General: Luxembourg

While living in Brussels I decided to visit friends in Stuttgart. So I planned my route to avoid the French autoroute tolls and instead of going to Saarbrücken via Metz I decided to go through Luxembourg.

Just before the Belgian/Luxembourg border is the Belgian town of Arlon. This is a great place to visit, as it is the site of a Roman fort town. If you are travelling from Brussels by car: follow the E411 to Namur and Luxembourg. Take the exit to Arlon before reaching the border with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.

Luxembourg has borders with France, Belgium and Germany this gives rise to the diverse languages that are spoken and understood here including English. Somewhat forgotten is the Luxemburgians own language ‘Letzenburgese’ a Germanic-based language but hey so is English! There are words from French and German as well as words you won’t find in any other language.

Luxembourg uses the Luxembourg and the Belgian franc (1 Belgian franc = 1 Luxembourg franc). Belgian francs are perfectly acceptable and in common use all over the country. It is recommended to foreign travellers to exchange Luxembourg bank notes before their departure into Belgian bank notes or into foreign bank notes (free currency of notes).

There are banks from over 200 countries established in the capital, which is the seat of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Numerous are their branches in the Grand Duchy. They are open in the morning and in the afternoon from Monday to Friday, some even between 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on Saturday morning. Exchange offices function every day at the station and at the airport in Luxembourg.

In Luxembourg City, the cosmopolitan influence is also conspicuous in the culinary sector. Whether your taste is for spaghetti carbonara, nasi-goreng, tsatsiki or chili con carne, you can enjoy a world tour in the countless international restaurants. Epicures will also appreciate outstanding cuisine, star-rated b y the most reputed restaurant guides.

The accommodation ranges from the luxury five-star hotel with swimming pool to the simple guesthouse and is geared to a variety of traveller’s requirements.
An evening stroll through the café-world is recommended as it offers a choice between the terraces on the Place d’Armes, the pubs and music cafés in the lower town on the banks of the Alzette, or the fashionable places in the district of Hollerich, the young and the old get their money’s worth.

If you are travelling in Europe, there is absolutely no reason to miss, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the jewel in the crown of Europe.