can add Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and the Faroes, all of which are self-governing, 90% independent, not in the EU but with another country handling foreign affairs (UK for the first 3, Denmark for the Faroes).

There are also lots of other exclaves, bits of countries with no land connection to their "home" countries and sometimes completely surrounded by other countries (enclaves). In the "bad old days" of borders these places had complicated arrangements, now with open borders it just means a road sign, and different laws and taxes apply. For example:

• Livigno (a bit of Italy surrounded by Switzerland)
• Büsingen am Hochrhein (Germany surrounded by Switzerland)
• Llívia (Spain surrounded by France)
• Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau (multiple bits of Belgium, surrounded by Netherlands), where this photo comes from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Baarle-Nassau_fronti%C3%A8re_caf%C3%A9.jpg

P.S. if you take a train on the main line from Switzerland (Zürich) to Austria (Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna etc.), which many tourists do, the train goes through Liechtenstein, but doesn't stop there!

In part, Rick made that TV program along the theory of "I'll go so that you don't have to." Most are not destinations that he would include in a tour or a guidebook. Obviously, some of his tours visit Vatican City and others may have occasionally facilitated a side trip from Nice to Monaco.

I've only visited Liechtenstein and I found it a beautiful country with some fantastic scenery... and virtually indistinguishable from the adjacent areas of Austria and Switzerland, except for the unique black license plate.

All European microstates are not created equal.

Vatican is, for all purposes, a small - if extremely significant - neighborhood within Rome. Monaco is also a heavily populated enclave within France, with few distinctions from the surrounding area east of Nice (other than real estate prices).

Liechtenstein has a small population scattered along a valley, and some pretty mountains.

San Marino and Andorra have more of a separate country feeling, in particular Andorra. They have several towns, a territory that is far larger than the other three, and definitively not a small are one can cover easily in one day on foot or bike.

Laura - having Rick travel some place so I don't have to is like having Rick eat my dessert so I don't have to!

Agnes - yes, Adventures Abroad prices are a bit high but their tours include all dinners and just about everything you would want to see. I've been on many Adventures Abroad tours and just about everything is paid for up front. My expenses while on tour were lunch, snacks and souvenirs.

San Marino is enough of a state to compete in the Euro soccer championships, although inevitably not lasting long -- it barely has enough flat space for a decent soccer pitch. Over the years it has depended on dodging bigger countries' laws (currency, customs tariffs, gold, duty-free shops, even illicit contacts between enemies on r'n'r during the Second World War.) Monaco has done better in football, thanks to the prince's subsidies (it's a tax haven and gambling den) and its field is, or used to be, on top of a parking garage. Malta's history as a Mediterranean port gives it at least a thousand years of legitimacy, even if most the time it was a ping pall ball between bigger states. However, its suffering during the Second World War when it spent more time under bombardment than London gives it big points. Today: Banking, internet gambling, prep schools for European universities, and a certain sense of humour based on so much battering (except for the bus drivers.)
I notice, by the way, that the Knights of Malta, one of the great crusader orders that fortified Malta (and connected to St. John's Ambulance) have a certain amount of independent national status and have just been swatted by the current pope for distributing condoms. Sounds medieval, like the rest of these references, to me.
PS: You want a micro-state that is fabulously successful? Singapore.

Another micro-state you might wsh to visit is Gibraltar. This is self-governing with the UK running foreign affarirs and defence. Gibraltar is basically a fortified city built around a mountain full of tunnels and caves. My wife and I stayed at the excellent Rock Hotel, which is an art deco building much-frequented by Hollywood stars in the 1950s and 1960s. From our balcony, we could see the Atlas Mountains in Africa.

Pick 'em off as you travel through to other areas (except the Vatican - a great destination in and of itself). We driving from Zurich to Munich this coming summer so are going to detour a few miles to have lunch in Liechtenstein. The RS Switzerland guide does address Liechtenstein.