James Baldwin is quoted as having said, “I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” Your time in Europe will certainly be exciting and personally enriching. In order to make your stay in Europe as rewarding as possible, please do research to plan your time (traveling, and in Luxembourg) wisely. Please feel free to ask the MUDEC site coordinator for logistical or travel information, maps, etc. She can also be a resource in helping you pursue specific interests while you are in Europe. Often when traveling, it has been said that “less is more.” Pushing yourself to see every tourist sight in Europe in your 6 weeks here will probably leave you overloaded and exhausted (and is, by the way, impossible!). Try to find a place that suits you, and realize that there will ALWAYS be more that you hope to see and experience in Europe…this gives you a great excuse to return!
Note: The following are sample suggestions about possible weekend excursions to get you thinking about what it is you would like to do and see during your 6-week stay in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. You will take classes on Monday through Thursday and will be done with your academic obligations around noon on Thursday. While there is much in Luxembourg that you should take advantage of, you will want to make sure to make the most of your weekends. These are only suggestions, and everything, including where to stay and what to do, should be researched thoroughly by you. It is a good idea to carefully consider what it is that you would like to see (i.e. sights, museums, concerts, scenery, etc.) and what you would like to do (hiking or climbing, museum visits, etc.).
Here, in no particular order, are some suggested itineraries of European excursions:
Luxembourg to Munich by train is around 8 hours. Munich: Hostels and hotels are numerous, and cost around $25.00-$40.00 per person. Look for hotels near the train station, or near the nightlife. German hostels are usually very clean and efficient. Sights: Deutsches Museum (a great science museum), Glockenspiel, BMW Museum, Dachau concentration camp, and much more! Munich is one of the favorite MUDEC destinations because of its Bavarian culture that includes, but is not limited to, Lederhosen, beer halls, and polka music. Munich has much more to offer than just the Hofbrauhaus, and you should research thoroughly to know what it is you would like to do there. The museums are very informative and the nightlife around the Munchener Freiheit and Schwabing districts would be well worth your time! The concentration camp in the Munich suburb of Dachau is sobering, but is a must to visit while there. A terrific day trip from Munich is the so-called “Disney Castle”, Neuschwanstein. It’s an interesting place that requires a good hike through the Bavarian woods, but it does take up almost an entire day.
Salzburg is two hours by train from Munich, home of Mozart and the Sound of Music tour, and beautiful scenery. There are several hostels and hotels in the $25.00-$50.00 range. The hostels are convenient and nice. Check out the hilltop fortress, Hohensalzburg, and pay a visit to the Rainer Museum for your daily dose of medieval weapons and instruments of torture. Salzburg is a good walking city, and you can spend hours visiting the various churches and charming market places around the city. For the cheesy tours that you may not want to admit you took, Salzburg Sightseeing Tours runs the famous ‘Sound of Music Tour’ and a ‘Salt Mines Tour.’ The only actual movie setting on the Sound of Music tour is the church at Mondsee, but you also get a good guided tour of the area. One of the best things about the Salt Mines Tour is how you get into the mines: down a long wooden slide. Another unique Salzburg attraction is Schloss Hellbrunn, accessible by city bus (ask at Tourist Info). One of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg had a warped sense of humor and filled his backyard with a set of “water jokes,” some of which are just visual, but some of which will get you unexpectedly wet! Like Munich, Salzburg prides itself on its beer halls, and many of these (Augistiner and Sternbrau in particular) serve great food.
Vienna is 3 ½ - hours by train from Salzburg, and thus a long way (about 13 hours) from Luxembourg, but a wonderful place to visit. The Imperial City of Vienna is known as much for its coffee and dessert houses as it is for its opera house and palace. For the best view of Vienna, ride the famous ferris wheel (Riesenrad) at the Prater Amusement Park or climb the tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Try to see an opera at the Staatsoper; standing room tickets with decent views are inexpensive. Other great musical options are the Mozart concerts at the Mozartsaal, “greatest hits of Mozart” played by the costumed musicians. The palace at Schonbrunn is the Austrian’s answer to Versailles: the grounds are vast and include a zoo, and English-language tours of the interior are available. Nightlife tends to center on an area called The “Bermuda Triangle” (think about why that might be…). There are nice hotels in Vienna, but otherwise housing can be rather expensive and hard to find in the summer.
Bruges, (four hours by train from Luxembourg), is one of the most attractive, quaint towns in Europe. Known as the Venice of the North, Bruges is a great town to spend a day walking the canals, viewing the Renaissance architecture and climbing the belfry. Favorite places to stay are The Passage and the Bauhaus ($12.00-$18.00 per person), and if the weather is nice, you should go for a great bike ride with one of the many touring companies there. Not far from Bruges is Ghent, reputed to be the most under-rated European city. Brussels, too, is certainly worth a visit.
Amsterdam, four hours from Bruges via Brussels, or about six hours from Luxembourg, is another MUDEC hotspot for various reasons, some associated with Sodom and Gomorrah reputation, which attracts some people and repels others. However, the town itself offers much to any traveler. Accommodations are numerous and inexpensive, but fill up early, so make sure to book in advance. There are two terrific small museums (Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum), and the town itself is interesting to tour by foot, or better yet, on one of the canal boat tours. One of the funniest spectacles in Europe is a group of American expatriates with an improv show called “Boom Chicago” that is performed nightly at the Leidseplein Theater. Upon arriving in Amsterdam, get tickets as soon as you can, and then arrive early for a good seat. Near Amsterdam are several cute tourist towns, like Delft and Haarlem, as well as the beach town of Scheveningen.
This region in the south of France has much to offer, and is well worth your time for a 3-day weekend. Whether you wish to visit art museums, palaces, or casinos, or simply hang out on the beach, you will enjoy this area. This is an easy (10-hour) overnight train from Luxembourg. Nice is the capital of this region, and is has many budget hotels. Nice houses some excellent museums, including Chagall Museum and the Matisse Museum. Perhaps use Nice as your base to explore up and down the Riviera from Cannes to Monaco. Visit the Picasso Museum in Antibes, the oceanography museum in Monaco, or just lie on the beach.
Interlaken (6 hours from Luxembourg) is a fun town in a fantastic location. This is another MUDEC highlight because of the amount that there is to see and do. Students tend to congregate at the wild and crazy Balmer’s Hergerge, and most take advantage of the activities available there (hiking, climbing, rafting, bungee jumping, etc. – but use your head, since some of them can be dangerous). You will most likely wish to stay here for a couple of days, but to see more of Switzerland, you could head either east to Luzern and Zurich (German), or west to Lausanne and Geneva (French). Either of these options would provide charming towns, interesting museums, and varied shopping. The Olympic Museum in Lausanne is one of the finest in Europe, and is in a wonderful location on the shores of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva).
Paris is a four-hour train ride from Luxembourg, and there really is not too much that must be said other than it is a city like no other. Some great places to see are the city from atop the Eiffel Tower (preferably between 9:00 and 10:00 PM), from the Sacre Coeur Basillica, and (a completely different perspective) from a boat on the Seine River. Museums such as the Louvre and Orsay are world-famous, though vast. Don’t go to the Louvre without a game plan, or you’ll just get lost. The Orsay is easier, since the famous Impressionists are all together on the top floor. Even better, perhaps, are smaller institutions such as the Rodin (the famous sculptor) museum and the Monet Water Lillies in the basement of Orangerie. The Palace of Versailles or Disneyland Paris are unique day trips, but go early since crowds at both places become annoyingly large as the day goes on. Available at any newsstand for less than a dollar is the little magazine called “Pariscope,” which describes what is going on in Paris each week, and part of it is even in English! Paris has many nice hostels and small hotels, but they will fill up fast, so you need to book early. From Paris one can go to Caen or Bayeux (Bayeux had the famous “Bayeux Tapestry” of the Norman Conquest, with a headset that describes each panel in English) to explore the D-Day beaches. Many of you have seen the film ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and thus may be interested in seeing the beaches. There are wonderful museums, walking trails, and bus tours that trace one of the bloodiest, yet heroic days in world history.
Students have found inexpensive flights from Luxembourg (or Brussels) to London (or Dublin), and there is also a bullet train called the Eurostar (NOT part of Eurrail, unfortunately) from Brussels or Paris to London. A double-decker bus tour of London is touristy, but worth it, and London has a plethora of museums, for all interests. The British Museum (antiquities) and the National Gallery (paintings) are both FREE, a nice contrast to the Paris museums. While you’re in London, be sure to go to the theater. Whether you watch something famous at full price or something more obscure for half-price, you will be watching professional theater at its finest for a fraction of the New York prices. There are numerous bed and breakfasts (not exactly cheap), and these fill up very early, so you should book ahead. While London requires days to explore, you could spend a couple days there and then fly on to Dublin, or take a train or fly up to Edinburgh, Scotland. Ireland is full of beautiful places to hike (though the weather is often wet) and there are no pubs quite like Irish pubs. There are plenty of worthwhile things to visit in Scotland (Edinburgh Castle is excellent), and the numerous hikes and climbs bring to mind images of ‘Braveheart.’ This can end up as a pretty pricey weekend because Eurrail passes are not valid in the British Isles, but this is yet another interesting part of this storied continent that should be visited if time allows.
Trains to Venice take around 12 hours from Luxembourg. Venice to Florence takes 3 hours, and Florence to Rome is 2 hours. Venice isn’t just a tourist destination; it’s a total concept, instantly recognizable. For example, all of the “buses” and “taxis” are BOATS. Florence is one of the most pleasant cities in Europe, the Duomo (cathedral) is one of its most outstanding sights (climb the dome!), and Michelangelo’s “David” is an unforgettable artistic achievement. In terms of architecture, the city itself could be considered a museum. Also, the shopping is terrific if you have enough of a credit limit, especially in the leather market. Rome is in a class with London and Paris as a great city, with more things to see and do than you can possibly accomplish, though the basic Roman ruins and the Vatican can actually be covered in one (utterly exhausting) day. Accommodations in Italy tend to be relatively inexpensive, and students can eat and drink cheaply with just a minimum of research.
Prague takes 12 hours by train from Luxembourg, and to supplement your Eurrail you would need to buy (with the Euro or Czech currency) a roundtrip ticket between the Czech border and Prague. Although this area is becoming rapidly westernized, there are still many good opportunities to experience the feel of life behind the Iron Curtain. Inexpensive accommodations can still be found but are not always the cleanest! By avoiding the touristy restaurants, students can still find great deals on food and drink, and students’ appetite for the beautiful crystal seems to be limited only by the fact that it is heavy and fragile. There is a wide variety of nightlife, most of it relatively inexpensive.
Last modified on 9/11/08 | Content maintained by International Programs
