My friend and I are taking a Rick Steves tour beginning in Trier, Germany. We fly into Luxembourg the day before and are thinking since the itinerary on the tour will give us time in Trier that we might like to explore Luxembourg. We arrive and will probably want to rest, but the next day we don't have to be to Trier until 5 PM. Is there anything we should see that morning or anywhere we should stay the evening before that would maximize our time in Luxembourg? Our other option is to just go to Trier and wait for the beginning of our tour while exploring the city of Trier by ourselves. Thanks for your opinions!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Spend all your time in Trier. Lux City has nothing to see; Trier has a lot.
Posted by
johnson city
100 posts
Hi Rebecca,
My husband grew up in Wellington, anyhoo, I would visit the American Military Cemetery. General Patton is buried there (if you like History). It's close to the airport and is very beautiful. I think every American should visit an American cemetery in Europe if there is time.
Amanda
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
If you've never been to Europe before, Luxembourg City might be a decent introduction to the continent. It's a clean, pleasant city, if not exactly chock full of "tourist sites." The unique layout of the town sort of spills over a cliff and into a ravine. The ruins of the ramparts along the hill are a UN World Heritage site. You can spend a leisurely day walking around the town.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8947 posts
If you follow Ed's advice, you will only go to places with "must sees" rather than discoving fascinating places on your own. Every city, every town has interesting things to see if you look a bit. There is no place on earth that has "nothing to see" IMHO.
Posted by
Gangelt, Germany
101 posts
I agree with Amanda. Don't pass up the opportunity to see an American Military Cemetery. And...to see the other side, there's a German military cemetery about 2K away from the US one. There's a very stark contrast between the two.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, US
26 posts
Rebecca, I think Lux City is a great place to see. It's small and you can canvas the city in short amount of time. I spent time walking around the revine and in the market. If you enjoy shopping, there are nice stores to start your European clothing collection :) I found it to be more expensive than other parts of Europe, but there is a grocery in the middle of the market that you can pick up a few deli sandwiches.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Luxembourg City is pretty, and expensive. Not a bad introduction to Europe. It's in a very pretty setting but there are not a lot of big monuments or world class museums.
Consider going north, to Luxembourg's "Little Switzerland" region. We loved Vianden - spectacular chateau and a cute town, no crowds of tourists. a very charming place. We wished we had another 2-3 days to explore northern/eastern Luxembourg.
Shhhhh - don't tell anyone about it.
Posted by
Michigan
33 posts
I agree with David and Amanda. When visiting my son at Spangdahlem, he took me to the American Military Cemetery at Lux City one day. I hadn't even been aware there was one there but very glad to have seen it, a beautiful and very moving site.
Another day, we drove to Vianden and saw the chateau there. Again, very nice.
Posted by
OP
Independence, MO, USA
5 posts
I really appreciate all the advice and ideas you've shared so far. Any thoughts on accomodations? And Amanda, I know exactly where Wellington is. We might even know some of the same people. Small world...
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
We stayed at the hostel in Vianden. Cute, cheap, comfy and convenient.