Is Luxembourg Underrated?
My mom and I traveled around Europe for 20 days, and although we enjoyed pretty much every city, Luxembourg stuck out to us as a true hidden gem. There were no tourists, the people were friendly, and best of all, the public transportation was free! The small country isn’t on many people’s radar which leads me to ask, is Luxembourg underrated?
Luxembourg Flight and Hotel Options
The hotel landscape has to be the biggest drawback to Luxembourg. There are a few chain hotels like the Doubletree, but that hotel hasn’t been renovated since the ’90s. Ultimately we opted to stay at Mercure, which is an Accor hotel. This hotel worked great for our stay, but we wished we could earn points and use elite status at our preferred chains.
Getting to Luxembourg
The other issue is getting to Luxembourg. We took a TGV train from Strasbourg, but it is also possible to fly into Luxembourg. Unfortunately, there are no flights from the US, so that means you will have to fly into either London on British Airways, Amsterdam on KLM, Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal, Frankfurt or Munich on Lufthansa, Warsaw on LOT Polish Airlines, or Zurich on Swiss Air. The closest place to Luxembourg with nonstop flights to the US is going to be Paris (CDG). From there you can enjoy nonstop flights to over 15 destinations in the United States.
Why I Enjoyed Luxembourg
Although there are a number of reasons that I enjoyed Luxembourg, what I enjoyed most was how easy it was to get around. All local public transit is free, it’s clean and it runs at frequent intervals. In my opinion, Luxembourg’s small size is a plus and you can get to almost anywhere in the country within about 45 minutes. Here are some other reasons you may want to consider visiting Luxembourg.
Top Things I Enjoyed in Luxembourg
- Palais Grand-Ducal – This is in the center of Luxembourg, and it is also the residence of the Grand Duke.
- Panoramic Elevator of the Pfaffenthal – Unfortunately, this elevator was closed while we were here, but it is a large elevator that connects two parts of the city.
- Pont Adolphe – It is a stone bridge in the city center that connects the main historic village to the area of the train station. There are also some great trails beneath the bridge.
- Parc Municipal de Luxembourg – This is the largest park in Luxembourg, and there are some great trails, and also a great playground area.
- Old Town Square – The Old Town square is home to the Grand Duchy Palace, and it is also home to an endless number of restaurants and bars.
Drawbacks of Visiting Luxembourg
Although I really enjoyed my time in Luxembourg, it wasn’t perfect. There isn’t that much to do for an extended period of time, and it isn’t the best city for people who are disabled or mobility impaired. It also isn’t the easiest of cities to get to. But, with that being said, I think it is a city worth visiting.
Biggest Drawbacks of Luxembourg
- Accessibility – If you are mobility impaired, Luxembourg might not be for you. The city-state is on a number of mountains, which means that it isn’t the easiest place to get around.
- Ease of Access – From the U.S., it isn’t the easiest of cities to get to, and it is far easier if you are coming from Paris, Strasbourg, Dusseldorf, and Brussels.
- Limited Hotels – Although this does reflect the fact that it isn’t the most popular city for tourists, there are very few American hotel options.
- There is Not A Lot to See – The ideal amount of time to spend in Luxembourg is around 2 to 3 days. I think after that, you might be a bit bored.
Would I Visit Luxembourg Again?
Yes, I would definitely go again. I found it to be a very beautiful city, but I do think I have seen most of what there is to see. Perhaps that is the biggest issue with Luxembourg. The country’s size is small and there isn’t a ton do to for more than a couple of days. I would definitely go back on a shorter stay, but probably not soon. In my opinion, Luxembourg isn’t really a destination, but instead is a nice diversion from its bigger neighbors.
So how long should you stay in Luxembourg? For a first visit, 3 nights was the perfect amount, although you could probably rush and get everything done in 2. By night 3, we had found ourselves running out of places to visit, so I would recommend staying this length as well.
Luxembourg Underrated – Final Thoughts
In my opinion, Luxembourg is the most underrated country in Europe. This small city-state has so much to offer. It is so easy to get around the city, offers plenty to do for a 2 to 3-day period, and some of the city’s history is fascinating.
What are your thoughts on Luxembourg? Have you visited before, and if so, did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below!
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I’m spending 24 hours or so there in March. I’ve struggled to figure out where to stay – even that doubletree that you mentioned appears to be away from city center – although perhaps I’m overemphasizing being in city center if it is really so small. I reserved an unappealing place on booking.com because it was kinda cheap and then realized there is a 35 EUR cleaning fee so I’m probably canceling that. Discouraging so far so good to hear the positive review.
Yeah, I’d highly recommend against staying at the DT. Pretty much all of the Accor hotels are excellent; The Sofitel, Novotels, and the Mercures are all great. Just avoid the Ibis Sud and the Ibis hotels by the airport.
Ah I see, things are just more expensive than I thought so those hotels didn’t come up on my lower price range searches. I’m trying to find something not too much over $100 per night but that might not be possible
Yeah I think overall hotels are quite pricey in Luxembourg, so that is going to be a bit hard to do.
Never thought about this destination before. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for reading! Glad you found this post helpful.
I may never get there. I have been to 104 countries and my wife has been to 105. The one that she has over me is Luxembourg and she likes it this way!
Wow, that’s a pretty cool fact! Thanks for sharing.
You can spend over a week in Luxembourg and you haven’t seen everything.
For example you missed the casamates in the city, nunerous castle within the country, the north of the country with super nature and trails, a place called little Swiss and so much more ..