I wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting this small country, but what I discovered was one of the best-kept secrets in Europe... and now, I’m sharing it with you. 

Here are 7 reasons why the country of Luxembourg needs to be at the top of your must-see list today.

What was my Luxembourg itinerary like?

Luxembourg is a compact country, so you can get a lot done in a day! Especially with the help of a walking tour.

To get to know the city of Luxembourg and its surrounds thoroughly, I would recommend the following 5-star tours that I’ve handpicked just for you:

1.Luxembourg City Guided Walking Tour With A Professional Guide

Go on a comprehensive 2.5-hour walking tour of Luxembourg City, visiting most of the beautiful highlights the city has to offer.

During this tour, you’ll visit famous spots such as the Royal Palace, Neumünster Abbey and the Grund area.

You can book this walking tour by clicking here.

2. The Best of Luxembourg City Guided E-Bike Tour

Get in some exercise while you’re at it, and expand a bit further out from Luxembourg City by E-bike on a 3-hour tour. This E-Bike tour takes you to some magnificent Luxembourg City must-sees such as the Petrusse Parks, Pfaffenthal and MUDAM Museum.

You can book this Guided E-Bike Tour by clicking here.

3. Secrets of Luxembourg City Exploration Game

Why not throw in a little mystery while you’re out sightseeing Luxembourg’s top places? This self-guided exploration game is specifically designed for you to get to know more about Luxembourg City’s hidden gems and history, while entertaining you with a fun mystery game.

You can book this Secrets of Luxembourg Exploration Game by clicking here.

Also, on one of the days, I explored Luxembourg City on foot, and on the other day, I did a full day trip to the castle town of Vianden, which you can read about in my blog post here.

Where to stay in Luxembourg

Despite being a relatively small country, Luxembourg still boasts a great selection of accommodation options.

Although it’s not the cheapest country to visit, you can still get a good deal if you book as early as possible and follow our guide of the best places to stay in Luxembourg - no matter the budget!

Budget: Youth Hostel Luxembourg City

Youth Hostel Luxembourg City is your best option if you want a no-frills, affordable hostel accommodation experience. Featuring both mixed and single-sex dormitory rooms, a stay here is both cheap, and social.

You can take a closer look at Youth Hostel Luxembourg City by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Hotel Vauban

We stayed here and we absolutely loved it!

For a hotel so close to the city center, Hotel Vauban is still a rather inexpensive hotel. It has everything you would want in a hotel - friendly staff, an extremely convenient location, and cozy rooms. We would recommend you stay at one of their apartment rooms.

You can take a closer look at Hotel Vauban by clicking here.

Luxury: Hotel Le Place d'Armes

The Hotel Le Place d'Armes is an absolute gem of a hotel, and its easy to see why. Featuring ornately decorated rooms, this hotel is only 300m from the stunning Notre-Dame Cathedral, and showcases an Art Deco décor interior design style. Luxury travelers will love this place!

You can take a closer look at Hotel Le Place d'Armes by clicking here.

1.  A Blend of Cultures

Rarely will you find a country - especially with Luxembourg’s modest size – that showcases a harmonised mix of cultures so seamlessly. Nestled in between the much larger countries of Belgium, France and Germany, Luxembourg’s unique positioning means you’ll be treated to an array of different languages, cuisines, customs and other nuances.

The country already has three official languages – French, German, and the national language of Luxembourgish. However, you’ll find that most locals can also speak fluent English. Furthermore, Luxembourg today is a melting pot of other migrant countries. 

In fact, roughly half (about 48%) of its entire population of 626,000 people are comprised of foreigners. On my brief trip to the country, I also met people who were originally from countries such as Portugal, Poland, Italy, Spain, China and many more.

This makes for a very unique experience, as you’ll hear many different accents and languages just by taking a quick stroll around the Luxembourg City Center! 

2. Storybook Architecture

I’m no architectural expert, but something about Luxembourg’s pretty buildings, castles and city planning just felt very distinct – unlike any other place I’ve visited. 

How I can best explain it is that the buildings of the country look like they’ve been taken straight out of a storybook. The buildings evoked understated, calming colours, elegance and sophistication, grace and refinement. 

3. Free and Easy to Use Public Transport in Luxembourg

This was one of the coolest things about Luxembourg, and will definitely help your budget when you visit! In 2020, Luxembourg became the first country in the world to offer free public transportation nationwide. Yes – this even includes long distance trains that take you from one end of the country to the other!

This was such a great initiative by the government, and as a tourist, I was so grateful for it. Using the country’s efficient network of trams, trains and buses were not only extremely easy to use, but also completely free of charge.

On my day trip to the enchanting Vianden Castle, I took a series of trains and buses from Luxembourg City and was amazed at how smoothly everything ran. The trains and buses were always on time, and the schedules were easy to find. 

You can read more about Luxembourg’s free public transport system on the Visit Luxembourg website.

4. A Surprisingly Wide Range of Dining Options

Being a small country, I wasn’t expecting Luxembourg to have such a wide range of food and drink options – but I was wrong.

In my time in Luxembourg, I not only enjoyed the delicious local Luxembourgish cuisine, but also French, Japanese and even Moroccan cuisine. I had time to stop by a few different bubble tea/boba stores too (if you knew me, then you would know how crazy I am for boba).

Here are some recommendations for you:

Um Dierfgen – great central location in Luxembourg City, hearty local cuisine with the friendliest service.

Bazaar – also extremely central, unique Moroccan cuisine with a young, lux atmosphere.

T.Zone Boba – I’ve been everywhere when it comes to bubble tea, but T.Zone Boba has one of the cutest drink-in areas I’ve ever seen, and the bubble tea and service were great too! I literally went back 3 times – oops!

5. Amazing Sights in Close Proximity

Don’t be fooled by Luxembourg’s small size. There’s still a lot to see in this country.

From the green and hilly hiking region of Mullerthal to the old, picturesque small town of Echternach, and the grand castles of Bourscheid and Vianden... you could easily spend over a week here and not get bored. 

The best thing about all these amazing sights? Rarely will they be any more than 2 hours away from each other, even on public transport (travel times will be even shorter if you’re traveling by car). Because Luxembourg is a smaller country with good public transport connections, you’ll be able to see a lot in a short amount of time.

6. A Country of Friendly Faces

People are extremely friendly here, no matter where you go. Whenever I visit a new country, I subconsciously sometimes try to figure out where they would rank on a list of countries I’ve visited, ranked by friendliness. Well, Luxembourg would rank extremely high – close to the top, actually.

For example, I had a late night and the next day accidentally slept in past the breakfast time at my hotel by about half an hour. Walking into the breakfast area, the hotel waitress kindly told me she would prepare “something small” for me anyway, despite this. 

That “something small” consisted of a croissant, scrambled eggs, a piece of toast with jam and butter, hot chocolate and sweets – basically a full breakfast! 

It’s this kind of hospitality and warmth that you’ll find throughout the country. From the man at the ticket booth at Vianden Castle, to staff at the information centre at Luxembourg Gare Central Train Station – every interaction I had with another human being in this country was a pleasant one.

7. One of my Favourite Castles of All Time

This one is a bit of a subjective reason – but bear with me!

I’m no stranger to stunning castles and palaces. I’ve visited Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg, Belvedere Palace in Vienna, the Palace of Pena in Sintra... and yet, Luxembourg’s Vianden Castle has captured my heart.

The castle literally took my breath away as I was walking towards it. There’s something so special in the way it peers over quiet Vianden town – looking like something straight out of a Disney movie. 

If you visit (which you definitely should), I would recommend taking a full day trip to explore the castle and its grounds.

Where did I stay in Luxembourg?

I stayed in the centrally located Hotel Vauban and absolutely loved it. The rooms were clean and spacious, the staff were super friendly, and the hotel’s location was perfect for my itinerary – right in the heart of Luxembourg City Center. I would definitely recommend staying here!!

You can take a closer look at Hotel Vauban by clicking here.

How did I get around Luxembourg?

I used the free public transport system around the country. Make sure to check the public transport schedule when you visit – you can use this website.

When is the best time to visit Luxembourg?

Most people would say the milder months of spring and fall/autumn would be best, and summer is great too. 

Luxembourg can get very cold and gloomy in the winter, but then you also might get magical snow falling over the country during this time. This is also considered as Luxembourg’s ‘low season’, so you’ll see fewer visitors around overall.

I visited in the Winter and personally loved it, so you can’t go wrong visiting at any time.

How do I enter Luxembourg’s attractions?

The best value-for-money way to enter Luxembourg’s attractions is by purchasing a LuxembourgCard. You can benefit from this card by gaining free access to more than 90 attractions and sizeable discounts on guided tours.

The LuxembourgCard lets you enter some of Luxembourg’s most popular attractions for free. This includes Bourscheid Castle, Vianden Castle, Neimënster, Lëtzebuerg City Museum, The Contemporary Art Museum of Luxembourg (Mudam) and many more.

You can purchase a card that’s valid for 1, 2 or 3 days. The card pays itself off pretty quickly the more you use it, so I would highly recommend this.

You can check out more information about the LuxembourgCard on prices and how to purchase a card here.

More Information on Luxembourg

For more information, trip suggestions and planning resources on visiting Luxembourg, please browse through the Visit Luxembourg website. Visit Luxembourg is the country’s official tourism board, and the best resource for answering any questions you may have about visiting.

So is Luxembourg worth visiting?

Overall, Luxembourg is a beautiful, safe, diverse nation worthy of your attention. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to put Luxembourg at the top of your bucket lists. The answer is yes – Luxembourg is most definitely worth visiting.

Interested in visiting beautiful Luxembourg? What convinced you?

Have any questions about visiting Luxembourg or my trip? 

Let me know in the comments below!

Note: My trip was the result of a collaboration with Visit Luxembourg, but all opinions are honest and completely mine. I truly had an amazing trip filled with great memories, so I would like to extend a warm thank you to Visit Luxembourg for giving me the opportunity to explore their beautiful country.

To stay up to date on my adventures in Luxembourg and beyond (the bay), follow my account on Instagram and TikTok.