Beaufort, a Mullerthal village with a castle for every century

Most villages in Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland have rocks and woods. Beaufort has those too, on a plateau cut by steep little stream valleys, but it also has something none of its neighbours can match, two castles standing side by side. Locally it’s called Befort.

A quarrying village as much as a castle village

STATEC put the population at 3,102 at the start of 2026, and the national register splits the commune into Beaufort, Dillingen and Grundhof. The last of these is split with neighbouring Berdorf down in the Sûre valley.

What British visitors tend to miss is how industrial this spot once was. Sandstone was cut in the Beaufort and Dillingen quarries from 1835 until the mid-1970s, and in the early 20th century up to 100 people worked there. The stone ended up in window frames, gravestones, bridges and parts of Echternach Abbey. A narrow-gauge railway carried it down to Grundhof through three hairpin bends, where it was loaded onto the Sûre valley line. The old Steekaul quarry is now on the 5.8 km Mensch und Stein nature trail and on ExtraTour B of the Mullerthal Trail.

Start with the castles

The medieval fortress was enlarged over six centuries, and right above it stands a residence built between 1643 and 1649. The site opens daily from mid-March to mid-November and an adult ticket costs €8. The residence can only be seen with a guide, and the tour ends with a glass of Cassero, the blackcurrant liqueur still made in its cellars. Everything about tickets and history is on my page about the Beaufort castles.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Berdorf before prices climb.

Walking the Halerbaach

Route 3 of the Mullerthal Trail runs through the Halerbaach and Haupeschbaach valleys and follows the second one up to the castles. The regional tourist office describes V-shaped valleys crossed by small wooden bridges, mossy rocks and air that stays cool on warm days. For a shorter outing, Beaufort’s local circular walk starts at the campsite car park, covers 8.87 km, stays mostly in the woods and finishes with a short climb back onto the plateau.

It’s the approach I’d pick, because you come up from below and the castle only shows itself at the end.

Rain, sun or frost

The Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall’s Geo-Expo, at 6 rue de l’Auberge, tells how the ground here formed as a seabed and how people have used it since the Stone Age. Entry is free, and at the end of September 2026 its hours were 10:00 to 17:00. In summer there’s the Aqua Park outdoor pool, and in winter the Ice Park, an indoor rink with skate hire. The season’s other rinks are in ice skating in Luxembourg.

The tourist office is at 87 Grand-Rue, open 09:00 to 16:00 for most of the year, staying open until 19:00 at the height of summer.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Berdorf before prices climb.

Staying over and moving on

The 2025 STATEC tally was two hotels and three campsites, and there’s also a youth hostel with a bowling alley. Public transport costs nothing inside Luxembourg, so the village works even if you’ve flown into Findel without a car. If the village is full, look at the wider Mullerthal hotels. From here Route 3 carries on towards Larochette, and the Sûre valley leads north to Reisdorf.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Berdorf and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Luxembourg on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.