Photos and Stories from Luxembourg

After Strasbourg, France, we spent a couple of nights in Luxembourg. It was one of three countries we visited for the first time on this trip, and we were curious to see what it was like.

Luxembourg City is modern and beautiful, with plenty of reminders of its past. It has some nice parks and scenic viewpoints. Here’s a photo from the Luxembourg Gardens.

As you may know, Luxembourg is situated between Belgium, Germany, and France. It’s the seventh-smallest European country, with an area of 2,586 square kilometres (998 square miles).

Pop trivia quiz: Can you name the six European countries that are smaller than Luxembourg? (Answer at the bottom of this post.)

Other interesting facts about Luxembourg:

• While Luxembourg is a representative democracy, it’s the world’s only remaining sovereign grand duchy (pronounced “dutch-y,” not… well, never mind. A duchy is a country whose head of state is a grand duke or duchess).
• It’s a prosperous nation, with the world’s highest per capita Gross Domestic Product.
• It has the highest population growth rate in Europe, and almost half of its population is foreign nationals.
• Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg City, is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union. It hosts several EU institutions, notably the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority in the EU.
• All public transportation is free!

Later, we learned that in addition to having the world’s highest per capita GDP, it also has Europe’s highest cost of living. Many doctors and nurses live in neighboring countries and commute in.

Our one full day in Luxembourg City was overcast, and it rained off and on throughout the day. That didn’t stop us from exploring, but it discouraged us from taking as many pictures as we sometimes do.

Our first intended destination was the Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM). Here are a couple of pictures we took at the tram station near the museum.

But when we arrived, it was closed due to “current weather conditions.” It was merely sprinkling. Oh well. 

The museum was located next to a small park that led to a scenic viewpoint, so we walked toward it. We passed these statues.

We do not know if these lions were placed on their sides intentionally or if this was an act of vandalism. Or is it “modern art?”

In any case, just beyond this, an old fortress called Fort Thüngen came into view. It is now used as a museum for Luxembourg’s history. We were there, so we went in.

It was mostly what we expected; ancient weapons from ancient battles, portraits of famous people, and so forth. But one current exhibit caught our interest. An artist had overlaid some old paintings of Luxembourg with images of what the same places look like today. Here are a few examples:

Next, we rode the free tram back to the city center and walked through several blocks of restaurants and high-end stores to reach the National Art & History Museum. It was large, with two adjoining buildings, each five stories. It had a nice mix of history, classic art, and modern art (most of which was quite good). As usual, we didn’t take many pictures inside the museum, but here are two photos and a video.

The work above is titled “Plague and Cholera.” Sweet.

Here’s the Pont Adolphe Bridge, one of Luxembourg’s most notable landmarks, with one of their sleek, modern, free trams gliding across it.

We weren’t quite adventurous enough to go inside.

We opted for simpler dinners. The first night, we ate at an outdoor cafe near our apartment. Dave’s croque monsieur was disappointing (not even melted cheese on top!), but at least the wine was good.

Rain was still a possibility during the second evening, so we opted to eat inside at a Thai restaurant. It wasn’t elegant, but it was delicious.

We enjoyed our introduction to Luxembourg. (We’re not mentioning our apartment for a reason.) There’s more we could have seen, so maybe there will be a next time.

And now, here are the six European countries that are smaller than Luxembourg, in descending order: 

6. Andorra
5. Malta
4. Liechtenstein
3. San Marino
2. Monaco
1. Vatican City