Tucked away in the centre of Europe between Germany, Belgium, and France, the tiny nation of Luxembourg is rarely on Euro travellers itineraries. That’s a real shame, as they are missing out on a real hidden gem of Europe, a gorgeous nation of castles, valleys, wonderful countryside and one of the most unique capital cities on the continent.
For our weekend in the Grand Duchy, we drove down from our home in Brussels on Friday evening. One of the best things about living in central Europe is how accessible everything is, especially from Belgium, where you can be in France or the Netherlands in just over an hour by car, and Germany and Luxembourg in a little over two.
After resting up for the evening, we set out into Luxembourg city on Saturday morning. The first thing that strikes you is just how green the city is. It is surrounded by gorges which are used as parks, full of trees and places to sit down and take it easy. We’d get to that later…
Luxembourg is very much a city with two personalities. We started in the first, the old town, following the Chemin de la Corniche, a pedestrian walkway along the clifftop and often described as ‘Europe’s most beautiful balcony’ due to its wonderful views. We stopped off on the way to have lunch on the charming main square, Place Guillaume II, before heading on to the Casemates, 18th century fortifications carved into the cliffs.
We then made our way to the second, Kirchberg Plateau, an area of new buildings including art galleries, fancy hotels and European Parliament buildings. If you’re a fan of modern architecture, then this is the area for you. Highlights include the Philharmonie, home of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the MUDAM Museum of Modern Art and the Melia Hotel. We then headed back to our hotel, via the beautiful, bustling parks. Luxembourg City isn’t particularly big, but we’d walked a fair few miles that day, so we rested in the evening before setting out on Sunday morning.
As we felt we’d pretty much seen the capital city, we decided to head into the countryside, choosing the places that weren’t too far off our route back to Belgium and that had the most positive descriptions in our guidebook!
First off, we headed to Vianden, one of Luxembourg’s most popular tourist attractions, with good reason. A quaint town with winding streets and pavement cafes, the main attraction is the Château that sits on the hill overlooking the town. It looks exactly the way you want a European castle to look, evoking fairy tales of yore with its towers and turrets. Built in the 11th century, it fell it into disrepair until its reconstruction in 1977 and they’ve done a wonderful job of restoring it to its former glory.
Next stop was the Chateau de Bourscheid, another 1000-year-old castle. Altogether more remote than the castle in Vianden, its position high on the hill gives spectacular views of the valleys that surround it. Not a complete castle by any means, it still offers a fascinating insight into the history of the area.
Our final destination was Esch-sur-Sure, a tiny village described in our guide as one of Europe’s prettiest. A beautifully scenic place, it sits on the bend in the river, and just like everywhere in Luxembourg it seems, has a castle up on the hill. This castle has been truly ravaged by time and while it isn’t in the best condition, I enjoyed clambering over the walls and ramparts, exploring what has been left behind.
It was the perfect place to finish our weekend in Luxembourg, as we sat by the river with a cup of tea before heading back onto the road, and home to Belgium. Luxembourg may be a tiny place, but it packs an awful lot in, and deserves higher profile for European holidaymakers.
Article and all photos taken by regular contributor James Taylor. Find more of his photos on Instagram @theteacherjames
21 Comments
Маksbbv
17 June, 2020 at 10:53 amHey
Luxembourg is considered to be a developed nation. The developmental stage of a nation is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality, and quality of life.
Thanks
Singh
20 July, 2013 at 10:58 amAwesome place to visit, I am amazed how many people ignore this country.
Julie Schmit-Albin
9 April, 2013 at 1:30 amI’m half Luxembourger and was in Luxembourg City in 1977 as I back-packed around Europe. Always regret not getting to Gostingen and Kanach (Canach?) the ancestral homes of both sets of paternal great-grandparents. Hope I can return someday and find those towns.
Sicho
17 April, 2013 at 12:05 pmI lived in Canach for 26 years 😉 I just moved to Wellenstein 2 years ago.
Davide
13 March, 2013 at 3:08 pmI am planning a long weekend there is summer so thank you for the information…and those wonderful pictures!
Graham
12 February, 2013 at 12:46 pmThanks Daniel, we’ve seen the link and James is really pleased 🙂
Amanda the Expatresse
11 February, 2013 at 1:31 pmI live in Luxembourg — yes, the weather isn’t very good, but that’s what makes everything so green. We have rain gear and spend a lot of time out hiking the countryside.
I have been an expat since 1999, and this is the nicest place I have ever lived. I hope we never leave. This article shows Lux in a very good light — I shared it with my friends. Maybe we will get some guests.
Graham
12 February, 2013 at 12:47 pmThanks Amanda!
Greg Prohl
10 January, 2013 at 1:02 amI had no idea Luxembourg looked so appealing. Some lovely photos, especially the b&w of the archways and the river bridge shot. If I’m ever in the neighborhood, so to speak, I’ll know not to overlook the “little” country.
James Taylor
11 January, 2013 at 12:52 pmThanks Greg, it’s well worth stopping by if you get a chance.
Agness
8 January, 2013 at 8:14 pmYou are right. This place is forgotten by many, but you just keep reminding people how awesome is to travel off the path. While everyone’s heading to Holland or Brussels, you go to the place not many people have heard of. Lovely photo- the last one is simply stunning!
James Taylor
11 January, 2013 at 12:54 pmThank you Agness, but it’s hard not to take nice photos in such a stunning place!
Steve
8 January, 2013 at 12:41 pmI did go through Luxembourg on route to Prague. It is definitely a place that deserves further exploration.
kami
8 January, 2013 at 7:21 amI hated my time in Luxembourg but I blame it on the weather as it was a rainy November then. Now I see I should give it a second chance 🙂
Graham
8 January, 2013 at 4:26 pmHa ha yes bad weather doesn’t help! Definitely worth giving it another go.
James Taylor
11 January, 2013 at 12:57 pmIt was a bit rainy when I was there, but luckily it cleared up enough to enjoy the countryside. Although there was a point when I was standing on the top of a very high hill looking at a castle and getting soaked when it could have been better. But then you can’t have everything!
Angela
7 January, 2013 at 3:31 pmNice article! We are always dreaming of places we still want to visit and yesterday we talked about really wanting to visit Luxembourg. Reading this makes me want to go even more!
James Taylor
11 January, 2013 at 1:01 pmThanks Angela, I’m happy to hear it!
Nick Rutten
7 January, 2013 at 3:25 pmI’ve lived about four hours driving away from Luxembourg for all of my life and I’ve never known it was this beautiful. I’ll be visiting whenever I get back in Europe.
Thanks for opening my eyes 🙂
Graham
7 January, 2013 at 3:27 pmThanks for your comment Nick, it’s definitely one of those surprising countries.
James Taylor
11 January, 2013 at 1:02 pmGlad to hear that Nick, it’s the perfect place for a long weekend.