Discover Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a grand duchy of 2,586 square kilometres and 693,916 people, landlocked between Belgium, Germany and France, Europe's seventh-smallest country and, by the IMF's reckoning, its richest per head. Almost half its residents are foreign nationals and its capital counts 160 nationalities; the national language is Luxembourgish, French writes the laws, German shares the administration, and most citizens speak all three. Luxembourg City, at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse, is one of the European Union's four institutional seats and home to its Court of Justice, and its old quarters and fortifications have been World Heritage since 1994.

The state dates its history from 963, when Count Siegfried acquired the Bock rock and built Lucilinburhuc on it; it became a duchy in 1354, passed to the Habsburgs in 1477, was fortified by Vauban under French rule, became a grand duchy in personal union with the Netherlands in 1815, won formal independence by the Treaty of London in 1839, had its fortress demolished and its neutrality guaranteed after the crisis of 1867, and got its own ruling house in 1890. Germany occupied it in both world wars, and the Battle of the Bulge was fought across its northern Ardennes in the winter of 1944–45. Since then it has been a founding member of the EU, NATO, the OECD, the UN and the Benelux, given its name to the Schengen agreement signed in its Moselle wine village in 1985, and in 2020 became the first country to make all public transport free.

For the visitor it is the casemates and the Grund under the Bock in the capital; Vianden, one of the largest fortified castles west of the Rhine; Echternach, the oldest town, around an abbey founded in 698; the rocky Mullerthal and the Ardennes of the Éislek; the Moselle vineyards; and the American cemetery at Hamm where 5,074 war dead lie. Every bus, train and tram in the country is free except first class, the airport is six kilometres from the centre, Paris is two hours ten by TGV, police are on 113 and everything else on 112.

Is public transport really free?

Yes, everywhere in the country since 1 March 2020, on every train, tram and bus; the only things you pay for are first class on trains and journeys across the border, both sold in the CFL app. Carry photo ID.

Do I need a visa?

Schengen rules: 90 days in any 180 for eligible passports, a passport issued within ten years and valid three months beyond departure, and biometric registration under the Entry/Exit System on a first visit.

How do I get from the airport?

It is six kilometres from the centre; the shuttle bus is free like everything else.

What are the emergency numbers?

113 for police, 112 for ambulance and fire.

What language do I use?

Any of Luxembourgish, French or German; most people speak all three, and English is common. Moien opens every door.

Can I drink the tap water?

Yes, and there are public fountains.