The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: November twenty-seventh, lingering in Liechtenstein.

Though its 30,000 citizens enjoy Europe's highest per capita income, Liechtenstein hosts relatively few visitors. Draped across a valley of the upper Rhine River between the towering Austrian and Swiss Alps, this tiny nation is not on a main road to anywhere and its borders would fit entirely within the city limits of Washington D.C. Yet the 61 square miles of this constitutional monarchy have snowy alpine peaks whose fir-lined flanks and green meadows are laced with miles of marked trails.

Almost as soon as ice age glaciers receded, the protected valley was inhabited by stone-age settlers who were brought into the Roman Empire by Caesar Augustus. Germanic tribes drove out the Romans in the fifth century A.D. The principality of Liechtenstein was formed in 1719, it became a sovereign nation in 1866 and a constitutional monarchy in 1922, the year it established close ties with Switzerland. These days, its currency is the Swiss franc, and Swiss watches and army knives its best-selling souvenirs. Revenues from international holding companies that call Liechtenstein home create much of the country's cash flow.

For most visitors, Liechtenstein is only a quick stop on a bus tour of Alpine resorts and castles; its passport imprint a travel trophy. The hiking, biking, hang-gliding and soaring are superb. Knowledgeable European skiers call Malbun, its mountain resort, "the other St. Moritz." The country has many small inns and over 100 restaurants, which range from sidewalk cafes to medieval elegance.

For Liechtenstein information, contact 011-075-232 or www.searchlink/touist/packageeng/capital.asp

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