Exploring Luxembourg's charm: a 4-day itinerary for hiking and castle-hopping

Welcome to the pitoresque landscapes of Luxembourg, a mighty country in the heart of Europe. It gets often forgetten as a travel destination, but I’m going to prove to you that this country needs to be on your bucket list, as soon as possible! Especially if you’re an adventure seeker and a nature lover, Luxembourg will be for you!

Get ready to embark on this adventure that combines the beauty of the hikes and the mystique of visiting the historic castles and ruins. Or you rather visit Luxembourg City? That’s even better as it all will be in this 4-day itinerary made for you!

You might also like: Best castles in Luxembourg

For your information, all these pictures were taken in June 2023.

How to get to Luxembourg?

Luxembourg is at the heart of Europe and is easy to reach by air, bus, train, or car. As I live in Belgium, it was easy to get to Luxembourg by car, but I could’ve also gone by train or bus.

Luxair, Luxembourg’s national airline, offers direct flights to different European cities, so it’s possible to enter Luxembourg by airplane if traveling by car, bus or train is too far away. The airport is only six kilometers away from the capital, so it’s easy to reach Luxembourg City.

If you’re entering from Germany, France, or Belgium, you can also travel to Luxembourg by train. The TGV high-speed train only takes 2 hours and 10 minutes from Paris to Luxembourg. Find out more about the train by clicking here.

Lastly, Flixbus offers buses from several cities in the neighboring countries to Luxembourg City. They often are more budget-friendly than traveling by train or by air.

Best time to visit Luxembourg?

Luxembourg is an all-year-round destination, but the best time to visit the country is in May, June, September, and October. The weather is more pleasant, there are fewer tourists and it’s less expensive.

May and June are the driest and sunniest months, and July and August are the hottest, which is not that good for hiking. In the autumn months, the foliage will be beautiful around the country. And the winter months are perfect if you want to enjoy the country with some snow and visit the Christmas markets.

Transportation in Luxembourg

Traveling around Luxembourg can be done by car, by train, or by bus. If you have a car, I would recommend traveling around the country with this mode of transport as it’s easier and you don’t need to rely on time schedules.

But did you know that public transport in Luxembourg is free? You read it correctly, it’s completely free! All forms of public transport, including buses, trains, and trams are free for residents and tourists throughout the country since 2020. So, you don’t need to buy a ticket, only if you want to travel in 1st class. Find more information about public transport here.

LuxembourgCard

There is a lot to discover in Luxembourg, like museums, art galleries, castles and palaces, and many more! And you definitely don’t want to miss out on a great experience. That’s why I recommend getting the LuxembourgCard. It’s a digital card that gives you free or discounted admission to more than 90 different places.

You can choose between 1, 2, or 3 days, and the prices are €13, 20, or 28 per person. There are a lot of activities that are on this itinerary you can enter for free. For example, the chairlift in Vianden, the entrance of the Beaufort Castle, but also a lot of other activities like mini-golf, museums, waterparks, and many more!

Luxembourg Itinerary Map

Below is a map with all the places I’ve visited during my 4-day trip to Luxembourg. As it’s such a small country, I stayed in one place, called Vichten which was right in the middle, and traveled daily to different locations. This way you can customize the itinerary to your liking. For example, if you arrive by air, the best thing to visit first is Luxembourg City. But as I live in Belgium, it was easy to reach Luxembourg by car, and could change my itinerary on the go.

Day 1: Exploring the Diekirch region (northern part)

Total driving distance: 80.6 kilometers (50 miles)

On the first day of my itinerary, I explored the northern part of the country. Clervaux is the perfect place to start your trip if you arrive from Belgium as it’s the first place you pass by!

1 | Clervaux

Clervaux surprised me a lot while visiting as it’s a perfect combination between culture and nature. This small town is located in the Luxembourg Ardennes at the River Clerve. It’s not so far located from the point where Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany meet.

The most prominent things to visit here are its abbey, its castle, and its church. All are within a short walking or driving distance from each other. Both Castle Clervaux and the church are in the center of the town. The castle is built on a rock and towers over the rest of the town. Later on, homes were built around the castle in the form of a horseshoe.

The Abbaye on the other hand rises high above the town! You can see it the whole time while wandering around the town. From the center, it’s a 15-minute walk to the entrance of the Abbaye.

2 | Turelbaach Castle

Visiting this place, called Turelbaach Castle, was a real surprise, to say the least! This quickly became one of my favorite places I’ve visited in Luxembourg!

I don’t know much about this castle, except that it’s actually not a castle, but a summer house hidden in the Luxembourg forests. It was built and designed by Pol Gilson as a wooden version, but it got burned down in 1973. After which Gilson built it again, but this time as a stone version. But since the end of 2020, the property belongs to the Mertzig municipality.

You can’t enter the ‘castle’ from the inside. But admiring it from the outside is just as beautiful! You can park your car close to the castle and walk for about 5 minutes until you see this hidden gem.

3 | Esch-sur-Sûre

Set in the meander of the river Sûre, the village of Esch-sur-Sûre is located at the foot of the ruins of the oldest castle in Luxembourg, called Esch-sur-Sûre Castle. This ruin is freely accessible and offers a wonderful view of the village and surroundings. It’s a steep walk, but very worth it!

There is also a viewpoint very close by, called Aussichtspunkt Runtschelt. It’s only a 5-minute drive from Esch-sur-Sûre and requires the same amount to walk to this point. You’ll get amazing views over the river Sûre.

4 | Éislek Pad Boulaide

Éislek Pad Boulaide is considered to be one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the region. This hike will bring you along the banks of the Sûre River, but when I did the hike in June of 2023, a part was blocked off. It was a big detour so I decided to turn back around and didn’t finish the whole hike. Also, the fact that it was 30°C outside didn’t help.

You can park your car next to the church In Boulaide. Normally, you would also pass Houfels on your hike, but as I turned around, I didn’t see it while hiking. But it turned out, you can also go there by car and that’s what I did! So, if you don’t want to hike the 11.5 kilometers, but want to see a bit of the trail, you can just use your car to travel around!

Length

Around 11.5 kilometers

Duration

3:30 hours

Height difference

413 meters

Difficulty

Medium

5 | Belvédère de Burfelt

Belvédère de Burfelt is a panoramic platform, which offers a beautiful view over the Upper-Sûre Lake from a height of 70 metres. It can be reached by an easy 10-minute walk and there is free parking available. It’s the perfect place to end your first day in Luxembourg by enjoying a sunset over the river!

Day 2: Exploring Luxembourg City

Total driving distance: 20.5 kilometers (12.75 miles)

On the second day of my trip through Luxembourg, it was time to visit the capital of the country! You could easily spend a whole day here, just exploring and wandering around! But first, I stopped at a castle along the way and I think you can’t skip this one!

6 | Grand-Château d'Ansembourg

Thomas Bidart built Ansembourg Castle in the first half of the 17th century. He was a pioneer of the iron industry. The gardens around the castle were laid out in 1750, and it consists of statues, beautiful stairs, and decorative fountains in the style of that period.

The castle itself was not so overwhelming, but the gardens were so beautiful and definitely worth a small stop for! You can only visit the outside of the castle. There is free parking available and the entrance to the gardens is also free.

7 | Luxembourg City

Luxembourg City is a vibrant, cultural, and green capital in the heart of the country. The entire old part of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you’re wandering around this part, you’ll transport right back into the country’s history.

Not only is Luxembourg City historical, but it’s also dynamic and multicultural. Everything you want is within walking distance, like restaurants, bars, museums, parks, and shops.

Here are a few things you absolutely can’t miss when visiting Luxembourg:

Cross the Pont Adolphe and have a view over Parc de la Pétrusse.
Go underground at Pétrusse Casemates, which are tunnels carved into solid rock.
Take a look at the Cathedral Notre-Dame
Walk along Chemin de la Corniche, Europe’s most beautiful balcony.
Visit the Grand Ducal Palace, located in the center of the old town.
End your day at the Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator to have an amazing view over the city.

Learn more: Best things to visit in Luxembourg City (coming soon)

Day 3: Hiking through the Müllerthal Region

8 | Mullerthal trail

The complete Mullerthal trail is 112 km long over multiple days, but you can also take shorter hikes like 5 km. I didn’t have the time to hike so much so I did a shorter one of 4 km.

The Mullerthal trail is known for its picturesque hiking trails with different difficulty levels. The 112 km long Mullerthal Trail consists of 3 loops (Route 1, Route 2, and Route 3). Route 1 and Route 2 pass through the town of Echternach, known as the cultural and tourist center of the region. But you can also hike these separately!

I did the local hiking trail, called B2, which starts at Berdorf. It’s a 4.1-kilometer loop and takes around 1 hour to finish. It’s a perfect hike to get to know the Mullerthal, and still get to enjoy the more adventurous side of the trail.

Make sure to stop at the Schiessentümpel waterfall in Luxembourg. It’s a waterfall with a sandstone bridge above it. It’s located 500 meters away from the parking and you can walk along the road to reach it.

9 | Echternach

Echternach is the oldest town in Luxembourg and is located at the border of Germany. The town itself is a tourist attraction, where the number of tourists often exceeds the number of inhabitants, which is 5.600.

The town was founded in 698 when the Irish monk Willibrord founded a monastery on a piece of land that was once inhabited by the Romans. Subsequently, the town flourished around the monastery and Echternach was founded.

As of today, the town is an important touristic place for the region Mullerthal. The town itself isn’t big, but there are still a few things to see here. For example, you can wander around the charming old town or visit the monastery of Wilibrord.

Day 4: Castle-hopping around the country

Total driving distance: 61.5 kilometers (38 miles)

Today is a day filled with visiting castles and their beautiful viewpoints!

10 | Beaufort Castle

Beaufort Castle dates back to the 11th century and consists of ruins of a medieval castle and a Renaissance castle. Both are open to visitors from April to early November between 9:00 AM till 6:00 PM. The last entrance is at 5:15 PM. Moreover, the price for the medieval castle is €5, and if you want to visit the Renaissance castle, an extra €7 is added to the price.

The medieval castle rises above the scenery and was built between 1050 and 1650. Over the years, it changed owners several times and from the second half of the 18th century, the area remained uninhabited. After some extensive repair work, the ruins were opened to the public for the first time in 1932.

Above the medieval castle ruins, there is another castle you can visit. This one is built in the 17th century. Fortunately, the Renaissance castle never suffered any damage, and everything, apart from the additions and alternations, remained unchanged. Every visit ends with a tasting of a liqueur that’s been produced within these castle walls since 1930. However, this can only be done with a guide, as you can’t visit this castle without one. The guided tours are from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 AM till 4:00 PM.

11 | Larochette Castle

The ruins of Larochette Castle overlook the village of Larochette by a sandstone promontory 150m above the valley. The ruins date back to the 11th century. Its appearance today is because of a large fire that caused destruction in 1565. The only building that has been restored is the house in Créhange during the 1980s.

The ruins are open for visitors between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, between April and mid-November. The entrance fee is €5, and taking cash with you is best. There is free parking near the entrance.

12 | Vianden

This has to be one of the most famous places in the whole of Luxembourg! And the most prominent activity here is the Castle of Vianden. It’s one of the largest and most beautiful noble residences of the Romanesque and Gothic periods in Europe.

The Castle of Vianden was built between the 11th and 14th centuries on the foundations of a Roman fortress. The castle came into the hands of King Willem I in 1820 and he sold the castle, piece by piece. Because of this, the castle became in decay. In 1890, the castle became the property of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and stayed with his family until 1977. After that, the castle became the property of the state and since then, the Castle of Vianden was restored, with respect for the historical style.

The chairlift gives the best panoramic view of the castle. The chairlift brings you to an altitude of 440 meters to enjoy a gorgeous panorama over the castle and the Our Valley. It costs €6.50 for a single ticket, and €9.00 for a return ticket. Check the website for their opening hours.

13 | Bourscheid

The Castle of Bourscheid rises high above the valley of the river Sûre on a 150-meter-high rock. It’s also the biggest castle in Luxembourg. It was built in the 10th century and got expanded with a fortress wall and six Gotic towers in the 14/15th century.

The entrance fee is €7 per person, and the opening hours are between 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Make sure to also check out the free viewpoint from the side of the road. It offers a great view of the castle and some good picture opportunities.

Conclusion: Embracing the beauty that Luxembourg has to offer

Luxembourg has been on my bucket list for YEARS, but I always skipped it as it was too close by. I finally decided to change it up and I’m so glad I visited this tiny, but mighty country!

There is so much to see and do in Luxembourg, even for such a small country! You could hunt down some amazing castles, hike one of the best trails or visit one of the greenest cities in the world, Luxembourg City! So, if you get the chance to visit this small country, I definitely recommend it to everyone!

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Travel blogger

Hello, I’m Ellen and welcome to this blog! I’m in love with exploring the world and hopefully I get to inspire you with these blog posts and pictures to feel the same. You will find detailed itineraries, hidden gems, tips and so much more!

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