Im going to Europe soon and I cannot be the only one with a silly obsession of stopping in every microstate for at least a day. What are your experiences with San Marino, Liechtenstein Luxembourg, et all?
Bonus points if you actually lived there for a while or were even born there. While for 90% of stuff you are really living in Switzerland/Italy/France, what are the small quirks living there? When does the concept of living on a microstate affects your day to day life?
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>Luxembourg
Worth visiting, it's like a very beautiful and wealthy French city with interesting topography. There's more than just Luxembourg City to it, as well.
>Monaco
Worth visiting, its buildings are nothing special, but the topography and density of everything is.
>San Marino & Andorra
Meme mountain villages with nothing going on. The countries surrounding it are far more interesting.
>Liechtenstein
Literally a random Swiss-style village.
>Vatican
It's in Rome and you should visit Rome anyways, so do it. The Vatican itself is a group of buildings with multiple galleries and a large garden.
>Malta
Amazing, completely unique and ancient place, israeliteel of both nature and architecture, albeit really difficult to reach.
I was gonna say that I dont consider Malta a microstate but checked first. Damn its tiny.
Thx for the the review but its funny as Im specially hyped for Liechtenstein and San Marino. Im embracing for the boringness
Microstate autismo chads rise up
>Luxembourg
gorgeous, did a day trip, could spend a couple more checking out nooks and crannies. City is a hidden gem
>Liechtenstein
Indistinguishable from any Alpine town aside from the castle. Great power tools.
>Vatican
Crowded but beautiful. The crypts under the Sistine Chapel where they hide the power source of the demiurge are really something else.
>Monaco
So fricking cool. Went to the F1 race. They have a fricking Bugatti dealership and the cars stay parked outside.
Wanna see the rest, does Andorra have any good skiing?
Nice, this is what I'm looking for. I wish to stay longer in Andorra and soak more on that Spanish/French/Catalan atmosphere. How do people talk to each other on the streets?
Locals talk in Catalan. I have a friend from there and asked. He said the 2nd most used languages are Spanish then Portuguese. Most of the people who do undesirable jobs are immigrants from Portugal. French is a complete afterthought. More people probably speak English.
Andorra is very wealthy and much more organized than Spain or France. More like Switzerland. On top of being a ski place it's like a big duty free shop. Imagine a Spanish speaking Aspen meets 5th Avenue.
Nice, this is the kind of info I'm looking for Luxembourg as well.
>French is a complete afterthought.
In my couple of visits to Andorra, every local I met working in a hotel or other tourist-facing industry at least claimed to be trilingual in French, Spanish, and Catalan. True that the place is full of Portuguese guest workers, though. Wages are pretty high and taxes negligible by European standards.
>Malta
>really difficult to reach.
Wtf are you talking about? There's really cheap low costs flight to Malta from almost every single country in EU.
I paid 9 euros for a flight from Italy to Valetta.
Secret microstates
>Bailiwick
how is that a real word?
One of the islands there was a literal feudal state until a few years ago
don't forget Sark
Don’t forget Herm.
Its interesting that absolutely none of the fascination I have more microstates transcends to
Those are just larping Brits
San Marino is larping Italians
Liechtenstein is larping Germans
Andorra is larping Spanish who larp as Catalans
I knew a guy from GEHNS-KNEE
He was extremely proud of it as his family had lived there for sometime.
I would be too
Liechtenstein has a ski area. In the summer you can walk to the triple point with Switzerland and Austria from there which is a nice use of a day. Apart from that it’s just Swiss countryside like the other anon said.
you can ask for gibraltar passport stamp too (they usually dont care), but aside from the novelty southern spain more interesting
Gibraltar is not independent. Zero interest whatsoever
>Oh wait, the monkeys...
Gibraltar and the other British territories are strange. They’re not part of the U.K. but they are ruled by the British crown like the U.K. is, so they have the same armed forces (which are British forces, not U.K. forces) and the U.K. foreign office does a lot of stuff for them too. Dunno if there’s an exact American equivalent. Puerto Rico? Kinda?
The Channel Isles and the Isle of Man are Crown dependencies, which are basically the same thing but from before the British Empire.
Civics with Anon
So...not independent lol
Not sure about the others but the Isle of Man is semi-independant. We have our own government and laws but there's no real practical difference between being in the UK or on the island.
>there's no real practical difference between being in the UK or on the island.
thats the point. I want to hear the small differences that a guy living/travelling in Andorra/Luxenbourg may have. Even the trivia if its real that SM drivers are a menace cuz they dont have to fines
>Dunno if there’s an exact American equivalent
Guam
captcha: 8A2GAY
A Italian dude told me that San Marino drivers are a public menace because they can't be served with speeding/parking tickets. They are 100% Italians of course, but if they can register a car with SM plates then they are made. It's also relatively easy to get into politics because all young people move to Italy to study and because there's no more space, so basically is like trying to become a councillor but you can larp as a congressman or even be a head of state
I remember they being on the news for having a prime minister in his 20s
>I cannot be the only one with a silly obsession of stopping in every microstate for at least a day.
You're not. This is actually an active goal of mine.
I live in NZ so I have a similar plan with Nauru/Tuvalu and perhaps Pitcarin Island. Its way more expensive because of planes and ive been given the same boring warnings from my Islander friends but that only encourages more
What warnings?
That it's completely boring lol. I'm not going there for the beaches or adventure, I want to see how they live. They also must have a more define separate identity as they aren't as the European microstates in which they practically are a village of their neighbouring country
Isn't Monaco insanely expensive? How do you travel a place like that in the cheap?
>Isn't Monaco insanely expensive? How do you travel a place like that in the cheap?
Day trip from Nice - bus ride and lunch costs less than 20 euros. Walking is always nice too.
Nice which is also a cool visit
Lol moron Luxembourg is not a microstate idiot
Says who?
Only been in the Vatican, but I recommend that one at least. Fantastic artworks
All public transport is entirely free in Liechtenstein. I found that fascinating, not to mention that it's cleaner than any standard public transport you have to pay anywhere across the globe.
You're mixing up Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
Public transport of FL is cucked, they have a railway but most trains only pass through the country without stopping.
>You're mixing up Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
I knew his post seemed off. I couldn't find any sources to corroborate his claim, but it was much easier to find yours.
I've only been to Vatican and Liechtenstein so far.
I like to be able to say that I've been to Liechtenstein, but it was MEH. I wish I had skipped it.
Vatican is at least in Rome, so it's surrounded by tons of interesting architecture and great food. So even if you don't care for all those religious buildings and artifacts, it can still make for a good trip.
I had an airbnb 5 mins away from Vatican, it was a great neighborhood to stay in.
And yeah Andorra is supposed to be one of the best ski centres in the world lol
>Malta
>Amazing, completely unique and ancient place, israeliteel of both nature and architecture, albeit really difficult to reach.
You've clearly never been to Malta.
Sanmarino was cooler then Liechtenstein some old guy who spoke no English helped me change my motorcycle tire there
Just returning from Andorra from Spain. I think it is worth to know it if you already know Barcelona and it is your second/third time there or if you intend to stay a week there. Valid for a day-trip, but nothing more than that (unless in winter, maybe). Also, pay attention that while Andorra is in Schengen, they are not in EU, which means that you won't pass by migration when you leave, but you will do pass by customs - and Andorra is a duty-free country.
Andorra is a stealthty way to get extra 90 days in Europe, just claim you have been there for 1-2 weeks as they dont count for Schengen Area but threres no border control. Enjoy that loophole while it lasts
Bump.
What are fun facts about some of the Euro microstates?
Here's one: Every US President is automatically a citizen of San Marino.
Another sanmarinesse one: they remained independent because they gave assylum to Garibaldi when he started his Italian reunification campaign. It was the only city state he allowed them to chose what they wanted to do
something something Sark was a feudal stage until the last decade
In Andorra you can send mail using either the Spanish or French postal systems as they both operate within the country and have competing offices next to each other in some cases. And sending mail within Andorra itself is free.
The president of France and some random Spanish bishop are honorary princes of Andorra.
>Lichtenstein
Not really worth it. Nothing interesting in particular. Costs 5 euros to have your passport stamped. I did not pay
>Vatican
100% should visit while in Rome
Forgot
>Malta
Great time and Worth visiting. I'd legitimately think of living there if they didn't drive on the incorrect side of the road
I like Rick Steves he has the best books.
don't be an idiot. Don't get your passport stamped in eu microstates or anywhere else unless it's an official stamp. It can invalidate your passport. You may be denied entry to some countries.
This.
Time to bust out my favorite pic from the internet again.
>this traveler was denied a visa to Finland because of a San Marino stamp
>technically "official," as it was issued by a government office, but seeing as it's 100% optional and unnecessary for entry, it invalidates the passport
>conclusion: only have official entry/exit stamps in your passport, do not get non-essential stamps
Finns are literal NPCs
>ummmmm I don't like this visa stamp
>u can't come in
Sounds like bullshit to me bro
if it's not an official entry/exit stamp, it doesn't belong in your passport.
Border officials and ambassadors/consular agents can be capricious af. Google it. You'll find plenty of people who had been denied entry to countries.
This anon is correct. A lot of people get the meme Antarctica stamp on their cruises to the continent and end up getting their passports invalidated for entry if border control sees it in a lot of countries.
Antarctica is not a state, San Marino is
Irrelevant considering you'd have to go through a Schengen country anyway to get to San Marino since it doesn't have an airport.
That's exactly how it works.
You can be excluded for any arbitrary reason and there's nothing you can do about it on the spot.
anyone been here?
Yes. Needed it for my Real Traveler™ map.
chocolate microstates?
San Marino is the world's first republic and pretty much a fortress. Vatican City is pretty much a museum for Catholicism. Liechtenstein is just a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire and is pretty much a Swiss canton that happens to be independent. Andorra is a duty-free ski resort. Gibraltar is basically another Spanish town but with even more Brits. Luxembourg is the richest country in the world per capita, and it's really just a nice French town. Monaco is a French riviera casino resort for richgays. Not worth it if you don't have a friend who will invite you to their yacht. Malta is like what Italy will look like in 2050 when refugees completely take over. Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are just little farm islands with a bunch of sheep and tax evaders. Åland and Faroe Islands are just quaint Scandi fishing islands.
HI EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
Stay in Luxmerbourg for at least a few days. Stay in a hotel in Luxembourg City, visit Echternach and Clearvaux.
Im a little disappointed no local has shown up yet ngl
>Andorra
I was in Andorra a few years ago with my family, and it was lovely. If you enjoy SighSee activities like me, then you'll definitely enjoy it as there's lots of mountains with beautiful views, you can also go skiing if you happen to be there in the winter months, even as late as March there can be some great snow.
>Monaco
Currently on a trip across Italy and I stopped there for a few hours last week since I was in Nice (1 hour train ride) (I was going to stay in Monaco itself but it was too expensive) I didn't see a whole pile but it was pretty neat, similar to Andorra it has some great views of the entire country but also has some rich israelite buildings.
>Vatican
I was in Rome until like 2 days ago and the Vatican is basically a giant Museum. I didn't see as much of it as I would've liked to.
luxemburg is not a microcountry.
you could spend some weeks there. its better than all surrounding areas. nice nature, pretty
moutnainous" for the area. of course very cheap and rich. its a lot bigger than just the city
>Vatican City
It's well ingrained into Rome's cityscape so it doesn't even feel like you're crossing a border. Absolutely worth visiting when traveling to Rome.
>Andorra
Microstate lost in the mountains, with nothing noteworthy of visiting. It does however have a nice set of ski tracks, at least compared to where I live (Portugal) where winter sports barely exist. But I don't know much about skiing and snowboarding.
Nearly every café or restaurant there seems to be owned by a Portuguese family.
I'll be going to Malta in September!
>Monaco
Nice seaside city for a day trip from Nice.
>Vatican
A must-see if you're in Rome, the museum is very nice.
>San Marino
A nice fortress town but it's full of souvenir shops and tourist traps like the vampire museum. Since there's no VAT, you could buy all sorts of things cheaper than in Italy. It's like the entire country caters to hobbyists with rare coin/stamp shops, anime merch, repros of medieval weapons, etc.
>A nice fortress town but it's full of souvenir shops and tourist traps like the vampire museum. Since there's no VAT, you could buy all sorts of things cheaper than in Italy. It's like the entire country caters to hobbyists with rare coin/stamp shops, anime merch, repros of medieval weapons, etc.
this is the info i've beel looking for
went to Andorra recently as a day trip because we were staying in Spain nearby, I thought the mountains were beautiful but there wasnt much else to do and the capital seemed very touristy/ boring if you arent into shopping/malls.