Travel guide Luxembourg-Ville

Coveted over the centuries by many foreign powers, the castles and the remains of the fortress of Luxembourg are among the main tourist sites of the Grand Duchy. Of the 109 castles listed in the Middle Ages, whose purpose was military defence, 76 have withstood the ravages of time and some have been renovated.

Luxembourg is home to a multitude of identities and citizenships (170 nationalities in a territory of almost 610,000 inhabitants). This, combined with the country's history of being tossed back and forth between the great neighboring nations that invaded it in turn, explains why there are so few "children of the land" whose nationality is 100% Luxembourgish.

Luxembourg is very committed to the preservation of wildlife and nature. Whether it is the forests in the north, Little Switzerland or the areas that were once the stronghold of the mining industry, everything is done to give nature its rights. The Grand Duchy is also an active participant in the European "Natura 2000" programme.

Luxembourg was one of the founding members of the European Union, co-signing the 1948 Brussels Treaty and joining the ECSC in 1951. The capital is also home to several European institutions, including the Court of Auditors and the European Commission. Luxembourgers are convinced Europeans!

Listed in the register of financial centres and renowned for its discretion, the Grand Duchy enjoys an economic attractiveness linked to its advantageous tax system as well as its economic, political and social stability. With almost 200 financial institutions, Luxembourg City is also the largest concentration of banks in the world.

A Grand Duchy is a territory whose head of state is a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, a title that places him or her in the nobility just below the king, but above a sovereign duke or prince. Today, Luxembourg is the only Grand Duchy in the world! It has been recognised as such since the Treaty of London of 19 April 1839.

Luxembourg, along with several neighbouring regions, is part of the Grande Région (whose history is very complex). The Grande Région is the economic engine of an area that was devastated in the 1970s and 1980s by the end of the mining industry. It has a population of 11.6 million and covers an area of 65,000 km². It acquired a legal personality in 2010.

The current boom in its service activities has not, however, made Luxembourg forget its industrial culture, which is based mainly on metallurgy and mining. Numerous sites, notably the Minett Park in Fond-de-Gras in the Terres rouges, bear witness to and honour the Grand Duchy's rich industrial past.

Lëtzebuergësch is one of the country's three official languages and the mother tongue of 200 000 people. Previously a simple local dialect (a "patois"), it was recognised as a national language in 1984 thanks to a law on multilingualism, with the aim of consolidating the identity of Luxembourgers around a common heritage, their language.

A generic term for the many foreign workers who cross the border every day. 194,000 are counted every day. Half of these commuters (or border workers) are French. There is a guide for French-Luxembourg border workers and a website dedicated to them (www.lesfrontaliers.lu).

Whether on foot or by bike, hiking is present in all four corners of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. There are more than 5,000 km and more than 200 marked trails for walking alone and 600 km for cycling, not to mention the ever-increasing number of mountain bike trails.

Also known as the "Fouer", the Schueberfouer is Luxembourg City's traditional funfair, which brings the summer season to a close and sets the city abuzz with activity. Every year, some 2 million visitors flock to the Champ du Glacis, where the traditional Ferris wheel and no fewer than 260 rides and food stalls are set up.