Luxembourg - Small But Mighty

When contemplating your next city break have you ever considered Luxembourg? The chances are you probably haven’t, but why when it’s one of the richest, safest and most lucrative places in Europe? We decided to see for ourselves what Europe’s 7th smallest country had to offer.

It’s worth pointing out that the capital of Luxembourg is Luxembourg City, located in the South of the Country. With a population of just under 120,000 this is one of the smallest capital cities in Europe but that’s all part of its charm. It’s estimated that the city is made up of over 160 different nationalities, with a large proportion of its workforce commuting into the country each day!

Thanks to direct flights to and from Manchester that took a little over 90 minutes we arrived in Luxembourg pretty swiftly. The airport is outside the city centre but easily accessible by car or taxi that takes around 20 minutes. Something that surprised us initially was how good the air quality was for a capital city. As of March 2020 the government have decided to make public transport completely free to its people to further reduce pollution.

Famous for its strong banking prowess, we expected a skyline plagued with skyscrapers but that wasn’t the case in the city centre, Luxembourg has done a great job of retaining its illustrious heritage by strategically developing nearby areas into something more akin to London, whilst still providing excellent transport links.

One of the highlights of our trip has to be the Mudam Museum of Modern Art, originally a fortress this magnificent structure cost $100 million to build and was opened in 2006 by Grand Duke Jean. The architecture alone could qualify as an exhibition, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

After our breath-taking tour of this incredible spectacle we reflected at the museums café where we casually ended up sat opposite the Grand Dukes brother, his wife and son. Interestingly they weren’t surrounded by the entourage of security you’d expected to see in the UK, a reminder at how safe and relaxed Luxembourg is.

If eating out is your thing you wont struggle to find top quality restaurants, in fact Luxembourg has the highest number of Italian Michelin Star restaurants outside of Italy in the world. On our first night we enjoyed some brilliant food at Hotel le Place d’Armes, which not only boasts one of the best hotels in the city, it also beholds 3 restaurants. We dined at The Plëss and after a long debate over their mouth watering menu we shared the Fabrice tapas to start which arrived as quickly as it was eaten, highly recommend! For the main courses we went for the spit-roasted lamb shoulder and the rib steak (medium-rare). It’s worth noting that all of our selections were based on well informed recommendations from the waiter. The steak was enormous in size and flavour and barely needed a knife to cut through it - a sure sign of a quality steak. It was thankfully a similar story with the lamb which was accompanied by a delightful seasonal salad.

It’s a sin in Luxembourg if you don’t have a glass of wine with your steak, something we were only too happy to oblige with. Our waiter suggested a bottle of Malbec based on our dishes and he clearly knew his stuff, that’s something we always advise people - ask your waiter, it hasn’t failed us yet.

Hotel le Place d’Armes is the perfect blend when seeking a friendly yet relaxing atmosphere accompanied by food that’s rich in flavour and leaves you perfectly full - a MUST when in Luxembourg.

On our last day we ventured outside the city into The Ardennes Forrest that boasts numerous castles and fortresses that rise out from the hilltops. We visited a quaint village called Clervaux and explored a World War II museum full of artefacts from the infamous Battle of the Bulge.

Overall Luxembourg is a fascinating city that made us feel very safe and relaxed whilst retaining that adventurous spark. With some much outdoor beauty we’d love to return in the summer but Luxembourg is definitely an all year round destination and worth moving to the top of your list!

A great way to see more stunning pictures and useful information is here