When you think of places to hike, Luxembourg is likely not the first place that comes to mind.
It wasn’t for me at least. But that was before I spent three glorious days hiking in Luxembourg. And before I learned that there are 23 trails in the newly created NaturWanderPark delux for a total of over 400km of hiking trails.
The NaturWander park delux is a joint initiative between Luxembourg and Germany that offers borderless hiking. The trails weave back and forth between the two countries so instead of a two-peak day, you can have a two-country hiking day! Coming from Canada, this is all rather impressive!
This section of the Felsenweg 1 was a highlight.
I spent only three days hiking, but easily could have easily spent a week exploring more. Luxembourg offers up surprisingly diverse hiking for such a small country.
I spent two days hiking parts of the Felsenweg 1 and Felsenweg 2 ( Rock Way), in the southern part of Luxembourg. Several hundred years ago the Dutch referred to it as the Little Switzerland of Luxembourg and the name has stuck ever since.
Hiking along the creek on Felsenweg 2 was one of the highlights.
This part of Luxembourg is known for its craggy sandstone cliffs and out of this world rock formations. Moss covered rocks and hovering trees give it a magical appearance that reminds me of a Lord of the Rings movie set. And just like in the movie, on the Felsenweg you never know what could jump out right in front of you. The sandstone cliffs house many caves that were used by the Romans for shelter and as hideouts during WWII. There are four Felsenwegs each between 20 -30km in length. Parts of the Felsenwegs combine to make the Mullerthal Trail, a 110km trail through sandstone cliffs, forests, farmland and valleys.
Vianden Castle was one stop along our hike in the Ardennes.
I also hiked the Nat-Our Route 5 (Vianden-Falkenstein) in the Ardennes, in central Luxembourg. This 12km trail comprised of tree covered rolling hills involves lots of ups and downs but views over the Our (pronounced Ur) river valley along the way. The Ardennes are devoid of the sandstone cliffs found in the southern part of Luxembourg, but offer their own unique gems along the way. Like Vianden Castle, Luxembourg’s most famous castle. Then yet another castle. Unfortunately this one was private so we couldn’t enter. But not to worry, Vianden, a charming medieval village is waiting as a reward and there are several cafes that offer great views of the Our River.
Löctgesberg was one of my favorite parts of hiking in the Ardennes.
