Luxembourg

Want to see the most beautiful scenes in one trip? A must-do country European road trip will take you to six countries, where you will see the sea, mountains, castles and breath-taking views

Hopping on a plane and getting to your holiday destination in hours is a luxury, but one thing that everyone should do at least once in their lives is a road trip.

TikTok account Living Our Memories shared the perfect itinerary, where the key stops included France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. The total route is 23 hours and 49 minutes, non-stop.

Gathering over a million views, the couple, who shared their travels with their 5K followers, captioned the video: “An epic road trip across 6 countries you must have to do at least once in your life.”

Champagne, France

First stop, the French region of Champagne, known for its scenic vineyards. Located in the northeast of France, their sparkling white wine is what makes them so well-known. Visitors can see the cities of Reims and Épernay, as well as the villages like Hautvillers and Méry-sur-Ay.

Wine lovers can make a pit stop and tour the famous Champagne houses such as Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Taittinger. Those who prefer adrenaline can do some outdoor activities such as biking through the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims.

Stausee Steg, Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein’s turquoise waters in the middle of the most gorgeous greenery scenes, facing the mountains. It’s the perfect place for a swim in the lake or a picnic with your loved ones.

If you’re feeling sporty or want to capture the perfect shot, you can hike the mountains and get the perfect scene. According to AllTrails, it’s best to bring water shoes for those who plan to swim or walk near the rocky edges.

Lake Eibsee, Germany

Nature lovers will love Lake Eibsee in Germany. The waters are crystal clear with views of the Zugspitze mountains.

Some of the activities for visitors are hiking the 7.5 km (4.6 miles) walk around the lake, as it provides stunning views. You can also rent a boat or a canoe to explore the lake and the surrounding islands. If you’re brave enough, you can also swim in the waters – but it’s super cold.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Located in Bavaria, Germany, in the foothills of the Alps, Neuschwanstein Castle is just the exact layout as the ones in the Disney movies. In fact, it’s best known for the inspiration behind Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

The 19th-century historic castle overlooks the narrow Pollat gorge, and it’s close to the Alpsee and Schwansee lakes. Therefore, it makes it an ideal place to visit on the way to the upcoming location of the road trip.

Tickets cost 20 euros (£17.36), but children under the age of 18 can access the castle completely free of charge.

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Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Luxembourg’s tourism has increased over the years, making it the perfect place for a city break or a day trip. The city has a unique blend of history and culture, with a lot to offer to visitors and locals alike.

Its historical sites include UNESCO World Heritage sites and famous landmarks such as the Grand Ducal Palace and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The best thing about Luxembourg is that you can enjoy it all year round, and the public transportation is free.

Dinant, Belgium

To conclude the road trip, what better way to do it than in Belgium? A more tranquil side of the country, with beautiful scenery and history. Its most popular tourist attraction is the Maison Leffe. The town’s location is also ideal along the River Meuse, as it overlooks the water and the pastel-coloured houses.

Visitors can walk through the cobbled streets, take a boat tour and even participate in water activities such as kayaking on the nearby Lesse River.

Bruges, Belgium

Perfect for a city break, a small yet fulfilling town with a lot to offer. If you’re a fan of medieval settings, this is the place for you. However, its popularity comes with big crowds and higher costs.

Bruges is also famous for its Belgian waffles, fries, chocolate and beer – so, come with an empty stomach to indulge the best sweet and savoury flavours.

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Nine other countries, including France and the UK, also plan to recognise Palestinian statehood next week.

Portugal has joined Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom in announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

In a statement on Friday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the recognition will take place on Sunday, a day before a high-level conference on Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that Portugal will recognise the State of Palestine,” the ministry wrote in a statement on its website.

“The Official Declaration of Recognition will take place on Sunday, September 21st, before next week’s High-Level Conference,” the statement added.

According to Portugal’s Correio da Manha newspaper, the country’s centre-right Prime Minister Luis Montenegro consulted with the president and parliament before finalising the decision.

It marked the end of nearly 15 years of debate in the Western European country’s parliament, Correio da Manha reported, after the proposal was first put forward by the country’s Left Bloc political party in 2011.

Global outcry

Portugal’s announcement comes days after a landmark UN inquiry found that Israel’s war on Gaza amounts to a genocide.

At least 65,141 people have been killed and 165,925 wounded since Israel’s onslaught began in October 2023. Many thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble.

The Portuguese government first announced its intentions on recognising Palestine as a state in July, citing “extremely worrying evolution of the conflict”, as well as the humanitarian crisis and Israel’s repeated threats to annex Palestinian land.

Earlier on Friday, an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said that Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and San Marino plan to recognise the State of Palestine alongside France at the high-level meeting it is co-organising with Saudi Arabia in New York on Monday.

Canada and the United Kingdom have also said they intend to do the same.

They will join some 147 countries, representing 75 percent of UN members, that had already recognised Palestinian statehood as of April this year.

Portugal was also among 145 countries which voted on Friday to create an option for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the UNGA in New York next week by video, after the United States denied him a visa.

Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, as well as Israel and the US, were the five countries that voted no, while six countries abstained.

Israel and the US have strongly criticised countries moving to recognise Palestine, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing France’s announcement as a “reckless decision” that “only serves Hamas propaganda”.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned last year that a new illegal Israeli settlement would be established in the occupied West Bank for every country that recognises Palestine.

Luxembourg considers sanctions

Earlier this week, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel told a parliamentary commission that their country intends to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UNGA.

Bettel also said that he would propose a bill to parliament so that Luxembourg could take further measures, such as sanctions, according to the country’s broadcaster RTL Letzebuerg.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, has implored countries to take more measures to end Israel’s war on Gaza, including by imposing sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel.

Under its 1947 plan to partition Palestine, the UNGA said it would grant 45 percent of the land to an Arab state.

At the time, the UNGA had just 57 member states, with dozens of countries under colonial rule unable to vote.

When you think of the world’s richest countries, this tiny European country may not immediately come to mind. But booming steel and logistics industries have made this nation a strong financial hub.

When you ponder the world’s richest nations, you might instinctively think of powerhouses like Germany, Dubai and maybe even America.

It’s common to assume that global superpowers would naturally top the list of the richest countries. However, the true answer lies in a petite European nation with a population just north of 650,000.

Luxembourg, known as the financial hub of the globe, outperformed countries such as Qatar and Sweden to claim a top spot on Global Finance’s list of the world’s richest countries last year. A study by Global Finance looked at the Gross Domestic Product purchasing power parity (GDP-PPP) worldwide, and named Luxembourg as one of the wealthiest nations.

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With a GDP per capita of $143,743 in international dollars (approximately £109,820), Luxembourg is more than twice as wealthy as the UK, which has a current GDP per capita of £58,880.

The report also showed that from 2010 to 2024, Luxembourg saw a steady rise in its GDP per capita, consistently ranking near or at the top compared to other rich countries.

This diminutive country, nestled between Germany, France, and Belgium, is renowned for being a financial centre. Home to over 155 banks, this small nation is particularly appealing to foreign investors and has earned a worldwide reputation for being business-friendly.

With robust sectors in tourism, information technology, and logistics, Luxembourg’s GDP punches well above its weight. The country also boasts a thriving steel production industry, providing employment for a significant number of people, reports the Express.

In 2023 alone, Luxembourg brought in $31.6 million (£24.1 million) from its total exports, led by iron products, cars and vehicle parts, gas turbines, and adhesive plastics. Home to ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker responsible for eight percent of global steel output, the steel industry still makes up about seven percent of the nation’s economy.

According to Global Finance, Luxembourg splashes its considerable wealth on providing top-notch living standards for its residents, boasting some of the finest housing, healthcare and education in Europe.

Luxembourg isn’t alone as a small yet affluent country making the list – Singapore, San Marino and Switzerland also bagged spots in the top ten. However, the UK didn’t manage to crack the top ten or even the top 20, instead landing at number 31.

While Northern Ireland’s skipper on the night, and their most capped player of all-time, Steven Davis remembers a performance where “not very much of it was good”, the odds of an unlikely upset had lengthened further when Martin Paterson fired the visitors into a 14th-minute lead.

Aurelien Joachim cancelled out that goal before half-time however and Stefano Bensi put the side, who had previously won only four World Cup qualifiers, into a shock lead.

Gareth McAuley appeared to salvage a face-saving draw with a late header, but Mathias Janisch struck three minutes from time to leave O’Neill reflecting on an “unacceptable” performance.

The manager went on to call his side’s game management “pathetic”, while local newspapers were even less kind, labelling the result against the part-timers ranked 140th in the world as the worst in the country’s history.

And yet, nine of O’Neill’s starting eleven that night, along with five members of his bench, were a part of the 23-man squad when Northern Ireland headed to Euro 2016 less than three years later.

“Sometimes when you hit rock bottom, there’s only one place to go and that’s to come back from it,” said McAuley when asked about the dramatic turnaround.

Even if hindsight shows how rash a decision it would have been, there were questions over O’Neill’s future after the result.

McAuley, whose goal against Ukraine in Lyon later gave Northern Ireland their first ever win at a European Championships, says such doubts never permeated into the senior playing group.

“It’s one of them things, there was probably a real transitional stage. There was the old guard and then there was new players coming in and Michael was coming in,” said the former West Bromwich Albion centre-back.

“It’s difficult really for an international manager when you think of how many actual training sessions you get, building relationships with players, getting your points across. These things do take time.

“But Michael had a way that he wanted to do things, and we could see that, we were behind it. It just got there, it just clicked. There were so many factors around it, but the belief that we had in what we were being asked to do was what really galvanised us to move that forward.”

Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson bemoaned his side’s “sloppy” and “boring” performance in their 0-0 friendly draw with Luxembourg.

Despite twice hitting the woodwork, it was a laboured performance from the Boys in Green, who lacked the intensity that was evident against Senegal in Dublin on Friday.

Hallgrimsson was disappointed with their showing against a side ranked 31 places below them by Fifa in their last game before the start of World Cup qualifying in September.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not happy with this performance,” the Icelander told RTE.

“It is good to keep a clean sheet, it’s the first one since I have come in, but we all felt the first half we were sloppy and the game was boring.

“All the good things we did against Senegal were missing, all the quick movements, the press and the ball speed. The effort was so much less than against Senegal.”