Liechtenstein by campervan: best regions and routes

Areas of Liechtenstein

The parts of Liechtenstein: four valley communes and the mountain above them

These are not regions in the sense a French department is. Liechtenstein is 160.5 square kilometres split into eleven communes, and you can drive from the southern border to the northern one in about twenty minutes. What follows is the valley floor, which holds almost everything and almost everyone, and the mountain side, which is one road and one resort. Pick by what you want to do in an afternoon, not by where to spend a week.

Vaduz and Schaan

Vaduz and Schaan: the capital, the museums and most of the parking

Vaduz is the capital and sits at 460 metres with the castle on the rock above it. Schaan, immediately north, is the largest commune and the industrial and commercial one. Together they hold the museums, the government, the shops and the two car parks a van can use. Vaduz is also the only place in the country that feels visited.

Any month

What it is like

• The Städtle in Vaduz is a short pedestrian strip of museums, banks and souvenir shops, walkable end to end in ten minutes.
• The castle is the Prince's residence and is not open to the public. The walk up to it is, and it is the best view in the valley.

Where to go

• Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein and the Landesmuseum, both on the Städtle
• The path up to Vaduz castle, for the valley from above

For the vehicle

• The Rheinpark Stadion car park in Vaduz is CHF 0.50 an hour with no time limit, first hour free. That is where a long van goes.
• Central Vaduz and Schaan are CHF 1.50 an hour with the first hour free. Schaan charges nothing at weekends or on holidays.

Balzers and Triesen

Balzers and Triesen: the southern end, the castle and the one campsite

The southern third of the country, entered from Switzerland at Balzers. Balzers has Gutenberg castle on its rock and the last shops before the border. Triesen, just north of it, has the country's only campsite and most of its everyday shopping. This is where a van coming up from Chur or Sargans arrives, and where it is most likely to stay the night.

Best May to October

What it is like

• Balzers is two old villages grown together under a castle rock, with the Ellhorn climbing crag above it.
• Triesen runs uphill from the main road in terraces, with the old village high and the industry low.

Where to go

• Burg Gutenberg in Balzers, on its rock above the village
• The Ellhorn climbing garden and the walk up behind it

For the vehicle

• Camping Mittagsspitze, Sägastrasse 29 in Triesen, is the campsite. Open all year except roughly 22 December to 1 March, with a grey water point, a chemical toilet point and a restaurant.
• Winter is seven hardstanding pitches on 6 amp Swiss type J sockets, booked and paid online before arrival.

Triesenberg, Malbun and Planken

Triesenberg, Malbun and Planken: the mountain side and the Fürstensteig

Everything above the valley floor. Triesenberg is the Walser village strung along the hillside at 886 metres, and the road through it climbs to Steg and then to Malbun at 1,600 metres, the country's one mountain resort. Planken, the smallest commune, sits on its own shelf to the north. This is the half of Liechtenstein worth a day rather than an hour.

Best June to October, and December to March for snow

What it is like

• Malbun is a small bowl of hotels and lifts at the head of a dead end road, with ski runs in winter and walking in summer.
• Triesenberg was settled by Walser people from the Valais and still speaks a distinct dialect. The road up is the steepest driving in the country.

Where to go

• The Fürstensteig, from above Gaflei to the Gafleisattel, graded T3
• The ridge on over the Kuegrat to the Drei Schwestern

For the vehicle

• The official tourism site lists a Stellplatz in Malbun, but its page could not be read, so check pitches, price and season directly before driving up.
• Bus line 21 runs Vaduz to Malbun all year, which is the answer for a vehicle that does not want the climb.