Echternach is the oldest town in Luxembourg, founded around a Benedictine abbey established by the Anglo-Saxon missionary St Willibrord in 698 AD. The town was badly damaged during the Second World War — the Basilica of St Willibrord and much of the centre were rebuilt after 1944 — but reconstruction has been successful and the historic core has recovered well. The narrow streets, medieval ramparts, and the arcaded Place du Marché under the late-Gothic Denzelt town hall have considerable charm.
The main attractions are the Basilica with its surviving early-medieval crypt, the surrounding abbey complex, the Prehistory Museum, and the Roman Villa on the edge of town — one of the largest north of the Alps. The real draw, though, is the landscape: the sandstone gorges and beech forests of the Mullerthal Trail, often called Luxembourg's "Little Switzerland". The most photographed feature is the Wolf Gorge, a slot canyon a short walk north of the town.
Echternach is about 30 km northeast of Luxembourg City, and immediately across the Sauer river from Germany — the bridge into Echternacherbrück makes a casual border crossing on foot.