Visiting Luxembourg – The North European pearl

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Luxembourg City

There are tons of ways to describe Luxembourg city: ”The cradle of Europe,” ”the capital city of the only Grand Duchy in the world,” or ”city of a thousand contrasts.” The latter might be best suited considering the striking contrast between old and new.

Old and new

We arrived on a bleak Monday morning by train in the most modern part of town (bonus tip: all public transport in Luxembourg is free, so make use of it if you can). The look of the present-day architecture and fast-food chains lining the streets didn’t sell it for us.

UNESCO World Heritage site

Luckily for us, a steep walk down (and back up) into town showed us a completely different side of the city. In short, Luxembourg City was built on a rock-converted-complex-defense-system that has successfully protected the Luxembourgish from attacks.

Wenzel Circular Walk

The best way to gain a 365 degrees view of the fortress is by taking the signposted Wenzel circular walk, guiding visitors through the millennial history of Luxembourg City. On route, you can opt for visiting the Bock casemates. The first underground tunnels were built in 1644, in the era of Spanish domination. Today, there are still 17km of the in total 23km galleries left and open to the public.

Luxembourg Old Town

The older parts of Luxembourg consist of an upper- (Oberstadt) and lower-level (Grund). Oberstadt is where you can find the Grand Ducy’s palace, tons of quality restaurants, shops and museums. Grund on the other hand, is a peaceful area around the Alzette River that features a beautiful chapel, the National Natural History Museum and green parks. Both are a must when you’re visiting the European capital.

Vianden

Vianden’s main attraction looms up the second you roll your car down its green hills. The Disney-worthy castle took our breath away and together with other spectators, we got in line on the side of the road to capture its perfect grandeur.

Inside Château de Vianden we noticed a blend of different kinds of architectural styles. During the second part of the tour, we learned the reason being the several rounds of extensions that were added by the different owners over the centuries.

After our audio-guided tour, we headed into town. Vianden is charming and worth a stroll, finishing with a scrumptious lunch on the banks of the Our River.

Esch-sur-Sûre

We stayed on a campsite near Esch-sur-Sûre, which meant a visit was mandatory. The small village is balancing on the edge of an Ardennes mountain and a river that ends up in Luxembourg’s largest reservoir lake, so in other words: picturesque!

It took us a sweet ten minutes to walk around town but it made an everlasting impression on us. Not in the latest because they were filming a WWII film in the streets while we visited the first time. It seemed so real – with 1940’s shop fronts, old military jeeps, and the castle in the background – that we almost believed to have traveled back in time.

The view of the village and surrounding mountains from the castle are pretty impressive and worth the walk up.

On another occasion, we ventured slightly further out and rented kayaks to explore the Esch-sur-Sûre reservoir by boat. We soaked in some necessary rays and built up muscle strength in our arms.

From the boat rental place, it was only a short ride to viewing platform Burfelt from where we took in the amazing views of the nature around us.

Mullerthal Region

Where to even start. If you’re into hiking I wouldn’t even think twice when deciding on where to stay in Luxembourg. Mullerthal, or Little Switzerland, is the place to be.

The 112km-long Mullerthal Trail for one is a hiker’s paradise with bizarre rocks, mysterious forests, and slippery slopes along quaint stream valleys. I do realise that 112km sounds like a lot but there’s no need to walk the entire trail. Sections of different distances and even circular walks are signposted carefully, which means you can walk parts of it as you please.

Schiessentümpel / Schéissendëmpel waterfall

There are a few highlights that are worth pointing out in Luxembourg’s Mullerthal region, such as the Schiessentümpel / Schéissendëmpel waterfall. The waterfall itself forms the background of a highly picturesque site, together with the sandstone bridge and mossy rocks standing proudly in the stream.

There’s no need to hike miles and miles to visit Schiessentümpel, as a parking lot is only a 10-minute walk away. However, if you can, I’d highly recommend you to hike somewhat further, as the views further down the trail are amazing.

Consdorf section

The 9km circular hike of the Mullerthal trail starting in Consdorf was another one of our favourites. The spectacular rock formations were an amazing sight and the narrow passageways and steep climbs really made us feel like we were on an adventure. At some sections we even needed a flashlight, the passageways being too narrow to let in natural light. Pretty cool for such a small country, huh?

Echternach

The capital of the Mullerthal region, Echternach, deserves a separate mention. It’s the oldest town in Luxembourg and home to a Roman Villa, world-famous Abbey and the Basilica of St Willibrod.

The Sure River in Echternach forms the natural division between Luxembourg and Germany. It also led us to another part of the Mullerthal trail: the section towards the Gorge des Loups (Wolves Canyon). Many call it the most beautiful canyon of Luxembourg and we couldn’t agree more.

Have you ever visited Luxembourg? What was your favourite place to visit? Let us know in the comments.

Frequently asked questions about Luxembourg