Luxembourg Travel Guide (ePub)

Luxembourg is one of Europe's best-kept secrets. Most people who visit Luxembourg travel through the most popular tourist sites in only a day or two because it isn't a very big country. This small European nation may be only 84km long but rates as one of the world's three richest countries.

Although seen as a financial haven, the gem that is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is not limited to numbered bank accounts! This scenic little country boasts about 500,000 inhabitants. Its central location makes Luxembourg a trilingual country as it has three official languages (French, German and Luxembourgish). With the influence of language comes a lot of cultural influences and unexpected charm. Luxembourg is the capital of the country. Built on a plateau dotted with ravines it looks in the distance like a theater set.

Although Luxembourg has steadily become commercialized and booming in some cities, their cuisine, wine, and natural beauty offers so much more than the cliché tourist boom. Luckily, the locals of Luxembourg feel the same, and restrict the tourist industry by focusing more on local businesses, delicacies, and all Luxembourg has to offer.

Luxembourg's booming and rich economy is something for the country to brag about since it's come along way from World War II. During the war, Luxembourg experienced mass destruction. Many of the museums in Luxembourg pay homage to the history of the war and the country's involvement.

The country's economic expansion started with steel but is now based particularly on banking and financial services. The capital of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City", has an ideal picturesque setting to its Unesco-listed historic core. Behind its calm landscape and picturesque scenery, it is seen as a major financial hub and headquarters for European institutions. Its diversity and population makes the city quite a lively place with a lot to do! This is due largely to the ever-growing student population. Be sure to visit Mudam, the museum of modern art, and the awe inspiring Philharmonie concert hall .The city also boasts top culinary achievements as well as the best Italian restaurant outside Italy, Mosconi, in addition to its many other Michelin-starred eateries.

Beyond, you'll rapidly find yourself in rolling part-forested hills where a string of beguiling villages each form attractive huddles beneath medieval castles. Then there's all the fun of champagnes and sparkling wines in Moselle wine country and some hiking and outdoor recreational activities to take in the pretty micro-gorges of Müllerthal.

For the fashionistas, Luxembourg's European charm is filled with ample shopping opportunities. Tourists can head to Grand-Rue and Rue Philippe II which are part of the pedestrian zone. All the famous fashion brands entertain a branch in this area. A few walking blocks away a farmer's market with local and organic produce sets up shop twice a week.

Luxembourg's roads take you through picturesque landscapes with rivers meandering past meadows and beech forests, steep ridges and high craggy walls, often topped by a castle in ruins. It's a fun place to go hiking, mountain biking or take a boat ride. Luxembourg's Little Switzerland is the perfect spot for these activities, with its thick forests, babbling brooks and underbrush covered with ferns and blueberries. You can hike down nearly the entire Sûre Valley, which originates in Belgium and juts deeply into the ancientOesling Massif. The slopes of the more luminous and open Moselle Valley produce white wines, sparkling wines and a few rosés that are well worth trying. Visitors inclined to rest can sit on one of the numerous cozy terraces and have a glass of wine from the Moselle region or a beer from a local brewery.