10 must-see museums in Luxembourg

Here are the must-see museums to visit in Luxembourg to make the full of culture during your stay in this cradle of Europe.

Luxembourg is a very small European state blotti between France , Germany and Belgium . It is one of the richest countries in the European Union, but above all a territory rich in beautiful landscapes and an exceptional past.

The historic buildings of the old town are, for example, classified as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Moselle valley offers an ideal setting for long bucolic walks. At the cultural level, this country in complex history offers quite exciting sights. In fact, our team presents you with the most important museums to visit in Luxembourg, carefully chosen. Follow the guide!

1. Le Mudam Luxembourg

The Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, or Mudam, takes place in a fortress of the eighteenth century, Fort Thüngen. Located on the Kirchberg plateau in Drai Eechelen Park, it was designed by Ieoh Ming Pei a Sino-American architect. It is to him that we owe the controversy but so emblematic pyramid of the Louvre to Paris .

The Mudam overlooks and offers a breathtaking view of the old city, but it is obviously especially for its contemporary art collections that this cultural monument is worth a visit. The public exhibition space occupies 6,000 m2 on three levels.

Here, the works, several hundred, are moving: they are not permanently and exhaustively presented. The small adjoining restaurant, necessarily design, is absolutely charming. Oh, by the way: Wednesday night, the visit is free!

2. The National Museum of History and Art

The National Museum of History and Art is one of the most important in the country. This must-see museum in Luxembourg includes a set of three underground levels of about 700 m2. They are dedicated to the prehistoric period and the Gallo-Roman past of the Grand Duchy.

Higher, exciting collections are devoted to the Middle Ages: coins, weapons and medieval arts. A brand new building in front of the parvis is a cafeteria, an auditorium, a projection room and a room for temporary exhibitions.

The permanent exhibitions are totally free for the general public. Children are not left with very enriching educational activities. The place is perfect to occupy a rainy afternoon... or a caricular!

3. La Maison Victor Hugo

Yes! The great Victor stayed in the Grand Duchy towards the end of his life. This literary museum highlights this period of its rich existence. The writer’s admirers will be able to get a glimpse of his life on the spot: period furniture, holographic projections, time use, audio recordings...But also a few surprises.

Did you know that the illustrious novelist was also a seasoned painter? Drawings and paintings of the region, made of its hand, are exhibited in this unmissable museum to visit in Luxembourg. There are numerous autograph letters and, on the second floor, hundreds of digitized documents on computer terminals. The visit is long enough (two or three hours to see everything) and is a priority for adults passionate about Hugo’s work.

4. The Museum of tramways and buses of the City of Luxembourg

The museum is likely to be very interested in children. Located at the very heart of the bus depot of the city of Luxembourg, in the district of Melrich, it retraces the history of public transport in Luxembourg since 1875. Yes, at the time, the trams were still dragged by horses...

This museum to be visited in Luxembourg exhibits various pieces, materials, tools and documents. Interestingly, there is a replica of hippomobile cars, reduced models of trams, old buses and electric motors. Filmed documentaries, photos and plans of the network as well as day transport tickets are exhibited. As a bonus, the children receive nice, reduced bus models that they can take home.

5. The National Museum of Iron Mines

The exploitation of iron ore was one of the main resources of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. To realize this, this must-see museum in Luxembourg offers you a stunning route in a three-kilometre long mine gallery. A guide will present you the technical evolution of the tools and methods of extracting iron ore.

The collections of the National Museum of Iron Mines include exciting tools, machines and archival documents. There are fossils and extracted rocks. At the heart of the Walert mine, you will be able to dive into the harassing daily life of miners. The course is obviously completely secure and framed, let’s simply add that it is rather cold. We are underground, at an average temperature of 10°C and a humidity of 90%. Hot clothes and good closed shoes indispensable!

6. The National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is an educational space that offers a look at the evolution of plants, animals and characteristics of the Earth and the universe. It took place in the Hospice Saint-Jean, a former hospital built in 1308, completely restored before the museum opened in 1996. Exhibitions covering some 14 billion years are exhibited in ten rooms.

Researchers and museum facilitators will talk to you about recent environmental issues, linking the history of the Blue Planet. We can participate in thematic workshops and admire specially chosen specimens, such as fossils. Of course, Luxembourg’s natural heritage is particularly honoured. Among all the must-see museums to be visited in Luxembourg, it is probably the most scientifically attractive. It’s a bit of our past to us that we’re talking about here!

7. The Castle of Wiltz

It was under Count Jan that from 1631 the construction of this Renaissance-style castle began. It houses not one, not two, but three museums! The Musée national d’Art brassicole retraces 6,000 years of beer history. The complex development of this drink is in Luxembourg high in the art. We can even get a tasting.

The Musée de la Tannerie is dedicated to the work of leather, speciality of Wiltz. In 1868, the city had up to 28 tanneries! The museum exhibits rare documents, tools and pieces dating from the 16th century. Finally, the Battle of the Ardennes Museum 1944/45 is dedicated to the confrontation that took place from December 16, 1944 to January 21, 1945. We will notice the beautiful photographs of the times and the poignant testimony of soldiers and civilians engaged in the war.

8. The Museum and Wine House

If the beer remains the iconic drink of this small country, know that wine growing is not the rest. The Wine Museum is right in front of the Moselle in the heart of the picturesque village of Wormeldange. It is located at the foot of hills planted with prestigious vines and houses precious collections: utensils, photographic documents, machines...

The visitor will be able to discover wine making in two well-appointed rooms. It will have the opportunity to see a model vine and to access a tonic, a forge or a gauge office. The visit, instructive and dynamic, will be crowned with a tasting of a local cru succulent. The children will have the right to fresh grape juice before leaving for a walk in the vineyard. The visit of this must-see museum in Luxembourg is a great opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the local natural environment.

9. The Aviation Museum

An immediate take-off for the Kind Pavilion, in the centre of the thermal park, which is home to the Luxembourg Aeronautics Museum. Inaugurated in 2012, the two floors of this beautiful glass building are not located in Mondorf-les-Bains by chance. It was here that in April 1910, Man made his first flight in the Luxembourg air space.

This must-see museum in Luxembourg presents high-volume disciplines: parachuting, ballooning, sailing, commercial, military or sports aviation. You will have the opportunity to see the “Klemm”, a monoplane built in 1934 perfectly restored. The visit allows us to understand the operation of a weather station, to hear authentic conversations between a pilot and his control tower or to witness the projection of a film.

10. La Villa Vauban (Musée d’Art de la Ville de Luxembourg)

Villa Vauban is located in a cosssue residence in the heart of the (superb) municipal park of the capital. This historic building is mainly dedicated to the golden age of Dutch painting (which corresponds to the 17th century, that of Rembrandt or Van Goyen). French works of the 19th century and many European paintings are exhibited. A beautiful collection of fascinating sculptures can also be seen in this must-see museum in Luxembourg.

Villa Vauban offers guided tours and fun workshops for young children. Temporary exhibitions welcome loans from international collections that participate in the cultural dynamism of the museum. For the anecdote, Villa Vauban owes its name to a fort built on the same site by the architect of the Sun King. Moreover, part of the old wall of the fortress can always be seen in the basement of the museum.