Luxembourg: luxe for life

The tourist brochures often call it Europe's best-kept secret. That may be a little over the top, but they have a point, as Luxembourg does rather hide its light under a bushel.

The landlocked nation is known for its banks and finance, and for being the second-richest country in the world. But there is more to it than that. Luxembourg may be one of the world's smallest countries, but it's also one of the most international. A surprising 43 per cent of its population was born abroad, and locals speak at least four languages - German, French, Luxemburgish and English. It also has a growing array of exciting museums and galleries.

Luxembourg's enterprising National Audiovisual Centre (CNA), has opened two major photography spaces near its hi-tech concrete-and-glass headquarters in Dudelange, southern Luxembourg, just 16 kilometres from the capital.

One, an old industrial water tower in an abandoned steel plant, has been restored and converted to display a seminal photography exhibition called The Bitter Years, which was first shown at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1962. The other is the former pumping station next door, which is being used for temporary exhibitions. The first, which is showing until February 10, is by British photographer Stephen Gill.

The last time The Bitter Years, which was curated by Edward Steichen, was seen by the public was in Tokyo in 1995. Seventeen years later, and 50 years after its first showing at MoMA, the exhibition has found a permanent home.

Steichen was born in Luxembourg but moved to the United States as a child. He became a successful photographer and curator, and later worked as director of MoMA's photography department between 1947 and 1962. The Bitter Years is a collection of 203 images selected by Steichen from over 200,000 photographs taken around rural America during the late 1930s. The photos - taken by renowned photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee and Arthur Rothstein - document the effects of the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression. They show people in the depths of despair but are also a powerful testament to human resilience and strength.

The photos are displayed in groups to form themed tableaux and there is a strong graphic element to the layout. As curator Francoise Poos puts it: "He uses the museum walls like the pages of a magazine." The photos are displayed in two galleries: a circular one at the top of the water tower (in the former water tank) and an octagonal gallery in the tower's base. The darkened, temperature-controlled exhibition spaces are separated by a panoramic staircase and lift, allowing viewers to truly immerse themselves in the story Steichen wanted to tell.

Another one of Steichen's MoMA exhibitions - The Family of Man - is also administered by the CNA. With more than 10 million visitors since its debut, The Family of Man is the most popular photography exhibition in history. The 500-plus images in this collection are on permanent display in Clervaux Castle in northern Luxembourg (the site is currently being refurbished and is due to reopen in June). Like The Bitter Years, The Family of Man contained a message of peace, unity and equality during the cold war, and was grouped according to themes. In this case, the themes revolved around birth, love, joy, war, illness and death.

Known in the 17th and 18th centuries as the "Gibraltar of the North" owing to its impressive fortifications, Luxembourg City boasts a hugely atmospheric 23-kilometre network of underground galleries, which is now a Unesco World Heritage site. These are known as "casemates" - the word means fortified gun emplacements - and they were carved out of the city's rocks. A short walk east of the galleries stands the city's romantic river valley, and the medieval streets and restored town houses and labourers' cottages of Luxembourg's oldest quarter, the Grund. Visit its cafes, bars and restaurants by night; by day, do the fascinating history-packed Wenzel circular walk and marvel at how rural it all feels.

The Grund is also where you'll find Neumünster Abbey. A monastery since the 11th century, and later a prison, the site has been beautifully converted to host concerts, conferences and exhibitions. The permanent exhibition featuring the glass, alabaster, stone, bronze and marble works of local sculptor Lucien Wercollier is well worth a visit.

If you're planning a longer stay, make time for the quirky City History Museum, Villa Vauban and the hilly Kirchberg Plateau. The Villa Vauban, a 19th-century building, hosts a permanent exhibition of European paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries, while its brass-clad contemporary extension hosts excellent temporary shows. Kirchberg is a sea of shiny, tall and bland buildings that houses almost 200 international banks.

The all-white Philharmonie by Christian de Portzamparc looks impressive, with its ingenious curtain of more than 800 columns, as does the Mudam modern art museum, which was designed by I.M. Pei. Its permanent art collection is uninspiring, but its cafe - designed by eccentric French sibling duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec - is an other-worldly delight. Next door to Mudam is the brand new Dräi Eechelen museum, located in an ancient fort and dedicated to Luxembourg's fortress architecture.

With 110,000 inhabitants and 16 Michelin stars, Luxembourg claims to have the most stars per capita of any city in the world. Two-star Mosconi enjoys an enviable location on the banks of the Alzette river in the heart of the Grund and offers some fantastic Italian dishes.

For a more traditional experience go to Kniddelkinnek (literally "king of dumplings"), a tavern-style restaurant that serves up typical Luxembourg dumplings. The fashionable should head to Brasserie Guillaume in Place Guillaume.

One of the nicest hotels in the city is just two minutes away on the cafe-lined Place d'Armes (the hotel itself is called Place d'Armes and is a refined Relais & Chateaux property). For a slightly hipper experience try the Hotel Albert Premier in the elegant Belair district. Rooms come in two styles: antique English chic and sleek monochrome minimalism. Make sure to visit the gourmet in-house Italian restaurant, which offers memorable food, service with flair, and a large outdoor terrace in summer.

lifestyle@scmp.com