Ell and Colpach, sculpture in the Mayrisch family's park

Ell is rural and proud of it, according to the Guttland regional tourist office, tucked away from the main roads and pressed up against Belgium. You’d never guess that one of its villages hosted some of the brightest minds in Europe in the early 20th century, or that the garden where they strolled is still open, sculptures and all.

Colpach, a castle with famous guests

Colpach Castle dates from the early 14th century. In the late 19th century the Hungarian painter Munkácsy and his Luxembourgish wife made it their summer home, and Franz Liszt stayed there shortly before his death. In 1917 the steel magnate Émile Mayrisch bought it, and with his wife, Aline Mayrisch-de Saint-Hubert, turned it into a meeting place for interwar politicians, economists, writers and artists. Today it’s a rehabilitation centre and closed to the public.

What can you see in Colpach park?

The park, on the other hand, is open. It was laid out around 1916 beside the castle as Mayrisch’s private garden and displays sculptures by Maillol, Despiau, Bourdelle and Kolbe, which the couple had collected. visitluxembourg lists it as open every day of the year and suitable for people with reduced mobility. I rate it among the best things in the west of the country, a quiet stroll among works that in a city would sit behind a ticket desk.

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How long should you give it?

A morning covers the park and the marsh. It’s the sort of outing I’d suggest for romantic Luxembourg, a long unhurried walk, rather than for small children after swings. If sculpture is your thing, round off the day in the capital at Mudam, which plays in a different league, that of contemporary art. And in autumn, with leaves falling around the bronzes, the park is to my mind the best thing the canton of Redange offers a visitor.

Border country

Near the Belgian border, the Grendel marsh nature reserve has an educational trail on wooden boardwalks. Between Roodt and Colpach runs a woodchip path for gentle walks, and a cross-border circuit of about twelve kilometres links Colpach-Bas and Petit-Nobressart with Nothomb and Grendel, over in Belgium. Well-kept regional lanes make for good bike rides too, and because the area sits away from the main roads, traffic is light. Bring proper footwear for the marsh after rain, as boardwalks and woodchip paths can be slippery.

The Attert crosses the south of the village, and a woodchip path through the Um Hounig area leads to neighbouring Redange.

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Getting there

Trains don’t reach Ell, so it’s the car or the bus, and buses are free. I’d do Colpach in the morning and head to the free castle at Useldange in the afternoon, or to the mill at Beckerich on a weekday.

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Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.