Luxembourg is a small, landlocked country in Europe with a capital city by the same name. Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, Luxembourg (LUX) has a lot to offer. From border to border in a fairly short drive, you can see varied topography, stunning forestry, breathtaking vineyards, old castles, small villages, and beautiful farm fields.
Interesting fact: The country is a monarchy and has been a grand duchy since 1815. Currently, the country is led by Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. According to the Royal Central, “Luxembourg is the only Grand Duchy with the House of Nassau reigning since 1890”.
Luxembourg City, despite its naturally small size, is a showcase of the vast history and influences of the neighbouring countries. It is a multicultural city filled with UNESCO World Heritage monuments, museums, and beautiful neighbourhoods that often feel like their own cities. There is also a wealth of cultural activities to explore.
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All images by Kateryna Topol.
Local basics
Currency: Euro
Language: As a country landlocked by France, Germany, and Belgium, Luxembourg is a place of many languages. Luxembourgish, French, and German are official languages, but many people, at least in the city, also speak English.
When to visit: July and August are the warmest months and therefore the highest tourist peak season. I visited in October and aside from the rain, the weather was quite lovely. Turning leaves creates a poetic fall atmosphere.
Public transit: Luxembourg public transit is free across the country and has been so since 2020. There are buses and streetcars moving around the city, including a line which loops through the shopping village (Ville Haute). Find maps and connections on Mobiliteit.lu app or on the transit website. Most stops also have extensive system maps.
Sightseeing tip: Some of the attractions are free to enter on certain days. Quite a few are included in the LuxembourgPass; check your wishlist against the pass inclusions. Pass fees start at €21 per person for one-day access and go up to €66 for 3-5 people for three-day access.
Adolphe Bridge exterior on the left, exterior on the right.
Luxembourg’s walking paths
The city can be easily explored on foot with casual coffee and snack stops sprinkled between sightseeing and entertainment. Twenty Tour company offer free guided walking tours, but if you choose to go on a self-guided walking tour, a great place to start is on Boulevard Royal at the foot of Adolphe Bridge. The bridge is a double-decked arch bridge that serves as a one-way route for road traffic across the Pétrusse. The view from the bridge is quite wonderful, and if you take the underpassageway, the scenery will be framed by brick arches.
Take a stroll through Place Guillaume II, a town square in the heart of the Ville Haute quarter. In the winter, the square houses one of the city’s Christmas Markets. If timing works out, pop into Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, to take in the tall arched roof and stained glass windows.
Most walking paths will also lead you to the Gëlle Fra memorial and Place de la Constitution, or as the locals call her, The Golden Lady. The monument is set in memory of those who perished in WWI. The square sits on the edge of a wall, looking over Parcs de la Pétrusse, travelling theme parks, farmers’ markets, and the annual Christmas market set up here, at the Golden Lady’s feet.
Galeries Lafayette is a shopping centre, but at the top of the shopping centre is a spacious outdoor terrace with a restaurant and a sprawling view of the city. Last summer, the terrace cafe was set up by Veuve Clicquot, yellow umbrellas reflecting the sun.
Gëlle Fra memorial and Place de la Constitution.
Above: The Grund neigbourhood during the day. Below: Grund city gate and the neigbourhood at sunset.
Experience the remnants of the old city
A visit to the Grund quarter is a must, this part of the city is set below the Downtown. The Grund is a UNESCO cultural and architectural heritage site and home to many locals. Here you will find restaurants, pubs, museums, and outdoor art galleries. Partially surrounded by the old city walls, the Grund feels like a charming historic village with pastel-coloured homes with charcoal roofs curving along the Alzette River. The easiest way to access the Grund is by using the elevator near Cité Judiciaire. The observation deck near the elevator offers a picturesque view of the Grund. From here, you can walk along the wall to the other side of the city, looking down at the Grund.
While here, you can visit the Neimënster Abbey, which now operates as a cultural and conference centre. Various events take place in the Pais (square) of the abbey throughout the year, and sometimes the entire square can be a temporary art installation.
Casemates du Bock will take you into the rock tunnels surrounding the Grund, one of the most important historical points in Luxembourg. This is a subterranean defence system made up of many kilometres of tunnels, which you can walk through on your own, stopping to look out through the windows onto the city.
Casemates du Bock
10 Montee de Clausen, 1343 Grund, Luxembourg | Map link
Admission: €10 adults, €18 for a guided tour
In the Grund, you will also find the National Museum of Natural History (MNHNL), which, as the name suggests, contains a collection of special exhibits focused on nature and science. The collections include botanical, mineralogy, meteorites and tektites, palaeontology, and many more.
National Museum of Natural History
25 Rue Münster, 2160 Grund Luxembourg | Map link
Admission: €7 adults, free on Tuesday evenings after 5:30 PM
Galleries, museums & Monuments
National Art & History Museum (MNHA, or Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart) is the city’s art and history museum with a large archaeological collection. What looks like a white cube from the outside is combined with an older structure, which houses older art and artefacts. The building is set in the heart of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, so you will likely walk by it more than once.
Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart
Marché-aux-Poissons, 2345, Luxembourg | Map link
Admission: Free entry for permanent collection, temporary exhibitions €7 adults, free after 5 PM on Thursdays. Closed on Mondays.
National Art & History Museum, Luxembourg City.
Left: National Art & History Museum. Right: Grand Ducal Palace.
Nearby, you will undoubtedly see the Grand Ducal Palace, which serves as the residence and official workplace of the Grand Duke. Guided tours are offered in the summer months.
Luxembourg City History Museum (or Lëtzebuerg City Museum) is a fun and interactive way to learn about the city’s history. The permanent exhibit, The Luxembourg Story, is quite fascinating, looking back at the history from the 10th century to today. Temporary exhibitions range from historic to cultural, looking at topics beyond Luxembourg City. The museum also offers a mix of workshops, if you’d like to get creative on your trip. The museum is larger than it seems and can easily take up multiple hours. Don’t miss the outdoor terrace for the view.
Lëtzebuerg City Museum
14 Rue du St Esprit, 1475 Ville-Haute | Map link
Admission: €5 adults, free on Thursdays after 6 PM
Above left: Luxembourg City History Museum seen from the Grun, right is the view from the museum terrace. Below: images from inside the museum.
Art lovers will also enjoy a visit to Villa Vauban, home to a collection of European art pieces from the 17th to 19th century and Luxembourgish art from the 20th century to today. The building is surrounded by the Municipal Park of Luxembourg, which occasionally has interesting pop-ups with live music and a temporary bar.
Villa Vauban
18 Av. Emile Reuter, 2420 Ville-Haute Luxembourg | Map link
Admission: €5 adults, free on Fridays after 6 PM
Mudam Luxembourg Museum is a new structure within an old structure, or rather, surrounded by the remains of it. It is a great, medium-sized museum that features a range of touring contemporary exhibitions and a permanent collection. The building itself is quite beautiful, with geometric shapes making it look like a crystal from certain angles.
Photo tip: On the way to the Mudam, you will also pass Philharmonie Luxembourg with the large Luxembourg sign.
Mudam Museum of Modern Art
3 Park Drai Eechelen, 1499 Clausen, Luxembourg | Map link
Admission: €10 adults, free Wednesdays after 6 PM
Mudam Museum of Modern Art.
Municipal Park of Luxembourg, summer pop-up bar and play areas.
Bonus stop off-the-beaten-path: Coque Sports Center (D’Coque). This spaceship-looking structure is the national sports and cultural centre. The centre houses various fitness facilities and a (nude) spa; day passes are available for visitors. The building is surrounded by a lovely park, playground, and a maze garden.
Coque Sports Center
2 Rue Léon Hengen, 1745 Kirchberg | Map link
Entertinament & nightlife
As with any major city, something is happening in Luxembourg throughout the year. The VisitLuxembourg app is a great way to learn about daily happenings, from large events to small comedy pop-ups.
Weekdays across the city can be a little quiet. But on the weekends, the city centre is overcome with life, with people mingling across bars and restaurants, often spilling out on the streets in every weather. In the winter, multiple Christmas Markets are set up in the city, and you can visit more than one per day. Each market has a selection of prepared food and beverage vendors and speciality shops. With music playing, these markets become makeshift bars for people looking to escape their regular social spots.
Tip: Most bars will take a deposit on a mug, which you can reuse throughout the market and return for change when you are done.
Munchies Burger Luxembourg.
Locally created pastry, Pâté de Riesling at Pâtisserie Hoffmann.
Where to eat & Drink in Luxembourg
A fun way to get a taste of any new city is with a walking Food Tour, and Luxembourg has one, operated by a local company, Sightseeing.Lu. On this food tour, you will learn about local specialities and visit some of the oldest restaurants.
Plenty of restaurants are scattered throughout Luxembourg City, some casual, some elevated, and many family-owned.
Rôtisserie Ardennaise, for example, offers fine dining French cuisine while Max + Moritz across the street serve delicious shareable small plates. Brasserie Restaurant L’Hêtre Beim Musée, is a great spot for an elevated meal with wine service. Nearby is Bar Lady Jane, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar on the upper floor (password can be found on their Facebook page).
If you are looking for cocktails, look at The 18th Bar at Hotel Place d’Armes and Paname, whose bartender, François Bachmann, recently competed in the Diageo Global World Class Finals. Head to The Spirit, Kaale Kaffi, BARBAR or the Tube for a more casual vibe.
For casual meals and snacks, visit Pâtisserie Hoffmann or Kaempff-Kohler for pastries and traditional Luxembourgish snacks, Munchies Burger for a juice burger, Nnert de Steiler for traditional hearty meals, or Restaurant Himalaya for hearty Indian food.
Boutique Léa Linster Delicatessen specialises in freshly-baked madelines, served with local Crémant or coffee, is an absolute must for a sweet treat. The cafe is located steps away from the Grand Ducal Palace.
Day trips
Luxembourg is a small country and within 30 minutes or under, you can get to a wide variety of activities, from visiting castles to the wine routes along the Moselle River and multi-day hiking trails. Half an hour out of the city, for example, you will find Haff Réimech and Biodiversum nature reserve. A cluster of ponds and lakes connected with mixed paths and fields form a protected wildlife heaven. The main structure is quite futuristic-looking, simultaneously blending in with the environment through materials and standing out due to its stark, dark shape.
Visitors can learn about local wildlife and sustainability in the centre, hike or bike across the biosphere (easy paths) or take a moment bird watching from a designated cabin above one of the small lakes.
Haff Réimech and Biodiversum
5 Breicherwee, 5441 Rëmerschen Schengen, Luxembourg | Map link
Réimech and Biodiversum nature reserve.
More day trip ideas from Luxembourg City
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