The Alps and Malbun

Beyond the Rhine valley, much of Liechtenstein rises into the Alps, a surprisingly dramatic mountain landscape of soaring peaks, high pastures and green valleys packed into a tiny country. At its heart is Malbun, the principality's cosy and family-friendly mountain resort, tucked in a high valley, offering low-key skiing and snowboarding in winter and superb hiking, wildflowers and fresh Alpine air in summer. The mountains are laced with walking trails, the most famous being the exhilarating Fürstensteig, a spectacular, vertiginous ridge path carved into the cliffs, offering breathtaking panoramas over Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria for those with a head for heights.

What you actually see

• Malbun - the cosy mountain ski and hiking resort.
• The Fürstensteig - the spectacular, vertiginous ridge trail.
• The Alpine hiking - the trails, peaks and high pastures.
• The winter sports - the low-key skiing and snowboarding.

When to go

December to March for skiing and snowboarding at Malbun, and June to September for hiking, wildflowers and the high trails, when the Fürstensteig and other routes are clear of snow; spring and autumn are quieter shoulder seasons. The mountains offer a cool, scenic escape and a surprising amount of Alpine adventure for such a tiny country.

Honest expectations

Liechtenstein's ski area at Malbun is small and gentle, ideal for families and beginners but modest compared with the vast resorts of neighbouring Switzerland and Austria, and the famous Fürstensteig trail is genuinely vertiginous, with exposed sections and cables, requiring a head for heights and sure footing. For a compact, uncrowded and surprisingly dramatic taste of the Alps, though, with cosy Malbun and superb hiking, the mountains are the natural highlight of the principality.

Nearby

The capital Vaduz, the Rhine valley and the Swiss and Austrian Alps are close.