The province of Luxembourg is the southernmost and largest province in the Wallonia region of Belgium. It is bordered to the east by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and to the southwest by France. It is divided between the Belgian Ardennes to the north and Gaume (the Belgian part of Lorraine) to the south. It has around 280,000 inhabitants and is the least populated of all Belgian provinces.
The province of Luxembourg was once part of the same body as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. When Belgium was created, both Luxembourgs were part of the newly born country, but after Dutch demands, the culturally German part of the region (Grand Duchy) was split from Belgium, while the Romance-speaking (the province) stayed within the country.
French is the language spoken everywhere since its imposition in school. Nevertheless, a number of traditional languages are still spoken or understood by part of the population, especially in most rural areas:
Dutch is spoken in most tourist places in the north of the province, because of large numbers of Dutch speaking visitors during the summer. But even though most Belgians will have learned Dutch at school, you'll be better off with English in areas less used to tourists. Most young people will have at least basic understanding of English, and you should be able to sort out most things with it. German is spoken by some, especially near the Luxemburgish border.
The province is served mainly by two motorways, that meet near Neufchateau, in the center:
The Brussels-Luxembourg line has four main stops in the province:
The province is well served by a network of paved roads. Those suffer from the relatively harsher climate of the province, and can be snowy during winter and present potholes at all times.
A number of local lines provide good service for some destination within the province:
Some cycling paths exist, but are often badly maintained making the road a safer choice. However, the province is full of small beautiful roads that are not much used by cars and are in good state. Be careful however that countryside is more hilly than in the rest of the country, and you can find yourself in front of short but steep and frequent slopes.
Forests make a wonderful place to walk. A large number of path cross them, and most municipalities have traced some paths, with signs and possibly maps at the local tourism office. A number of long-distance paths also cross the province, such as the Transardennaise, and GR15.
Tec, the regional public transportation service provides a good network between towns and villages of the province, and one should find it possible to reach even the most remote village with public transportations, even though buses might be sparse on some lines (typically schools schedule to bring students to high school). Info can be found .
As in the rest of Belgium, quality of food in the province of Luxembourg is very good. However, fast foods and foreign food is popular, and it might be difficult sometimes to find a real local specialist.
Belgium is the country of Beer, and the province of Luxembourg doesn't escape the rule, with several small breweries scattered around. Among them we can discover the Rulles, the Chouffe,... Some locals distillate their own liquor from fruits (plum, apple...), but those are not readily available, and your only chance to taste it is to be invited by one of them. In Arlon, a local white vine, the Maitrank, aromatised with woodruff is very popular, and is celebrated every year in a festival, the Fêtes du Maitrank.
The province, as the rest of Belgium is a very safe place. However, some fights might occur at the end of villages 'bals' where heavy drinking is involved. However, those happen usually between local youngsters, and basic precaution will avoid any trouble, and you will find your stay a very peaceful experience.
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