Travel report: Luxembourg
Country ranking by area: #170
Country ranking by population: #166
Date of visit: November 2017
Luxembourg is only a three hours train ride from where I live, so visiting this small country was a low hanging fruit for me. It may sound a bit harsh, but the Benelux countries haven’t been my cup of tea so far and I always say that this region is the one I like the least in Europe. I cannot even explain why. Therefore, Luxembourg was planned as a trip in order to get a new country to my list. In the end, it was way better than expected.
A short trip to Luxembourg
I met Colin at Basel railway station on a Friday evening. It was my first trip with Colin since we went to Greece in 2009 and to Spain in 2011. Besides, I haven’t seen him for a while, that’s why we used the three hours in the train for catching up. Time passed quickly in the train and we arrived in Luxembourg shortly before midnight.
We decided to take a hotel close to the Central Station, as our train back was on Sunday at noon and we wouldn’t need a lot of time in order to go back to the station then. After checking in, we headed to the city centre for a good night drink. The streets of Luxembourg were lively and most of the bars full. We didn’t stay out for long though and went to bed at 2 AM.
Sightseeing in Luxembourg
As sightseeing can be a pain in the ass during winter, I now choose cities with fewer attractions as destinations in late fall or winter. I remember sightseeing in Berlin or Paris in winter, which was just terrible. Luxembourg was an ideal choice therefore. It’s small, walkable and you don’t have to spend many hours in the cold in order to explore the city.
Luxembourg City was surprisingly charming. The city is beautiful and comparable to other cities with medieval flair like Tallinn, Colmar or Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It’s also kind of a melting pot; some people speak French, some German, some English, some none of it. I thought that the city must be even more attractive in summer, but it was also enjoyable in November.
One of the highlights is Grund, a quarter on the banks of the Alzette River, which is below the city centre. Another highlight is the fortress (Bock), where you can take pictures of the city from above. It’s definitely a must do when in Luxembourg City. Anyway, two to three hours are actually enough to see all the sights of the city. That’s why it was a wise choice to come here in cold November.
Nightlife in Luxembourg
The biggest surprise for me was that nightlife is pretty good on during weekends. There are two districts with numerous bars, one is in the city centre and is called Clausen. I really liked that area. The other district called Hollericher, but we did not have enough time to check that out. The biggest surprise about Luxembourg’s nightlife was that the prices were lower than expected. Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in the world, but prices are about the same as in Germany. There is also a good variety of restaurants in the city, which makes Luxembourg a cool place for a short weekend trip.
My travel experience in Luxembourg
Luxembourg was the last Benelux country I’ve visited after the Netherlands and Belgium. It might come to a surprise, but I like that tiny country the most among the three. I would also say that this was probably the country that exceeded my expectations the most in 2017. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say that Luxembourg is a must see country in Europe, but it’s a decent city if you live close.
I wish I could tell something more spectacular though about our trip, but then I would have to make things up. The trip was alright although not the most eventful. In the end, it was just a good weekend trip with a bit of sightseeing, good food and a great night out.
Find the travel reports of the other countries I’ve visited here!
