Where is Luxembourg? 2 days in Luxembourg City

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When I told people I was going to Luxembourg I got one of two responses: the first was “Where is Luxembourg?”, the second was “Why?”. OK first the geography lesson: Luxembourg is a small country landlocked between France to the South, Germany to the East and Belgium to the West. You can drive the length of the country in about an hour, which is about how long most people spend commuting in Vancouver each day. Now for the “why?”…well, “why not?” is what I say. I’ve never been before, it looks nice enough. At some point I’ll go, so why not now?

Getting to Luxembourg

I’d just flown in from Vancouver to London and being that there are limited flights to Luxembourg I spent the night in London first. Flight time was just over an hour so pretty quick to get to Luxembourg. Unless you’re flying out of London though, there’s not really too many other direct option from the UK. For that reason I planned to take the train to Paris on the way home and fly from there. Plus, any excuse for Paris right? But that’s another story.

First Impressions of Luxembourg City

First impressions can really shape your views of a new place. That first couple of hours can have the biggest impact as to how you remember it. I do know that the people I met in Luxembourg were all incredibly friendly, and I felt safe in the city. But here are a couple of other things I observed.

Luxembourg – Old and new

First big thing, and not to start out on a negative, but there is so much construction here. I read in the museum that the city is growing at an alarming rate, with 70% foreigners in the city. Clearly they can’t build fast enough as there are cranes and roadworks everywhere. A lot of the older buildings are really similar style to what you would expect to see in the Netherlands or Belgium – brightly coloured houses with shutters on the windows. But then there’s a lot of modern buildings being built around them. It’s an unusual mix, but there are a lot of picturesque looking places in the city. Want to see Luxembourg and other European cities from above?

Do you parlez Deutsch?

In my cab ride from the airport my driver spoke to me in English, and then turned on the French news on the radio. Then he changes the station and starts listening to a show in German. His phone rings and now he’s talking a completely separate language.

The people of Luxembourg seem to flawlessly change between English, French, German and Luxebourgish. Sounds made up doesn’t it? But it’s not, nope, it’s another of the official languages (think of it more along the lines of Dutch). Communication wasn’t a problem, and everyone was very helpful. When I spoke French I was answered in English usually. Clearly my grade 11 French isn’t as good as I thought it was.

Where are all the Luxembourg people?

The country of Luxembourg has just over half a million inhabitants, and just over 100,000 of them live in Luxembourg City, the capital. I have a hard time believing there are that many people here. 

Most of my trip I didn’t even need to wait for people to move to get photos, just wait for the tumbleweeds to roll on by. Exaggeration? Yes. But, on my first day I went out about 5pm for a walk and the city was basically closed. A handful of restaurants with a couple patrons each. Stores all closed, quiet streets, no convenience stores or supermarkets on every corner. It was like a ghost town. Those that I did encounter mostly seemed to be tourists. My full day in Luxembourg was the same. Even at lunchtime, the restaurants were either closed or almost empty. I get that it’s October, but still! The people I did meet though were very friendly and welcoming. Happy to help, and super polite.

Luxembourg hotels – where to stay

Finding somewhere to stay was not easy. There aren’t too many hotels, and those that I found were not cheap. Luxembourg is not a poor country, and the hotel pricing reflects that. I ended up finding a rental apartment called Lotus apartments. My instructions were to pick up the key at one address, then the accommodation was close by. Sounds foolproof right? I managed to find the address, but it led to an apartment building and what seemed to look like a lawyers office. A closed lawyers office. Things weren’t going well.

As it’s getting dark I reluctantly called the number on the confirmation. “I am there, OK?” CLICK. OK…so I wait a bit longer. It’s getting colder, I’m tired from travelling, but it’s OK. So a businessman-realtor looking guy turns up, I sign my life away and I’ve got the keys. Walking around the corner I find and get into the building, but the key for the unit won’t work. It turns…and then nothing. Trying a few more times I have to give up and call my friendly realtor. 10 minutes later he shows up, turns the key and pulls the door towards himself and he’s in. Profusely apologizing for not knowing what no-one would have known, I bid him good evening and I’m here.

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My modest studio small but nice, and has everything I need. Sofa that turns into a bed, small bathroom, kitchen including all necessary appliances, dining table, “closet” and TV. Skylight windows will give me some natural light too. It’s immaculately clean and all IKEA-ed out but it’s home for the next couple of days and it’s nice.

Where to eat in Luxembourg

After travelling, and after my key issues I decided to go searching for food. Around me there were a couple of hotel restaurants, and an Italian restaurant, but I wanted to walk a little further and check out the city. I was staying outside of the main town, so after walking over the Adolphe Bridge (on the side that isn’t under construction) I made my way into the town centre. There must be a handful of bar/cafes open, each one looking less busy than the last. All the shops are closed even though it’s only around 5.30-6pm. I can’t even find a convenience store that’s open to get a drink.

Now I’m just aimlessly wandering. So I decided the Italian near my hotel might not be so bad after all. Back where I started, I spot a couple of restaurants across the street. I end up in one called La Fontaine (because there’s a fountain outside in a little square presumably). I order a Diekirch beer (Luxembourg beer) and have the Agnolotti pasta with asparagus and cheese. It was delicious.

What is there to see in Luxembourg?

After a terrible night’s sleep due to severe jetlag, I start my day on about 2 hours of rest. Not a great start, but I’m only here one full day and want to make the most of it. I have a map, and a (sort of) plan so I head out for the day. Stopping along the way for a pastry I’m heading back into the main part of the city. 

I take a nice walk over the viaduct into the old city (on the side that isn’t under construction). I must have stopped so many times on that bridge as there were some gorgeous views of the valley below and all the buildings around it. Turning right I make my way along some nice little streets to another bridge for my first stop.

Casemates du Bock, Luxembourg

I had no idea what a casemate was. I assumed it was a bad translation. But it seemed like a big thing on the main points of interest on my map so thought I’d check it out. I’m in Europe, I should get my history fix. The casemates are an addition to the fortress that had been in the area for some time. In the mid 1600s these underground tunnels were carved into the rocks. Stretching kilometers along through different levels, they are connected by narrow staircases. Honestly it’s really cool, and as you enter underground you go further and further around getting lost in a warren like maze of tunnels. A lot of the tunnels were pretty well lit, but there were a few where I couldn’t see an end and I’m just not that brave!

From inside there are viewpoints as you emerge from one tunnel or the next, getting phenomenal views of the valley below and the rest of the fortress around you. Entry was only 6 Euros and I spent quite a bit of time there. Once done, you could go back outside onto the road and around to see the tunnels from the outside. Apparently during the Second World War they used the casemates as bomb shelters too.

Three Towers

Just down from the Bock Casemates are the Three Towers. You can’t really miss them, and although you can’t go inside them or anything like that, they’re a pretty cool sight to see. They are part of the old fortifications of the city dating back to around 1200 AD. Walking beneath them you can carry on up the cobbled street hill to the main town area in the old city. Plus across from them there’s another great view point…this city has so many!

Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg City

Not THE Notre Dame, but still a pretty nice one. The cathedral is quite grand and can be seen from different points around the city, especially from some of the bridges. I’m a sucker for a nice stained glass window, and this place had a few nice ones. The only thing was that the first time I saw the cathedral I didn’t think it was open. I had come around from the Casemates and back into the old part of the city and made it to another building site (shocker). There looked to be a lot of work going on and the gates were closed to the Cathedral – I assumed that’s what it was anyway at that point.

But later when I was walking back into the town I came at it from the other side and saw that’s where the entrance was – without construction. There’s a decorative fountain outside of the cathedral along a wall, and it’s rather nice. Definitely worth a visit if you like cathedrals. And even if you don’t, well it’s pretty cool that it’s from the 1600s and there’s no escaping anything old in this city.

Lëtzebuerg City Museum

This museum was probably the highlight of my day. First of all, it was only 5 Euro to get in and there were 6 floors! To start the tour of the museum you go down to the ground floor. Down to the ground floor, because you enter on level 3. You get in a huge glass elevator (don’t worry it has a solid wooden bottom) and descend into the city passing through layers of old rock. The museum starts with an introduction of when a settlement was first established there with a variation of the name Luxembourg…in 963 AD! That’s a long time ago, and they have an actual document on display from then that shows it.

Walking around the museum you make you way through over 1000 years of history. It’s no wonder Luxembourg is so central to the EU, I think they’ve been part of most of the countries at one time or another. France, Spain, Germany, back to France, Belgium, Netherlands. This might explain why the Luxembourg people are so good at languages. There was a feature exhibit too in the museum which was street photography from the 50s onwards. That was really interesting to see how the city had changed, and how some of it hadn’t. If you do one thing in Luxembourg I think it should be this museum. So good!

Walking the city streets

I had a great time just walking down the small streets of Luxembourg. There were some lovely buildings and houses, and the older part of the city had a lot of character. 

While it’s not a bustling city, there are a decent number of shops, including some high end ones. Christian Louboutin shoes anyone? I found a nice little shop close to the museum which had all things to do with Luxembourg. And not in a tacky typical souvenir shop kind of way. Actually there aren’t really any of those that I could find in Luxembourg. One of two that sold a couple of postcards and magnets but nothing major like any other tourist destination. But this shop had local jams, cookies, wine, beer, spirits, syrups, chocolates. You name it. There were none food items to, but that’s what drew me in so I had to start there.

Time for some vegan food

I had walked my legs off by the end of the day. The city is not big but I kept moving most of the day. I was really ready for some food. I heard there were a good couple of vegan restaurants there. While I’m not vegan, I am vegetarian. And since Luxembourg specialty foods include many meats I thought I’d seek out a veggie place to eat. I went to an Indian Vegan restaurant called Nirvana Cafe. I started with a vegan Mango Lassi and it was delicious. Then I had a samosa and a mixed vegetable curry. There was so much curry and rice I barely made it half way through, but it was delicious.

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Should you go to Luxembourg?

You know what, it’s a place that’s been on my list for a while, and overall I am glad I went. I wouldn’t recommend that you need too long there – a couple of days is probably enough unless you have a car and are going to get out of the city. The people are friendly, the food is good, the sites are interesting, and there’s more history than you can shake a stick at. Plus some spectacular scenery – even if it rained and was cloudy most of my stay. At least I won’t have to ask Where is Luxembourg? anymore. While there I also took a day trip just over the border into Germany.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share using the buttons below or leave a comment. Have you been to Luxembourg? Which other small European countries have you visited?