Luxembourg

Get around

thumb|Luxembourg central station

Luxembourg is a compact country, making it easy to reach nearly any town in the country in an hour or less by public transport. The Mobilitéit agency coordinates the country's trains and buses; their website and mobile app are both very useful for planning journeys throughout Luxembourg.

Since 29 February 2020, most public transport in Luxembourg has been free. You only need a ticket for cross-border journeys, or if you wish to travel first class on the train.

See

You may not expect it from one of the smallest countries in Europe, but The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a diverse land, full of beautiful nature and gorgeous historic monuments. Its turbulent history is filled with stories of emperors and counts with the surviving Luxembourg monarchy as well as many battles and disputes. Today, the almost fairy-tale like castles and fortresses are a faint but impressive reminder of those days, and amidst their lovely natural setting, they make some superb and picturesque sights.

thumb|View from the 'Grund' district in Luxembourg-city Most of the country's population lives in rural areas and apart from the delightful historic City of Luxembourg, the country's capital, settlements are mostly small. That said, the capital is a place not to be missed. It has a splendid location high on a cliff, overlooking the deep and narrow valleys of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers. Several parts of the old town are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the most interesting places include the Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, the town fortifications, and of course the Grand Ducal Palace, which is surrounded by charming cobblestoned lanes. However, there's far more to see, such as the Bock casemates, Neumünster Abbey and the Place d'Armes. There are several World War II memorial sites and a number of high-end museums, but just wandering through the old centre, taking in the beautiful views from the Chemin de la Corniche and crossing bridges to the nearest …

Do

Luxembourg has many excellent well-marked outdoor trails. Their location and GPS tracks can be found at Géoportail.lu

The Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Teqball has a list of public places for playing teqball, a sport invented in the 2010s by three Hungarians, that is a combination of table tennis and football (or soccer) played with a special curved table.

Eat

thumb|Judd mat gaardebounen, served with potatoes and washed down with a Diekirch beer

Traditional dishes are largely based on pork and potatoes and the influence of German cooking is undeniable. The unofficial national dish is judd mat gaardebounen, or smoked neck of pork served with boiled broad beans. A must to try if you do get the opportunity are gromperekichelchen (literally, potato biscuits) which are a type of fried shredded potato cake containing onions, shallots and parsley. Typically found served at outdoor events such as markets or funfairs they are absolutely delicious and a particularly nice snack on a cold winter's day.

In most restaurants, however, the typical local food would be French cuisine coming in bigger portions. Italian food has been popular since the 1960s. Home cooking has been greatly influenced by the recipes of Ketty Thull, apparently the best-selling cooking and baking book in Luxembourg since WWII.

You can also taste the "Bamkuch" (literally tree cake), which is eaten mainly during celebrations such as weddings and baptisms. This cake is traditionally made on a spit and presented as a tree trunk composed of several layers, visible when it is cut, and that represent the tree rings.

Drink

The Luxembourg white wines from the Moselle valley to the east of Luxembourg include Riesling, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Rivaner and Elbling, and are good. In autumn, many villages along the Moselle river organise wine-tasting village festivals.

Young people tend to drink local or imported beer. Luxembourg has a number of breweries, with Diekirch, from the town of the same name, Bofferding, Battin, Simon and Mousel being the most popular. Despite the fact that you would be hard pushed to find any of these outside of the country, all are excellent lagers.

As an after dinner digestive, Luxembourgers like to drink an eau-de-vie. The most commonly available are Mirabelle and Quetsch. Both are made from plums and are extremely strong! Sometimes these are taken in coffee which may be a little more palatable for some.

Sleep

Due to the heavy banking and EU presence in the city, hotels in central Luxembourg are quite expensive, although there is a good youth hostel (see Luxembourg (city)#Sleep). It may be more cost-effective to stay across the border in Trier, for example, and "commute" into Luxembourg.

The Association of Independent Hotels in Luxembourg operates a booking service at hotels.lu for a number of smaller hotels, mostly in the countryside, but a few in the city.

Stay safe

In many surveys, Luxembourg has been named "safest country in the world". If you follow usual precautions, you should be fine, however, there are some hints that you might want to consider while staying in Luxembourg.

Stay healthy

The food and tap water supply in Luxembourg is perfectly fine and the country's healthcare system is first class. The climate is average even though the summers can get hot. However these temperatures rarely rise much above 30 °C.

Respect

Try to show respect for the local language and make some effort to say a word or two of it even if just the standard greeting "Moien". The locals, especially those in the small towns and villages, are very friendly; saying "Hello" to them in any language will be returned with a smile.

Unusual for a country in Western Europe, Luxembourgers place a high emphasis on family values. It's not uncommon for people in small towns and villages to know each other on a personal level, and parents are intimately involved in the life choices of their children.

Luxembourgers are their own people with a distinct national identity. They are neither Germans, Belgians, nor French; calling a Luxembourger either of these demonstrates ignorance. Similarly, do not compare Luxembourg to its neighbours.

Luxembourgers, like many people living in Europe, are direct communicators, but they are tactful and diplomatic with their choice of words. This said, being overly blunt or opinionated is considered rude. Subtlety is more valued than being direct.

The pace of life in Luxembourg is much slower compared to other countries in Europe. Building relationships and getting things done require you to demonstrate sincere interest as Luxembourgers try to do things in a careful, measured manner.

Do not put your emotions on display. Exhibiting impatience, as well as confrontational behaviour, will push you away from people. Again, Luxembourgers try to do things in a careful, measured manner.

Luxembourgers…

Connect

European roaming has been introduced. It allows all SIM card holders belonging to one of the European member countries to maintain the same pricing conditions as in the country of origin.

Telephone calls and Internet browsing are valid without additional cost in all European countries, unless authorized by national authorities (generally minor operators) or exceeding a Gbit data threshold which increases from year to year. To use this service, simply activate the roaming option on your mobile phone.

The participating countries are those of the European Union (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden), those of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and certain overseas territories (Azores, Canary Islands, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, Saint-Martin).