Don’t pass the Duchy

The chances are you’ve passed over Luxembourg on dozens of occasions and never stopped to explore.

The world’s richest country teems with history and culture – and world class conference and meeting facilities, making it more than worth your while to take the time to investigate further. Which is exactly what I did when I attended this year’s MPI EMEC in Luxembourg City.

“I kept hearing ‘I've flown over Luxembourg a million times but I've never actually considered going there’,” says Drew Holmgreen, vice president of brand engagement at Meeting Professionals International. “So when we put the event here, it was a combination of interest and appeal. There was some curiosity behind Luxembourg, and then it was the ease of access, it's right in the middle of Europe. This city has a lot of opportunity to host big events like this.”

Arriving in Luxembourg for an event is indeed extremely straightforward – aided by the country’s move to free public transport in 2020. That’s right: buses, trains, trams – even the funicular – are all completely gratis, making hopping around the city a doddle. I walked straight out of the airport onto a free, spotless public bus, which dropped me off at the European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL) in under 20 minutes. The capital city’s airport serves more than 100 destinations worldwide, while the city also has great train connections to Belgium, France and Germany.

The ECCL is the centrepiece of a shining cluster of modern buildings known as Convention Park. Within a five minute walk you’ll find almost 800 hotel rooms, restaurants and bars, a shopping centre, the concert hall Philharmonie Luxembourg and contemporary art museum MUDAM.

The ECCL is the seat of the Council of Ministers of the European Union for three months of the year, which means that the whole facility has the highest quality technology and security throughout. It does also mean that for those three months – April, June and October – the venue is unavailable for events – something to bear in mind.

When it comes to space, the ECCL is extremely well-equipped with two plenary rooms for up to 800 people, a 646-capacity amphitheatre, 11 meeting rooms for anything from 35 to 380 people, 30 briefing rooms, four bars and more than 3,500 sqm of exhibition space and foyers.

“We have five hotels in walking distance, and then we have other partner venues like the Philharmonic or the art museum where people can have side events during their main conference at the ECCL,” says Carine Loutsch, sales and marketing manager at ECCL. “We have a very close relationship with the convention bureau, which can really help if there are social activities to plan, or if they need more assistance with hotel rooms, or other ideas.”

You could host an event at Convention Park and your delegates would have everything they needed within a five minute radius – however, they’d be missing out on the myriad charms of the city’s old town.

Built on the foundations of a formidable fortress,the city’s Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. The spectacular views from the Corniche have seen it hailed as "Europe’s most beautiful balcony", while the 18th century subterranean defence system of the Bock Casemates point to Luxembourg’s past as a heavily defended stronghold.

The Rives de Clausen is a restaurant/bar district brimming with event venues on the site of a former brewery. It’s now home to Luxembourg’s only micro-brewery, The Big Beer Company, which hosted MPI EMEC’s Rendezvous networking event and saw hundreds of eventprofs partying the night away with freshly brewed beer, delicious canapes and a fantastic live band.

Beyond the capital, opportunities for planners abound – and in such a small country, transfer times are minimal. The Moselle Valley, famous for its sloping hillsides and vineyards, is less than 30 minutes away and offers walking, watersports, and of course, wine tasting. Wineries such as Domaines Vinsmoselle or Caves Bernard-Massard typically offer event space and private tastings.

Right on the French border, the spa resort Mondorf-les-Bains has been welcoming visitors to take the waters for almost 200 years. MONDORF Domaine Thermal offers two hotels, a spa, several restaurants, and conference, team building and party packages.

Buyer’s Eye

Drew Holmgreen, vice president of brand engagement, Meeting Professionals International.

“EMEC has three main tenets: ensuring innovative and different learning and connecting formats; it must be an event built for Europeans by Europeans; and it must genuinely and organically reflect the destination based on its unique appeal.

“When we looked at Luxembourg, all three of those paired up. We like to go to markets that are on the rise and investing in their own destination. Luxembourg are really all in, and they've got unbelievable facilities. It just made perfect sense for us.

“We typically get 300 to 400 attendees and we always want to make sure we've got plenty of hotels nearby, but also good hotel brand partners and some interesting experiential hotels. We worked really closely with Accor and Melia for this particular event. The Melia is right next door and it's a gorgeous facility. We also have rooms at the Sofitel, the Novotel, and in the Mama Shelter, and each of those individual hotels has their own interesting appeal. We've also got Le Royale in the city centre, it is a fantastic property. 

“Luxembourg has got a great train station, it's easy to get here and it’s got to be one of the easiest airports in Europe that I've ever been through. That's nice in terms of getting people here. The other nice thing is the free transportation throughout the city. All the public transportation is green, that's a heavy initiative for them. We got a green certification for EMEC, we're proud of that. 

“One of the things that I like about the city is the dichotomy between old and new. You’ve got the old city centre inside the fortress wall. And then you've got the new cosmopolitan side that has the conference centre, opera house, art museum and office buildings. There's almost a change in headspace when you go over that bridge from new to old or vice versa. It's a really intriguing city.”