Liechtenstein does not have an official bovine band, although its sizeable cow population could probably form one. All day, cattle wander the pastures with polished bells swinging from their necks, creating a soft, irregular soundtrack that would be worth hearing on a concert stage.
In Malbun, the country’s highest alpine resort, those cowbells provide a constant musical backdrop. The peaceful mountain village draws walkers during the warmer months and skiers in winter, with the bells chiming as visitors unload their cars, enjoy a local Brauhaus wheat beer in the sunshine or push their legs up steep trails at elevations approaching 2,000 metres.
Wedged between Austria and Switzerland, and only about 20 miles from Germany, Liechtenstein is remarkably compact. The principality measures roughly 15 miles from end to end and just four miles across, making it smaller than only Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino among Europe’s countries.
That diminutive scale makes Liechtenstein a tempting stop for travellers collecting countries, many of whom simply cross the border, take a photograph and move on. But those who stay can walk across the country’s narrowest stretch in a few hours, potentially completing the unusual travel feat of visiting three countries in a single day.
One of Europe’s smallest countries, Liechtenstein is only 15 miles long and four miles wide, yet it is home to attractions such as fairytale-like Vaduz Castle, the residence of the principality’s royal family
Liechtenstein has Europe’s most densely connected hiking network, offering routes for all abilities. Here, a walker reaches the high-alpine Fürstensteig Trail at sunrise
A quick border photo, however, barely scratches the surface of this welcoming miniature nation. A full week would suit visitors hoping to explore in depth, but our three-day family stop in late July proved an ideal introduction — even if we left wishing we had booked a little longer.
As one of Europe’s least visited countries, Liechtenstein offers a refreshing escape from crowded attractions and interchangeable tourism brands. There are no international hotel chains here and not even a Starbucks, although Vaduz’s only McDonald’s appears to be thriving.
Instead, the landscape is dominated by 92 named mountains, vineyards and more than 400 kilometres of walking routes — the densest hiking network in Europe. The 75-kilometre Liechtenstein Trail links many of the country’s highlights, while the Rhine forms a natural boundary along the western side.
The scenery is restorative wherever you go. Wildflower meadows dotted with edelweiss, the dramatic peaks of the Rätikon range and traditional wooden homes combine to create an almost storybook alpine setting.
The country’s royal family appears to have embraced that fairytale atmosphere. Prince Hans-Adam II, head of the House of Liechtenstein, lives in Vaduz Castle, a 12th-century fortified residence whose towers overlook the capital, the Rhine Valley and the Swiss Alps.
Quiet Malbun offers families a gentler alternative to larger alpine resorts, with a chairlift ascending to the Sareis summit and its excellent mountain café
Liechtenstein stayed neutral during the Second World War, and this Peace Chapel was built in the 1950s in gratitude for the country’s escape from the conflict
After a morning on the trails, families can relax at Mühleholz outdoor swimming pool in Vaduz, where entry for four costs around £16
Vaduz combines a reigning prince with a cathedral and an eye-catching parliament building constructed from around a million cream-coloured clinker bricks. Yet the capital has fewer than 6,000 residents, making it comparable in size to a substantial British village.
Liechtenstein has no railway station, but its yellow single-decker buses handle the mountain roads and connect 411 stops. We arrived by car; travellers flying into Zurich can take a train to Sargans, just across the Swiss border, then continue to Vaduz by bus in approximately 33 minutes.
We arrived in Malbun with an ambitious three-day hiking itinerary, but the resort’s calm atmosphere quickly became part of the appeal. Even at the height of summer, this little-known alpine retreat feels wonderfully uncrowded.
It would be an easy place for a famous person hoping to vanish from public view: send a decoy to St Tropez and retreat here instead. Malbun has only a handful of hotels, a modest selection of restaurants and a small, picturesque church with a poignant history.
Built from natural stone in the early 1950s, the Catholic Peace Chapel commemorates Liechtenstein’s survival without direct involvement in the Second World War. Like neighbouring Switzerland, the principality maintained its neutrality throughout the conflict.
Liechtenstein was established as a principality in 1719 by Emperor Charles VI of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. Today, it relies heavily on Switzerland for practical administration, sharing its currency and customs arrangements. German is the official language, alongside three locally spoken dialects.
There’s plenty of fun facts to be hewn out of this country too; the principality is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end false teeth and its 40,000-strong population belts out the national anthem, ‘Oben am jungen Rhein’, to the same tune as ‘God Save the King’.
Creating your own identity when you’re a doubly land-locked microstate can’t be easy but the Liechtensteiners we meet are laid-back, with an easy, offbeat humour. At our hotel, we’re gifted a branded tick remover, because why shouldn’t fending off Lime Disease be a marketing opportunity?
Good carbs: Käsknöpfle is a favourite dish – with small, dense dumplings cloaked in cheese and caramelised onions
Striking: Capital Vaduz may feel like a large village but it’s home to the country’s Parliament
We encounter a surprisingly rich undercurrent of creativity too, from the farm shop vending machines selling local honey, artisan pasta and fresh milk to a meadow ‘escape room’ and the ‘swing trail’, a two-hour mountain walk punctuated with 10 playground swings that come with sensational views.
Persuading a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old to lace up boots and swap mobiles for Mother Nature sparked some predictable moaning that eventually floated away on the breeze; because there is no AI photo that can match seeing the Alps with your own eyes.
Family hikes invite a carousel of different energies. On a three-hour looping wander from Malbun to the high, prominent ridge of Sareis, right at the top of the mountain, there are swathes of silent concentration interspersed with segments of animated chat about school, movies and music, as we distract ourselves from the grinding rise in terrain.
The well-trodden paths are fringed with swaying grasses, Alpine roses and trumpet-like gentian flowers. We stop to pat adorable donkeys and watch as a local brings a soaring golden eagle back to his leather glove. Ultimately though, it is the culinary reward at the summit that spurs this quartet of fair-weather walkers on.
My favourite meal this year might end up being the ham and cheese sandwich, served on freshly cut bread with one, fat splodge of mustard, that we devour at the Sareis café.
Liechtenstein’s favourite lunch, by the way, is Käsknöpfle, small but hearty dumplings cloaked in cheese and caramelised onions – human fuel for negotiating these landscapes.
To cool off after lunch, we take the chairlift back down and then yellow bus it to an impressive outdoor swimming pool – with snaking water chutes, diving boards and whirlpools – in Mühleholz for an afternoon under a summer sun that’s never too hot. At £5.50 for adults and £2.75 for under 16s, it’s a cheap way to kick back.
Miles of walking and carb-filled lunches is a soporific combination when you add in slow, winding bus rides – and cat-napping on public transport seems to be par for the course amongst locals and tourists.
Our mini adventure proves a masterclass in both why small is beautiful and how finding the forgotten can be great fun. Give me low-key Liechtenstein’s four-legged Alpine percussionists and their cowbells over the madding crowd elsewhere any day.