Europe’s Lilliputian Countries
Come along as we explore Europe's Lilliputian Countries. "Lilliput" is a fictional island in the novel “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) and according to Gulliver, the islanders, referred to as the Lilliputians, were extremely small.
While extremely small, just like the Lilliputian people living on Jonathan Swift’s fictional island of Lilliput, Europe’s smallest countries may be holding the biggest surprises for intrepid travellers. Also referred to as Europe’s “pint-sized perfection countries”, we count down Europe’s 10 smallest countries, based on land area.
Often overlooked by travellers, Europe’s smallest countries do not get their fair share of tourists. A reason often cited by travellers for not considering these countries, is that they were under the impression that they were not worth visiting. Seems like everybody flocks to France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Greece – Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.
While there is a relationship between country size (geographic and local population), and the number of visitors, this does not always hold true.
According to Oliver Smith, Digital Travel Editor for the British newspaper “The Telegraph”, in 2016 there were 51 destinations around the world where tourists outnumbered local residents. Of these, 24 are in Europe. At the top of the global list is Andorra, one of Europe’s smallest countries squeezed between France and Spain. Here tourists outnumber local residents by 33 to 1. Next is Monaco, at 8:1 and Malta at 4:1. While these statistics may not be perfectly accurate, the point is that some of the smallest countries get the most visitors per capita!
The moral of the story is: if you write off Europe’s smallest countries as being Lilliputian with no tourist value, you are making a big mistake.
Globerovers Magazine visited each of Europe’s 10 smallest countries to ascertain their tourist value. While we did not travel extensively in each, we visited several places in each country and spoke often with visiting travellers to find out why they visited the country. We were amazed by the many unexplored secrets offered by Europe’s Lilliputian countries and concluded that all of them are packed with surprises, even for the most seasoned travellers.
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Globerovers Magazine December 2018
Sveti Stefan, Montenegro
Old City, Kotor, Montenegro
Marsaxlokk fishing village, Malta
Valetta, Malta
Balzers Castle, Liechtenstein
View from the Ville Haute (“High City”) to the Ville Basse (“Low City”) and the Grund in the River Alzette gorge, Luxembourg.
View from the Ville Haute (“High City”) to the Ville Basse (“Low City”) and the Grund in the River Alzette gorge, Luxembourg.
View from the Ville Haute (“High City”) to the Ville Basse (“Low City”) and the Grund in the River Alzette gorge, Luxembourg.
Tombs of the Kings, Paphos, Republic of Cyprus.
Monachus Arch, Ayia Napa, Cape Greco, Republic of Cyprus.
Bridge over the Bistrica River, Prizren, Kosovo
Views from the Kaljaja Fortress, Prizren, Kosovo.
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Globerovers Magazine December 2018
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