The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Luxembourg is one of the world’s smallest nations, with an area of only 998 square miles. It is bordered by Belgium on the west and north, France on the south, and Germany on the northeast and east. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is an independent sovereign state, a constitutional monarchy which is hereditary in the house of Nassau. The executive power is in the hands of the Grand Duke and a cabinet of 12 ministers. The legislative power rests with the Parliament.

The economic structure of the Grand Duchy rests on banking and insurance, telecommunication, light industries and steel industry. Agriculture and vinegrowing are also very important.

One third of the country is covered with forests. Geographically the Grand Duchy is divided into 2 sections: in the North the uplands of the Ardennes, a hilly and scenically beautiful region, in the South the Good Land, mainly rolling farmlands and woods bordered on the East by the lovely grape-growing Valley of the Moselle.

Luxembourg is essentially a Roman Catholic country, but there are Protestant and Jewish communities in the more important towns.

The Grand Duchy has three official languages: German, French, and Luxembourgian. Luxembourgian is the national language.

The Grand Duchy enjoys a temperature climate without extremes.

Luxembourg

The capital of the Grand Duchy is Luxembourg. The old town consists of Luxembourg Castle’s surviving fortifications, the Grand Ducal Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and other historic buildings.

Over 400-year period, Luxembourg Castle was repeatedly attacked and rebuilt by the Spaniards, Austrians, French, Dutch, and Prussians successively, to become the strongest fortress in Europe. In the late 19^th century, Luxembourg was declared neutral, and the fortress was largely dismantled.

The Grand Ducal Palace is home to the royal family. The palace dates from 1572.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame has got magnificent sculptures and its crypt contains the Grand Ducal Mausoleum and the tomb of John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Court of Luxembourg.

Other points of special interest are the town gateways, the Towers of Rham, the Three Acorns, the elegant Spanish turrets, 110 bridges, and massive viaducts up to 43 meters high.

The heart of the old town is the Fish Market, around which stand several 17^th- and 18^th-century buildings.

In 1994 the old town was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Italy

Shaped like a high-heeled boot between two branches of the Mediterranean (the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west and the Adriatic Sea on the east), the country occupies 116,303 square miles. The magnificent mountain barrier of the Alps forms a northern boundary separating Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. A second range of mountains, the Apennines, traverses the entire 760-mile length of the peninsula and continues into Sicily. Off the west coast lies the island of Sardinia. The sea surrounds Italy and caresses its 5,310 miles of coastline through mysterious and fascinating grottoes and wide stretches of sandy beach. The waters and mountains nourish a remarkably varied landscape ranging from pine forests to oleanders, palms, and subtropical flora to the lofty peaks of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn and the volcanoes of Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius.

With its head in the snowy Alps and its feet in the warm Mediterranean, Italy offers a varied but mild climate.

Italy is blessed with numerous thermal baths – many of volcanic origin – that have been known for their restorative powers since early Roman times.

Rome

Rome is the repository of the country’s culture and history, a huge open-air museum of priceless art. It houses Roman remains, seventeenth-century palaces, fifteenth-century churches, and twentieth-century monuments and modern skyscrapers.

It has been a center of Christendom since its beginning. There’s the city’s most famous monument – the grandiose Colosseum, built in 72 AD and described by Lord Byron as "the gladiator’s bloody circus".

Nearby one can visit the famous Roman Forum, with its exquisite remains of ancient temples and law courts.

The splendid churches attract visitors to Rome. Of course, one should see St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It’s the world’s largest Catholic Church.

The Vatican itself – a tiny principality with its own shops, bank and even post office – has been the residence of Popes since 1378. It is also home to one of the world’s largest art collections and is well worth a long visit – there are four miles of rooms and galleries in the Vatican museums housing everything from Egyptian mummies to Greek and Roman sculptures. Undoubtedly the greatest experience for many Vatican visitors is to stand in the Sistine Chapel and stare at the ceiling with Michelangelo’s famous Last Judgement.

In Rome, the Eternal city, the list of places to visit is never ending.

Spain

Spain occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula. Spain is bordered on the west by Portugal; in the northeast it borders France, from which it is separated by the tiny principality of Andorra and by the great wall of the Pyrenees Mountains. Spain’s only other land border is in the far south with Gibraltar. Elsewhere the country is bounded by water: by the Mediterranean Sea to the east and southeast, by the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest and southwest, and by the Bay of Biscay to the northwest. The Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean, also form parts of Spain, as do Ceuta and Melilla, two small enclaves in North Africa. The total area of the national territory is 194,898 square miles.

There is immense variety in the scenery. The tableland of La Mancha (where Don Quixote fought his windmills) is treeless; the Castilian plateau is arid; rice swamps and orange groves grace Valencia; pink hills and olive groves mark Andalusia; and the snow-capped Pyrenees form a natural barrier between France and Spain.

Spain has intriguing variations in climate. The north and northwest have an Atlantic-type climate. The southwest area has a mixed Atlantic and Mediterranean climate.

All these seeming dissimilarities are fused into a Spaniard with a deep sense of honour, pride, and dignity.

The capital of Spain is Madrid.

Spain is famous for its coasts and islands.

There are miles upon miles of high-rise hotels, condominiums, bungalows and campsites on Costa del Sol. Some say that the Costa del Sol is Spain’s answer to Acapulco and Rio de Janeiro. Malaga is the centre and capital of the Spanish Riviera and a good tourist town. The waterfront is picturesque, and the hills behind the town offer spectacular views.

The Costa Brava is composed of granite cliffs that jut out into the sea. The largest town in the area is Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, one of the Spain’s seventeen autonomous regions, and a flourishing port and tourist centre. A lively, sophisticated city, Barcelona is also a thriving commercial, publishing, and literary city.

The Costa Blanca is hotter than Costa Brava and attracts mainly sun worshipers. Alicante is the capital of this region and has a casino, two mountaintop castles, an archeological museum, a ceramics museum and a museum of contemporary art.

The Balearic Islands are mountainous and green, with fig, olive, and evergreen trees dotting the hills. Palma de Mallorca is the capital of the islands.

The Canary Islands are lush, green islands with quaint villages of white-washed houses with red roofs. Las Palmas, the capital, is a duty free port with good shopping bargains.