The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a small Western European country, situated between Belgium, France and Germany. It covers an area of approximately 1,000 square miles. The population numbers just under half a million people. It is a parliamentary democracy, with a constitutional monarch, the Grand Duke, as Head of State. According to both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, it has the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world. Lëtzebuergesch is the national language. Alongside French and German, it is also an official language.

The North of the country forms part of the hilly and wooded Ardennes region, and is peppered with picturesque villages and hamlets, while the flatter South is more densely populated and highly industrialised.

The capital is Luxembourg City, which has approximately 90,000 inhabitants. The town was established by the Franks over a thousand years ago, and developed into a formidable fortress over the centuries. Today it is the seat of government, and hosts several European Union institutions and agencies, including the European Court of Justice, The European Court of Auditors, the European Investment Bank and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union. It is a prosperous town full of high class shops, pubs and restaurants, and is a centre of the arts.

The Grand Duchy has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than any country in the world.