Let me be blunt: Luxembourg City is not my favourite city in Europe. Allow me to explain this statement before you start jumping up and down with objections because I will not deny that it has beautiful architecture, gorgeous squares and impressive buildings.

I will not defile this city either by comparing it to gorgeous Sofia and the historical significance of Athens because that wouldn’t be fair. Regardless of all the above points, Luxembourg City is unfortunately a little bit bland.

Day 1

Arrival
Getting to Luxembourg City was really easy. That’s actually why I decided to visit this city. I landed at night at Frankfurt Hahn airport, where I stayed overnight in the B&B Hotel Frankfurt-Hahn, which is insanely easily located right outside the airport.

The next morning, I took the Flibco bus to Luxembourg City. It cost only 5 euro (I booked online) and it took 2.5 hours.

Luxembourg Youth Hostel
I stayed in the Luxembourg Youth Hostel, which is a Youth Hostel in the old-fashioned sense of the words. There are no parties and not many solo travellers, most people are travelling in groups and most of them are not particularly young. The hostel isn’t very vibrant nor social but it’s cheap and it contains a bed and that’s all some people need. Take note that if you do like I do and you decide to walk from the train station to the hostel you should realize that it’s more than a half an hour walk. The hostel is in Pfaffenthal which is below the city’s level.

Circuit Wenzel
What makes Luxembourg City famous are the casemates – the city used to be known as the most fortified city of Europe. I will describe this circuit in the next blog post. You only need around two hours for this walk, so you have plenty of time to explore the rest of the city on the first day.

Luxembourg City
Place d’Armes
This square is the heart of the city. All around the square you’ll find cute cafes (and some fastfood chains). If you’re planning to sit on the terrace of one of the cute cafes to have lunch, don’t do it after 2pm because the kitchens will be closed.

There’s one brasserie on the corner of the square called Brasserie du Cercle, which has lovely food and a great atmosphere (even after 2pm). I tried my first Luxembourgian beer and Luxembourgian Rindfleisch salad, both were delicious.

Of course both paled in comparison to the delicious Nutella ice cream dessert! I saw it on the menu and I simply had to try it. How could I say no to Nutella?

Place de la Constitution
This square is home to Gëlle Fra, a war memorial to commemorate the Luxembourgians who volunteered to join the armed forces during World War I.

The Petrusse Casemates are also located on this square, but they were closed for renovations when I visited.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame
A few minutes walk from the Place de la Constitution you’ll see the “famous” towers of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Luxembourg.

The cathedral has been built by Jesuits in the 1600s whereas the Notre Dame de Paris was completed in the 1300s.

The first thing I noticed were the beautiful stain glass windows.

There’s a crypt downstairs where you’ll find two lions guarding the resting place of some famous and royal Luxembourgians.

Place Guillaume II
The third square in this walk around the city is Place Guillaume II. During the weekend there’s a flower market on this square.

Palais Grand-Ducal
The official residence of the grand duke of Luxembourg can only be viewed inside on certain days and through bookings. I didn’t plan my visit in such detail so I only saw the building on the outside.

Day 2

Kirchberg
Since you’ve probably walked all around town three times on day 1 – that’s how small it is – I would suggest to plan a day on Kirchberg on the second day. This part of town is about 1.5 hours walk from the city centre, and it’s worth walking there as you pass through cute neighbourhoods with colourful houses. On the way back you could take one of the many buses to the city centre.

Kirchberg is located on a hilltop. The architecture is completely different from what you see in the city centre. Where the city centre contains mostly old buildings, Kirchberg is filled with glass and steel buildings in weird shapes. This is where the big companies have their head offices, therefore this is where the young professionals hide out and this is noticeable in all the cafes and restaurants scattered around the area. It’s nice to walk around the area to look at all the modern buildings and the work of art scattered all around the area.

You could spend your day lounging around in the malls, have lunch at the many restaurants, or simply walk all around Kirchberg – there’s also a museum which is apparently well-worth visiting: Mudam. I visited the area for another reason, namely to chill out in the cinema all day for two movies. I didn’t feel like exploring anything anymore; it was time for some simple entertainment.

In the evening I had dinner at the hostel, which has the cheapest food in town. It has to be mentioned at least once that Luxembourg City is one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

Conclusion

Luxembourg City isn’t my favourite city in Europe, but it’s worth exploring it for two days. Any longer would be too long. On day one I circled the city centre so often I feel that I know the town by heart. It would be fun to do a road trip in Luxembourg, because there are some other towns I would like to explore such as Vianden and the Moselle. That way you could easily fill a week in Luxembourg.

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