Luxembourg

[rudeboy]

mental

 

[Trufflehound]

It's more than an hour from Charleroi to Luxembourg.

If you're going on Ryanair, fly to Frankfurt Hahn, which is closer, then get the direct Flibco bus to the city - flibco.com



Edit: Flibco also runs direct buses from Charleroi to Luxembourg, but they take 2h 45 min. It's 1h 30 from Hahn.

 

[Trufflehound]

Lived there for 3 years.

Not one place worth visiting in Luxembourg.

Kind of a sweeping statement to make. With respect, that implies a) you didn't look very hard, b) something horrible happened to you there to cloud your judgement, or more likely b) you never made it past stage 2 of the expat culture shock curve.*




* Stage 1: Arriving - everything is a novelty and great.
Stage 2: You've settled in and been there a while. The novelty has worn off and the things that they do differently from home start to annoy you.
Stage 3: You realise you aren't going to change the things that are different and just accept them.

 

[Badger]

The beach is amazing, the seawater is so warm.

 

[KNC]

The regenerated dock area.

 

[Trufflehound]

Trier is worth it. If you are in City centre getting the train there will be no trouble at all and everyone in Trier speaks English.

Trier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- Porta Nigra
- Karl Marx house
- Roman Amphitheatre

In Luxembourg go to Fourchette a droite for dinner (fork on the right) for a michellin restaurant - they did very cheap 2/3 course meals there for about 25 EUR per person when I was last there (might only be Sunday to Thursday though). It is in the main square.

Also go to Sofitel hotel near the train station, top floor has a swanky bar with a view of the whole city on the very top floor. There are two sofitels though, not the one near Kirchberg.

Vianden is nice but you might struggle to get there with no car. Mondorf Bains is good too for spa baths but again a car is really needed. In 3 years there, never found one bus driver who spoke English.

Do not go to the Mudam museum - probably the worst museum i have ever been to.

You are right about Trier. It is certainly a nice city.

Le Fourchette a Droite is OK, but it certainly isn't Michelin-starred. Clairefontaine, Le Bouquet Garni and Mosconi are the Michelin restaurants in the city. Le Sud used to have one (and in my mind is the best restaurant in the city), but inexplicably lost in in 2012.

I agree. The bar in the Sofitel Le Grand Ducal on the 8th floor overlooking the gorge is definitely worth having a drink in.

Vianden is absolutely worth a visit. To get there without a car you take the train to Ettelbruck, then the connecting bus no.570. Takes about an hour total.

Getting to Mondorf without a car is also easy. bus 175 runs twice an hour from outisde Luxembourg station (once an hour on Sunday). Takes just 20 minutes.

Oddly sweeping dismissal of the Mudam. Half the attraction of it is the architecture (it was designed by IM Pei, the guy who did the Louvre pyramid). Inside, there is no permament collection on show, only changing temporary exhibitions, so what you get out of it depends entirely on what's on show when you get there. Personally, i think the building alone is worth a visit, especially now the fortress park below it has opened up and you can walk down to Pfaffenthal/Clausen.

 

[saafend_seagull]

Kind of a sweeping statement to make. With respect, that implies a) you didn't look very hard, b) something horrible happened to you there to cloud your judgement, or more likely b) you never made it past stage 2 of the expat culture shock curve.*




* Stage 1: Arriving - everything is a novelty and great.
Stage 2: You've settled in and been there a while. The novelty has worn off and the things that they do differently from home start to annoy you.
Stage 3: You realise you aren't going to change the things that are different and just accept them.

This view was shared by the 100 odd people I started my job with, only around 5 remain after 4 years (2 of which do not live in Luxembourg).

 

[saafend_seagull]

You are right about Trier. It is certainly a nice city.

Oddly sweeping dismissal of the Mudam. Half the attraction of it is the architecture (it was designed by IM Pei, the guy who did the Louvre pyramid). Inside, there is no permament collection on show, only changing temporary exhibitions, so what you get out of it depends entirely on what's on show when you get there. Personally, i think the building alone is worth a visit, especially now the fortress park below it has opened up and you can walk down to Pfaffenthal/Clausen.

Just some green paper things hanging from the ceiling when I was there. Very odd.

 

[saafend_seagull]

It's more than an hour from Charleroi to Luxembourg.

If you're going on Ryanair, fly to Frankfurt Hahn, which is closer, then get the direct Flibco bus to the city - flibco.com

This second route is definitely better. Coach works pretty well but you HAVE to book in advance otherwise you won't be able to board (it will be sold out).

Liege, Nancy and Cologne are decent too, and not too far away. Depends how long you are there really.

 

[Trufflehound]

This view was shared by the 100 odd people I started my job with, only around 5 remain after 4 years (2 of which do not live in Luxembourg).

I'm guessing the general demographic of that group is people in their 20s-ish?

Whether Luxembourg (the country as a whole, not just the city) appeals depends on what you're looking for. If you're a party animal and an adrenaline junkie who wants bungee jumping and white-water rafting followed by all-night clubbing, you probably would leave disappointed.

If you like the more sedate lifestyle, old castles, walking in the countryside, good food and wine (there are a couple of decent beers, but they are hard to track down), then you can't go far wrong.

For those reasons the country does tend to appeal to more mature visitors.

And yes (to those who scoff), it is a landlocked country so no sea - but for a swimming beach you just have to go to the Upper Sûre Lake west of Esch-sur-Sûre.

 

[Trufflehound]

Liege, Nancy and Cologne are decent too, and not too far away. Depends how long you are there really.

Nancy - yes.
Cologne - very much yes.
Liege is in my opinion the second crummiest city in Belgium (Charleroi beats it). The new station is awesome mind you...

 

[saafend_seagull]

I'm guessing the general demographic of that group is people in their 20s-ish?

Whether Luxembourg (the country as a whole, not just the city) appeals depends on what you're looking for. If you're a party animal and an adrenaline junkie who wants bungee jumping and white-water rafting followed by all-night clubbing, you probably would leave disappointed.

If you like the more sedate lifestyle, old castles, walking in the countryside, good food and wine (there are a couple of decent beers, but they are hard to track down), then you can't go far wrong.

For those reasons the country does tend to appeal to more mature visitors.

And yes (to those who scoff), it is a landlocked country so no sea - but for a swimming beach you just have to go to the Upper Sûre Lake west of Esch-sur-Sûre.

Probably an age thing, but don't have any problem with the country itself. Esch is very good in the Summer, never ventured into the water though. Also worth checking atelier.lu for any concerts while you are there, tickets always available and a lot cheaper than the UK.

Really? Thought Liege was okay, Spa is probably a better bet but not a lot there, except for what it is famous for!

 

[daveinprague]

Trier is pretty interesting.. Luxembourg is not.

 

[MattBackHome]

Just booked up a long weekend at the end of May to Luxembourg, bagged some flights for £10 return.



Any recommendations of places to go and visit??

You should ask [MENTION=13014]Luxembourg_Seagull[/MENTION] - I'm sure he'll be able to help.

 

[Trufflehound]

I heartily recommend this book, even though it isn't out for another week or so:

Luxembourg (Bradt Travel Guides): Amazon.co.uk: Tim Skelton: Books

For a small fee, I'll even tell you where the typo is... (or the only one i know about so far, there are bound to be others)

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Nancy - yes.
Cologne - very much yes.
Liege is in my opinion the second crummiest city in Belgium (Charleroi beats it). The new station is awesome mind you...

Oooh, I liked Cologne too.

 

[Bakero]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/apr/06/luxembourg-bar-restaurants-party-city

 

[Return of the Rev]

lux77

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Belgium.

Just booked up a long weekend at the end of May to Luxembourg, bagged some flights for £10 return.



Any recommendations of places to go and visit??