Luxembourg

All public transport is free. Actually free, for everyone

Luxembourg made all public transport free nationwide in 2020, the first country in the world to do it. Trains, trams and buses, no ticket, no barrier, for residents and visitors alike. For a country most people think of purely as a banking centre and an EU institution, it is a surprisingly radical piece of policy.

The city itself is more dramatic than expected. It is built on and around a deep gorge, with fortifications carved into the rock, a viaduct-crossed valley and an old town that is UNESCO listed. The casemates, a network of defensive tunnels cut into the cliffs, run for kilometres and are the best thing to do there.

Beyond the capital, the country is small enough to cross in an hour. The Mullerthal in the east is a sandstone forest of rock formations and hiking trails known as Little Switzerland. The Moselle valley makes decent white wine. And the north has castles at Vianden and Bourscheid that would be major attractions in a larger country.

Annual events and festivals

• Buergbrennen (Feb-Mar) — huge bonfires lit in villages on the first Sunday of Lent to burn away winter.
• Emaischen (Easter Monday) — a pottery market where people buy whistling clay birds called peckvillercher.
• Octave (Apr-May) — a two-week pilgrimage to Luxembourg City ending with a large procession and funfair.
• Dancing Procession of Echternach (Whit Tuesday) — UNESCO listed. Thousands hop in step through the streets. Genuinely unique.
• National Day (23 Jun) — the Grand Duke official birthday. Torchlit parade and fireworks the night before.
• Schueberfouer (Aug-Sep) — a funfair running since 1340, and the biggest event of the Luxembourg year.
• Wine festivals, Moselle (Sep) — harvest celebrations along the river.
• Nuit des Lampions (Sep) — a lantern procession through the old town.
• Winterlights (Nov-Dec) — Christmas markets across several squares in the capital.
• Liichtmessdag (2 Feb) — children go door to door with lanterns singing for sweets.