Luxembourg cooking combines German heartiness with Franco-Belgian finesse. The preparation of trout, pike and crayfish is excellent, as are the pastries and cakes. Delicious desserts are prepared with local liqueurs, and a dash of quetsch, mirabelle or kirsch is added to babas or fruit cups. Most aspects of restaurants and bars are similar to the rest of Europe. Luxembourg’s white Moselle wines resemble those of the Rhine, but are drier than the fruitier wines of the French Moselle. Beer is another speciality and is a traditional industry.

National specialities:
• Carré de porc fumé (smoked pork and broad beans or sauerkraut).
• Cochon de lait en gelée (jellied suckling pig).
• Jambon d’Ardennes (famous smoked Ardennes ham).
• Tarte aux quetsches (quetsch plum tart).
• Omelette soufflée au kirsch.

National drinks:
• Bofferding, Diekirch Mousel and Simon (beer).
• Eau de vie (45 to 50% alcohol).

Legal drinking age: 17.

Tipping: Bills generally include service, but a rounding up is often given.

Visitors to Luxembourg can enjoy a variety of evening entertainment from theatre performances, classical music concerts, opera and ballet, to nightclubs, cinemas and discos. For more information, contact the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (see Contact Addresses).

Special purchases include beautiful porcelain and crystal. Villeroy & Boch’s crystal factories in Septfontaines are open to visitors. A regional speciality is earthenware pottery from Nospelt, where in August there is a fortnight’s exhibition of local work.

Shopping hours: Mon 1400-1800, Tues-Sat 0800-1800.