Luxembourg is a pretty little country lodged between Belgium, Germany, and France.
The charm of this small, hilly state is accentuated by the many castle ruins looming over the picture-perfect towns and rivers – the l’Our, la Sure, and Moselle Rivers all meander through the green pastures and forested mountains that characterize Luxembourg.
We camped close to Echternach in the east between the Sure River and Luxembourg’s “Little Switzerland” forested area. Camping information can be found here.
The Castle of Vianden is picturesque personified above the town of Vianden. It was originally built in the 9th-10th century on the site of a Roman fort (4th-5th century).
There are beautiful ruins of Brandenbourg castle above the town of the same name in the north-east of Luxembourg. The castle was built in the 10th century and went to ruin by the 18th century. A surprising amount of the structure remains and the underground cellars can be explored by flashlight.
It is built on top of a hill, as most Medieval castles were. The castle walls are still mostly intact as well as a tower that is 4 stories high. It was formerly lived in by the Counts of Brandenbourg who are buried in the town churchyard.
The Medieval Castles of Beaufort and Larochette are also steeped in beauty and history, but have some skeletons in the basement!
Additional Thoughts and Reading
Traveling through Europe can be enormously satisfying and intriguing as Europe is much smaller than the USA and you can hit a few countries in just one day of driving! Everywhere is so steeped in its unique history.