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Full country name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxemburg, Letzeburg)
Area: 2586 sq km (999 sq mi)
Population: 430,000
Capital city: Luxembourg City (pop 90,000)
People: 70% nationals (Celtic stock, with French and German), 30% resident foreigners (mostly Belgian, French, German, Italian and Portuguese)
Language: Luxembourgish (Letzeburgesch), French, German
Religion: 97% Roman Catholic
Government: Constitutional monarchy
President: Grand Duke Henri
Prime Minister: Jean-Claude Juncker

GDP: US$14 billion
GDP per head: US$32,700
Annual growth: 3%
Inflation: 1.5%
Major industries: Iron and steel, plastic and rubber, chemicals, mechanical and electrical equipment
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands)
Member of EU: yes

Events

For a small country, Luxembourg is big on festivals. The liveliest national events are Carnival, held six weeks before Easter; Bürgsonndeg (Bonfire Day), the following week; and National Day, on 23 June, which is celebrated with parties and revelry akin to those on New Year's Eve, particularly in Luxembourg City. Also in the capital and definitely worth catching are Octave, a Catholic festival held from late April to early May that climaxes with a street parade headed up by the royal family; and Schueberfouer, a fortnight's worth of fair-type fun held in late August that features a cavalcade of decorated sheep joining in the streetside revelry.

East of the capital, the Müllerthal town of Echternach celebrates Whitsunday (the 7th Sunday after Easter) with a handkerchief pageant in honor of St Willibrord, a local boy made good, whose remains you can visit in the town's basilica. That same weekend, up in Ardennes, the town of Wiltz celebrates its yearly Broom Flower festival with parades and colourful floats. The Moselle Valley's wine festivals begin in August and run through November's 'New Wine' celebration in Wormeldange.

Traveling Guidelines

Visas: Citizens of many countries - including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA and virtually all of Western Europe - require only a passport to enter Luxembourg for stays of up to 3 months.
Health risks: none
Time: GMT/UTC plus 1 hour
Electricity: 220V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric