City Review: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

The first time I traveled to Brussels, back in 2018, I arrived at Charleroi airport and was trying to figure out how to actually get to Brussels city center. As I scanned the bus schedules, something caught my eye: you could take a bus to Luxembourg. The impulsive, 25-year-old-solo-traveler part of my brain almost took over because I thought it would be really cool to just pop down to another country for a few hours. But then the responsible, 25-year-old-solo-traveler part of my brain snapped me out of it, and I boarded the bus to Brussels as planned.

In the end, it was for the best. It turns out that the bus I’d seen was likely going to Luxembourg, Belgium, rather than the country of Luxembourg. And also, regardless of whether I was going to the city or the country, it was going to be much more than a “pop” to get to any Luxembourgs — at least two or three hours one-way.

But nearly eight years later, I finally had the opportunity to visit Luxembourg the country for the first time (though it was a little confusing booking our train tickets to make sure we ended up in the right Luxembourg). If you’re considering a trip to Luxembourg, here’s what you need to know.

About Luxembourg

Luxembourg is Europe’s seventh-smallest country, but it is not considered a microstate. A microstate — like Vatican City, Andorra, or Liechtenstein — is defined as a sovereign state that has a very small land area, a very small population, or both. But while Luxembourg is small, it’s not that small. It has an area of just about 1,000 square miles (2,586 sq. km). While it doesn’t sound like a lot, you could technically fit five Andorras inside Luxembourg. And Luxembourg is also a member of the European Union, unlike microstates.

Luxembourg City, or also sometimes just “Luxembourg,” is the capital of Luxembourg, and about 138,000 of the country’s 692,000 residents live there. The city has quite an international population, with about 70% of foreign-born residents compared to about 30% Luxembourgers. 

When we were there, the main language I heard spoken and written was French, though I did see and hear a bit of German as well. Both are recognized languages of Luxembourg, though the country also has its own national language: Luxembourgish. But don’t worry if you don’t know any of those three languages! Many people speak English fluently.

How Many Days Do You Need in Luxembourg City?

We spent about two full days in Luxembourg City, and that was plenty of time. Even just one day would probably be enough, but considering how long it will likely take you to travel there, you might as well relax and enjoy it slowly over two days.

Things To Do in Luxembourg City

My impression of Luxembourg City is that there are two versions: the upper town and the lower town. If you arrive at the train station, like we did, you’ll notice you have to cross one of two major bridges to get to the Old Town: either the La Passarelle or the Pont Adolphe. But while you might expect these bridges to simply help you cross a river, they actually help you cross a huge valley that surrounds the old town. We’ll get back to that in a minute, though!

The entire Old Town, or the Ville Haute, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for Luxembourg’s importance as one of Europe’s most important fortified cities from the 16th to the 19th century. Reminders of the city’s grand past are everywhere: the Grand Ducal Palace, which is open to visitors only in the summer months; the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, which is not nearly as famous the one in France but is also way less crowded; and the Chemin de la Corniche, which looks out over the lower town and is known as Europe’s “most beautiful balcony.” 

Luxembourg has two main squares in the upper town, and you may be lucky enough to catch them hosting a market during your visit. Place Guillaume II holds a farmer’s market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Place d’Armes has a flea market every second and fourth Saturday of the month.

We bought a traditional Luxembourg green beehive stem/Römer wine glass here after seeing them all over the souvenir shops and wondering what the story was. From what I learned, apparently the traditional white wines from the Moselle region of Luxembourg had a slight green tint to them — so they made the wine stems green to make it seem like the green cast was from the glass, not the wine itself. 😉

And speaking of green… one of our favorite places in the upper town was the Parc Municipal de Luxembourg. It was the first really warm weekend of the season, with temperatures reaching about 80°F (26°C), and as we strolled through the park, my first thought was of the painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. (By the way, I had to look up the name of that painting. I didn’t just know it off the top of my head.)

But anyway, everyone was out enjoying the sunshine and the nice weather, and we couldn’t help but join them — we found a park bar and some lounge chairs and spent a few hours relaxing with drinks in hand.

Now, moving on to the lower town! The valley below the upper city center of Luxembourg is called the Grund, and I promise it’s a lot prettier than its name makes it sound. We hiked down to the Grund from the Chemin de la Corniche area, though there may be other places in the upper town where you can start from. Another option is to take the public elevator down.

Down in the Grund, it’s easy to forget there’s a city above you. Instead of buses and trams, and typical European shops and restaurants, you’ll find one of Luxembourg city’s oldest neighborhoods — along with cobblestone streets, old bridges, weeping willows, and the gently flowing Alzette River. 

Besides taking photos, there are still a few things to do and see in the valley. Neimënster Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey that now serves as a public meeting place and cultural center. Apparently, Bulgaria and Romania signed the treaty admitting them to the European Union in Neimënster Abbey back in 2005. So, I guess you could say it’s pretty important.

If you’re looking for food or drinks, I recommend checking out the Rives de Clausen area. This is an entertainment district that was formerly the site of the Mousel brewery complex until its relocation in 2000. Now, it’s home to a group of 12 restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

We had hiked down to the Grund, but we decided to take the elevator back up to the upper city. Unlike many other cities in Europe and the world, where you have to pay to use an elevator, funicular, or cable car, you do not have to pay for the elevator in Luxembourg. That’s because all public transportation in Luxembourg is free.

Is Public Transportation Really Free in Luxembourg?

Yes, all public transportation in the entire country of Luxembourg is free! Whether it’s the colorful striped buses and trams running through Luxembourg City, or even trains between cities (within the country of Luxembourg), all public transportation has been free since 2020 — for residents and tourists alike.

We took advantage of the buses a few times heading from the old town back to our hotel. It only saved us a few minutes, but our feet were tired from all the walking… and it was free, so why not?!

How Expensive is Luxembourg?

Luxembourg City is the first place in Europe that I’ve traveled in a while and thought, “Wow, this is a lot more expensive than I was expecting.” That wasn’t necessarily true about our hotel (and obviously not the case for public transportation) but the food and drinks were a bit pricy!

We didn’t eat out a lot because there weren’t a lot of great gluten-free options in restaurants for me. But I also didn’t want to drink much because of the prices! The cheapest glass of wine we were able to find was about €9, and beer was usually around €7. Those are like U.S. prices and I’m not used to them anymore. And one night we did have pizza at a Neapolitan-style pizza place. Even the regular (non gluten-free) pizzas were about €25, when usually in many parts of Europe, you’ll find the same thing for about €12-17.

Where To Eat & Drink in Luxembourg

Like I mentioned, we didn’t eat out a ton but here were a few places that deserve mentions:

Luxembourg Municipal Park Bar: I’m not sure if this bar had a name, and I’m not even sure if it exists on the map. But we loved sitting in lawn chairs while enjoying our drinks!

AKOR Cafe et Cycles: Totally gluten-free but you probably wouldn’t even notice. We liked it because the toasts, pastries, and coffees were tasty — and because it’s half cafe, half bike store. A nice patio outside to people watch as well!

Café-Bar Vis-à-Vis: It was Friday night and everywhere was seemingly packed as we wandered through the old town looking for somewhere to get a drink. And then we came across Vis-à-Vis, where people were not only sitting outside at tables, but standing and sitting on the wall across the street with their drinks. We found a free spot on the wall and asked the waitress if we could sit there — and she said, “Of course!” Despite seemingly having to wait all 100 tables herself, she was attentive and friendly, and she was the one who first told us about the Luxembourgish language.

Where To Stay in Luxembourg City

Since we’re on a train trip, we’ve generally been trying to stay near the train stations so we can spend less time trekking around town with all our luggage. In Luxembourg City, we stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson, which was just about 5 minute from the Gare de Luxembourg. I thought it was a great location — only about 10-15 minutes walk to the Old Town, or an even quicker bus ride! 

Otherwise, I’d recommend staying in the Old Town itself.

Is Luxembourg Worth Visiting?

Yes, absolutely — Luxembourg is worth visiting. To be completely honest, I don’t think either of us was really expecting much from it. In my mind, I thought it would be like Andorra… cool to say you’ve been there, but not too much going on otherwise. But that wasn’t the case at all. Luxembourg was genuinely a cute city with great nature, interesting history and architecture, not too many tourists, and it’s still small and walkable.

I’m definitely going to be recommending it to my friends in Spain who are looking for a quick weekend getaway to somewhere new and interesting!

Plan Your Luxembourg Trip

Have you ever visited Luxembourg, or are you thinking about planning a trip? What do you want to know? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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