Feldkirch

Feldkirch was founded around 1200 by the counts of Montfort below their castle, the Schattenburg, and it kept the plan: arcaded streets, the Marktgasse under its vaults, towers of the town wall including the Katzenturm with its heavy bell, and the Gothic cathedral of St Nikolaus with a Wolf Huber altarpiece. The Schattenburg above holds a museum and is one of the better preserved castles in the region. The position matters: Feldkirch is a few kilometres from both Liechtenstein and Switzerland, on the rail line to Buchs and Zurich, and has been a crossing point for centuries. The Montforthaus, a curved concrete and glass hall of 2015, sits in the middle of the medieval streets and holds concerts, and the town runs a summer festival in the castle and the squares.

What you actually see

• Arcaded medieval streets - the Marktgasse and its vaults under the houses.
• The Schattenburg - the Montfort castle above the town, with its museum.
• Town wall towers - the Katzenturm and the surviving stretches of wall.
• A three-country crossing - Liechtenstein and Switzerland a few kilometres away.

When to go

April to October; the summer festival is in July. A day.

Honest expectations

The castle museum has seasonal hours. It is small - a day is generous. Rail traffic through to Switzerland makes the station busy but the town itself is quiet on Sundays.

Nearby

Liechtenstein is minutes south; Bregenz is north; the Montafon runs east.