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Here is a list of activities for the three-day weekend in the grand duchy. Photo: Nader Ghavami/Maison Moderne/Schlammwiss Reserve/Shutterstock/Screenshot from the Alstad Committee website 

Despite the health restrictions, there are several activities to explore during the forthcoming three-day weekend. We have selected six for you.

A different kind of Emaischen

Due to covid-19 this year, it will not be possible to walk around the Emaischen markets in Luxembourg City or in Nospelt, where the traditional "Péckvillchen" are sold. These small birds made of clay make a whistling sound similar to a cuckoo cry when they are blown. You can still buy them, but only online. For example, the Comité Alstad association offers some at the price of €25.  It also plans to set up its own market at its headquarters located at 14 rue Sigefroi in Luxembourg City. According to the association, this will happen on Monday, 5 April from 9am to 5pm.

The City of Luxembourg also have the bird-shaped whistles on sale in a dedicated pop-up store, "Dem Péckvillchen säi Pop-Up Store", located at 40 Grand-Rue. Visitors will be able to go there on 2 and 3 April from 9am to 6pm.

According to the Cultural Center, no on-site sales are envisaged in Nospelt. It was possible to buy some online, but the small birds have already sold out.

Watch birds at the Schlammwiss reserve

And speaking about birds, you can head to the Schlammwiss nature reserve for a guided birdwatching tour. Registrations must be sent by e-mail to [email protected] by 2 April.

The tour will take place on Saturday at 9am starting at the soccer field parking area, located in Rue de Beyren in Munsbach. According to the organizer Jim Schmitz, rubber boots and binoculars will be required for this tour of about an hour and a half, which ends with a visit to the bird station responsible for migration monitoring. The tour is free, but a box will be provided for donations.

Go to the reopened Parc Merveilleux

The fairytale park Parc Merveilleux has reopened its doors and families can once again come and discover animals from five continents and enjoy the various playgrounds scattered throughout the park in Bettembourg. However, before going there, it is mandatory to reserve a place online. A maximum of 2,000 visitors are allowed per day. Unless indicated otherwise, the park is open every day from 9:30am to 7pm until 10 October.

Discover the botanical path in Lellingen

The Via Botanica self-guided walking tour in Lellingen passes through the Natura 2000 protected area of the Sûre valley, Wiltz, Clervaux and the Lellingerbach. With a length of 7.5km, it is a particularly pleasant experience in this season when the daffodils are in bloom. Lovers of drawing or painting will enjoy the benches for an observational break. Didactic panels, harmoniously integrated along the path, provide information on the fauna and flora present on this preserved trail.

The reopened blast furnace in Belval

For a change of atmosphere and for some height, there is nothing like climbing the blast furnace A in Belval, which reopens on 1 April. The visit can be made spontaneously or with a guide (reservation needed) and offers a fascinating journey to the heart of steel production. The peak of the adventure will be to reach the top of the shaft, located at a height of 40m, from where it is possible to discover the environs from another point of view.

Visit the Katzenberg mine

Also located in the south of the country and in the spirit of discovering the history of mining, it will be possible to visit the restored site of the Katzenberg mine in Ellergronn on Saturday at 3pm. Registrations by email should be sent to [email protected] or made by phone call to 24 75 65 16. This will be a free two-hour tour.

What is open or closed

And if you simply want to take a walk, do some sports, or other authorised leisure activities, you should remember that Monday will be a holiday and that it is better to find out the opening hours of the venues concerned before heading out.

Good Friday on 2 April is a holiday in the French Moselle region, but not in Luxembourg or Belgium. However, banks in the grand duchy be closed.

This article was first published in French on Paperjam and has been translated and edited for Delano.