Last Updated on April 4, 2024
If you’re looking for things to do in Luxembourg, just look for those Michelin stars…
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
By Jim Ferri
After you’re traveling about Europe by train, moving in and out of some of the grand railroad stations on the Continent, the first thing you notice when you arrive in Luxembourg-Ville is just how small the station is.
That’s appropriate for Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, one would guess. After all, it’s tiny compared to its Belgian, French and German neighbors. In fact, it’s so small its name can’t even fit on most maps of Europe.
Enjoy Luxembourg’s Numerous Michelin-Starred Restaurants
Perhaps that’s why its capital, Luxembourg-Ville, is one of the least-known capitals of any European country. However, that really shouldn’t be the case since Luxembourg has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. Here’s another shock: it also has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than any other nation in the world. That attests to Luxembourger’s love of good food.
Today many of us remember Luxembourg only from the satirical 1950’s movie “The Mouse That Roared.” Older backpackers recall it as the base for cheap Icelandic Airways flights from New York in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Enjoy the Duchy’s Unique Flavor
But now the Duchy has revived its roar, not as a hub for cheap international flights, but as the banking and administrative center for the European Union.
While still retaining its provincial ambience, the population of the city of Luxembourg has now grown to about 100,000, thanks to the EU. In fact, more than 60% of its inhabitants are from elsewhere in Europe. This, of course, gives the city a unique flavor. The fact that Luxembourgers speak three languages – Luxembourgish, French and German (as well as English, by many) – only intensifies it.
But it’s the visual perspective, not the linguistic, that makes the city of Luxembourg appealing. While its Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, transports you back centuries, the new part of the city thrusts you into the future with stunning buildings designed by world-renowned architects. But rather than clash, the new and the old parts of town coalesce well and actually enhance the travel experience, something I hadn’t expected when I visited.
A Great Walking City
Like Paris and Rome, Luxembourg is also a great walking city, although you can attribute that to its size. It’s relatively easy to get around but since the old city is such a warren of streets you can get disoriented fairly easily; you may only be a block or so away from where you had been earlier without realizing it, so it’s good to keep referring to your map.
Start a walk in the center of the old city at Place Guillaume II, home to its Hôtel de Ville, or the nearby Place d’Armes, whose former status as a parade ground has given way to sidewalk cafes. Just a block east of Place Guillaume you’ll find the 16th-century Grand Ducal Palace, the first city hall. Behind it is the picturesque Marché-aux-Poissons, the oldest section of the city, where the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art sits in a row of 16th-century houses.
A City of Outdoor Art
A block to the south is the diminutive Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame, which, while certainly not qualifying as a great European cathedral, is interesting nevertheless for its stained glass and the tapestries that adorn its walls. Next to it is the National Library where out front you’ll find a brightly painted elephant statue, one of a series of similar artworks you see all over the city. There is outdoor art all over the city; I especially liked the statues of revelers dancing on the Place du Théâtre.
One of the most popular self-guided tours in Luxembourg is a walk along, and through, the city’s impressive casements, which once sheltered thousands of soldiers and their horses. Today approximately 10 miles of the original network remains. You may also be interested in these three additional self-guided walking tours of the city.
It appears that other historical parts of the city continue to be discovered, as well. I was walking through Old Town one day and when I turned a corner found an archaeological dig underway, excavating an old foundation that had been discovered while repaving the street.
Cross the “Red Bridge”
From the old city you can walk to the “Red Bridge” (the Grand Duchess Charlotte-Bridge) on its north side. It brings you across the deep gorge that surrounds the city. Go across it to Kirchberg, the stunning ultra-modern “European quarter” of European Union organizations and banks. The mélange of modern buildings is quite remarkable and beautiful. Moreover, they’re easily seen via the city’s green hop-on/hop-off buses. The are several different comb-tickets available with prices starting at: adults: 22€ / children 11,50€ / family 52,50€.
The most well-know piece of architecture in Kirchberg is the Musée d’Art Moderne, also known as Mudam, an I.M. Pei masterpiece. Built within the walls of an old fortress, the innovative building – a beautiful piece of art in its own right – follows Pei’s designs of the innovative glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris, and his later extension to the German Historical Museum in Berlin.
It is, said Pei, the final work in his “European Trilogy.”
You may also enjoy: Where to Find 8 Wonderful Walks in Paris / Traveling in Belgium – the Best Places to See / 26 Great European Day Trips by Rail / Bus
If you go:
Visit Luxembourg
P.O. Box 1001
L-1010 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 42 82 82 10
[email protected]
https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en
I am MD TUFAIL from India my dream is doing job in Luxembourg
Hi Jim,
I am happy to read about Luxembourg. It brings good memories of visiting
with my mother years ago when I drove a car to many countries with her and
Jason. I hope to return something. Great story!
Thank you for the very educational article on Luxembourg. There was much that I didn’t know: three national languages, many expats, and a lttle name whose name is so long that you can’t even place it on a map. I am ready to explore its glories.
Get going Ed! You’ll love little Luxembourg.
Jim