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Capital of Luxembourg
Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The city of Luxembourg is the capital of the namesake country, and with a population just under 135,000 (2024), it is the second smallest national capital of the European Union, after Malta's Valletta. Very different in character from the bustling metro areas of the continent, Luxembourg is defined by its hilly location and abrupt cliff faces afforded by the deep and narrow valley of the rivers Alzette and Petrusse it was built upon. The city has historically been an inconquerable fortress, which led it to be nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the North". Luxembourg may not feature on most tourists' bucket lists, but it sees a very generous share of incoming visitors every year for a city of that size. This is due to its importance in the European financial sector, with many banks and institutions having their headquarters or subsidiaries there. Moreover, as one of the founding members of the European Union, Luxembourg hosts a number of EU institutions. Finally, Luxembourg has favourable taxation regulations for international holding companies, so that many multinationals locate their European seats there. This all makes the small city have a very upscale and business feel, and the tourist industry there is geared towards the business traveller.
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The rock on which the first castle stood, founded in 963 by Sigefroy (Sigfried). It is tied to a number of other remains of the old fortifications. Among others, the famous fortress builder Vauban built much in the city.
A network of underground fortifications, built in the 18th century. The fortifications and environs are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This church took on its present form in 1688, but was probably built in the early 14th century. It was restored during 2003 and 2004.
French:Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourgish: Musée national um Fëschmaart, German: Nationalmuseum Geschichte and Kunst.
A very diverse museum, organized around the four departments of archaeology, coins and medals, decorative art, and fine art.
Fully restored during the 1990s. It also houses the Luxembourgish Parliament the Chamber of Deputies. The palace is open for a period of 6 weeks over July and August whilst the Grand Duke and his family are away on their holidays. Guided tours last for about 1 hr, are inexpensive, and are available in various languages, including English. Tickets are available from the tourist office in Place Guillaume II.
Pedestrian promenade along the rim of the Alzette gorge, described as Europe's most beautiful balcony.
Musée d'histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg
Museum about the history of the City of Luxembourg. The entire 1,000-year history is covered, though there is more emphasis on the social and economic history of the period after Luxembourg emerged as a fully independent state in the 19th and 20th centuries. Text displays are all in English, in addition to French and German.
Built between 1613 and 1618 by Jesuits and was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1870. Nearby is the Gëlle Fra: literally 'Golden Lady'. This is a golden figure of a woman holding a wreath, a symbol of victory. It was taken down by the Nazis during occupation but stands today as a memorial to those who gave their lives in World War II.
Constructed by the Spanish in 17th century. They are not as large as the Bock Casemates.
City Hall
Place Guillaume II (also known in Luxembourgish as the "Knuedler") is the venue for a market every Wednesday and Saturday. It is also the site of an equestrian statue of William II of the Netherlands and Luxembourg and the neo-classical City Hall which is fronted by two bronze lions.
In summer months the Place d'Armes is filled with tables and chairs from the surrounding cafes and at the centre of the square is the bandstand around which various concert seasons are based.
Contemporary art forum with changing exhibitions.
The Alzette, thought it is very small now, because the sandstone of the area is very soft, it dug out a huge valley. This is called the Ville Basse and is a spectacular area particularly the Grund (Statgrond) which is well worth the time to take a stroll around. The old fortress surrounded this valley. The Venceslas walk (named after Venceslas, Czech king and count of Luxembourg who built much of the fortresses around) leads along the fortresses, protecting the city on one side (and now forming one of the most spectacular "balconies", the Corniche) and the fortress of the Raam plateau on the other.
Now a cultural and encounter centre with a nice church and the old St. John's hospital.
Nationalmusée fir Naturgeschicht
Splendid expositions on minerals, animals, evolution, etc.
This area houses a number of banks and most of the European institutions in Luxembourg (Parliament, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, European Investment Bank and some of the Commission's Directorate Generals). A number of buildings were built by celebrated architects like Richard Meyer, Dominique Perrault and Gottfried Benn. Some modern sculptures also appear between the buildings. Most of the European Institutions hold annual open days. Many of the banks, EU institutions and other offices open their doors to the public once a year to allow access to their extensive art collections.
Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Designed by I.M. Pei of "Louvre Pyramid" fame, this museum showcases Luxembourgish artists and changing international exhibitions. The nonlinear (and rather confusing) building is half the fun, and on a quiet weekday afternoon in the off season you'll pretty much have the place to yourself.
Museum about the history of the Luxembourg Fortress inside an 18th century fort. Used to be free of charge, now 8€ entrance since 1/1/2026. Well worth a visit.
Musée de la Banque
Art exhibitions inside a tunnel accessible through the headquarters of Luxembourg's savings bank.
In the eastern section of Luxembourg City, just south of the airport. The cemetery is the final resting place for 5,076 American military dead, most lost during the Battle of the Bulge. It is also the final resting place for General George Patton. A monument is inscribed with the names of 371 Americans whose remains were never found or identified. Two large stone pylons with operations maps made of inlaid granite describe the achievements of American armed forces in the region during World War II.
Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof
A World War II cemetery in Sandweiler, in southern Luxembourg. It contains the graves of 10,913 German servicemen from the Battle of the Bulge in winter 1944 and spring 1945. It is 1.5 km from the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. Devoted to the fallen German soldiers from one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. A touching memorial.
Musée de tramways et de bus de la Ville de Luxembourg
The museum is next door to the AVL bus depot in Hollerich
Held every year in 2 weeks during end of August and early September, this huge funfair with roots dating back to the 14th century attracts enormous crowds. As well as the many stomach churning rides there are numerous places to eat and drink to your heart's content. An important date in the social calendar of young Luxembourgers.
While not, despite its official name, the birthday of the current Grand Duke (or any preceding for that matter), June 23 is the country's national day. All-night street parties, fireworks and parades are enjoyed by seemingly the entire population of the country on the evening preceding the holiday.
Largest multiplex cinema in the country, with restaurants and bars on the ground floor.
Classical concerts.
Exhibition centre.
Major venue for drama, opera and ballet.
Social dance on Mondays. During the summer it is outdoors in various locations; at other times it is at Scott’s Pub in Grund.
Those curious about the country's politics and hearing Luxembourgish spoken in a formal context can attend a public session of the Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg's parliament. Check this page for the calendar of upcoming public sessions. Visitors must enter through the back entrance on Rue de l'Eau, provide a passport or identity card and go through a standard security check.
The front counter lady is very kind and introduces you to all the dishes. Delicious baked potato with many kinds of toppings. During summer the tables outside are nice. They have other options if you don’t want to eat the potato. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
The staff is so dedicated and kind. The dish of the day deal is excellent for vegan backpackers. The portion sizes are huge. The food is really tasty, Recommended is the chapati. Great lunch spot close to the train station. Delicious Indian food.
Delicious food just like home. Some vegetarian options available. The service is very attentive. Always amazing quality food. Blini are hot and crispy, and pelmeni are tasty. Bortsch may be a bit oversavoury. Very local atmosphere. Nice cafe serving Russian cuisine. Large portions.
Canteen with Portuguese and a little international food. Lots of people from Luxembourg who like to eat well. Great place to eat lunch. Fast and delicious service. Family cooking. It feels like being in Portugal.
Clean and delicious mashamlah. The cheeseburger is very good. Best kebab. The owner is very customer oriented and very welcoming. Consistently good quality. The meat is tender and well seasoned. It's one of the best addresses for skewers in Luxembourg.
Very good kebab. Good options. Fresh and good ingredients. The boss and his employees are super friendly and courteous, it's always clean. The service is quite fast.
One of a number of affordable bistros clustered around place de Paris. The quadrilingual menus run the gamut from pizza and mussels to Luxembourgish classics like judd mat gaardebounen (smoked pork neck with broad beans), and there are daily specials.
Great local plates on the site of the former Mousel brewery. Wash down huge portions of pork knee and broad beans with tankards of Mousel lager.
Delicious vegan food. Very popular so it's recommended to book a table. Space with indoor seating, and outdoor as well so you can soak up the sun.
By anyone's standards, a fantastic curry house serving rich and delicious Indian food. Very friendly staff too. Well worth making the short trip from the centre to this restaurant located near the station.
This restaurant is at the foundation of exceptional dining. A pleasant gastronomic interlude in a magnificent setting. Creative dishes presented artfully by an exceptionally attentive staff. The quality of the lunch seduces you.
The beautiful environment, perfect service and delicious food makes it a truly spectacular experience. Your taste buds will thank you for a long time as the dishes you will taste are magical. Let yourself also be guided by the wines to accompany your meal, you will be welcomed to the vineyards. The garden seating has a view towards the heart of town, you feel like sitting in the middle of the countryside.
A favourite watering hole of local English ex-pats. Good place for watching football and rugby.
Gare
A music bar in a courtyard alongside other bars and restaurants off the lively rue de Hollerich, an eclectic range of music can be heard here and Decibel has one of the widest range of Belgian beers in the city on tap and in bottles. It is run by Irish people so the Guinness is decent as well.
Pulvermuhl
The Black Stuff is an Irish pub on the outskirts of the city that is popular with ex-pats and locals alike. In the winter the log fire makes the cosy back room a good option to enjoy a Guinness or a hot port, the terrace is popular in the summer. It is a popular place to watch Football and rugby and the best place in Luxembourg to watch televised Gaelic Football and Hurling.
Or the Pyg, an Irish pub and the best of the English, Scottish, Irish triumvirate in Clausen. Pub quizzes every other Monday.
A Scandinavian pub off Ave. de la Liberté, small and friendly.
No. 4, Bisserwee (down in the Grund). A common place for a drink (or two).
A refreshingly modern bar that has a wide mix of clientèle. Although often overcrowded it is a great place to start a night out. Urban also has live music every Sunday evening and has sporting events shown on two massive plasma screens.
Subterranean, London Underground-themed bar. International young crowd and great tunes for various tastes. Gets extremely packed late on Fridays and Saturdays and overspills into the street during warmer months.
Hang out with the locals in this charming little Luxembourgish bar. Cheaper than a lot of other watering holes found in the city.
Smokey little Luxembourg piano bar illuminated by candlelight.
Has a large main room with a balcony. It also has another couple of rooms at the back of the club which are worth a look.
It's near the big parking lot (Glacis) just outside of the centre, but worth the walk there. No heels are too high and no skirts/shorts are too short here.
The bar of hotel Sofitel Grand Ducal enjoys some of the best views over the city. Pop in for a drink and enjoy!
A real institution just off Place Émile-Hamilius, with a cozy, old-timey interior
In Alzingen 4 km to the south of the city. 100 pitches. Adult €4, kid €2, pitch €5.
A nice clean hostel with a friendly atmosphere, 10 minutes on the bus from the city centre. €35.00 per bed in a shared dorm, discount with HI membership. Breakfast free, other meals €7.50-15.00.
Across from central station. Small rooms, but cheap and a good location. July 2011 prices were €65 for single occupancy, €75 for double. Has indoor storage for bikes as well as an air compressor and tool kit. Breakfast included.
formerly Etap
This is an older ibis Budget (blue rooms) next to the Findel Airport, which provides the most basic standards for some of the lowest rates in Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg Airport Campanile offers the familiar basic comforts to motorized travellers.
An old and worn "red-pillow" ibis beside the ibis Budget, offering marginally higher comfort at slightly higher rates.
The "green-pillow" ibis Styles is one of the hotels filling up almost the entire block in front of Luxembourg's train station (although the hotel does not face the station, but rather the narrow Rue Junck leading up to it). Everything in the hotel is on the small side, but breakfasts are always included in the room rates.
Slightly worn but comfortable midrange hotel.
Luxembourg's NH is an airport hotel, within walking distance of the Findel Airport terminal buildings (although walking through the traffic arrangement around the airport is not recommended). Its common spaces such as the gym, restaurant and conference rooms directly overlook the apron and runway. Otherwise, it is a fairly standard NH hotel.
The historic Grand Hotel Alfa, opposite Luxembourg's train station, now operates as a Mercure. The hotel is slightly dated on the inside, with historic common spaces preserved and room decor that will make you want to go to sleep quickly.
The Novotel is in Bonnevoie, next door to Sofitel Grand Ducal. Unfortunately, it faces away from the Alzette, so there is not much of a view, but the hotel is quite modern and follows the usual Novotel standard.
Offers facilities appropriate for long-term stays of guests working for the many institutions in Kirchberg. Each room has a living space and a kitchenette. This is one of the new generation of Suite Novotels, appointed to evoke a modern, clean experience.
The DoubleTree is on a woody hill in Dommedagne, north of the city, in a quite remote location. There is a bus stop down the road, a bit of a walk away, though. The hotel is very nicely appointed, leaving nothing but a better location to be desired.
The Novotel in Kirchberg is a low-rise one in an office park, surrounded by office buildings, as well as the Sofitel Europe and Suite Novotel. The hotel is pretty standard for a Novotel, yet there is not much in the way of family entertainment that Novotel prides itself for, not even a pool.
A modern Park Inn in the vicinity of the train station with one of the most consistent applications of the brand's basic colours scheme, down to the coffee cups.
A fairly characterless but solid hotel in the north of the city.
An Accor Hotels group luxury property in Plateau de Kirchberg, in the North European Quarter. Comfortable beds and a famous Italian restaurant.
Elegant four-star hotel close to the old city and Central railway station. 42 rooms with en-suite bathrooms, restaurant, internet access, sauna, fitness room, garage, meeting facilities.
The other Sofitel is in the quarter of North Bonnevoie-Verlorenkost, with a location affording brilliant vistas of the Alzette river Valley and the old town of Luxembourg. Of particular note in terms of views are the top-floor bar and restaurant. The hotel is appointed in a very modern theme, contrasting with the classic Sofitel Europe.
Beside the MUDAM in the Quartier Europeene Sud. It is an interesting work of modern architecture outside and inside.
Luxembourg takes promoting shopping in the city very seriously to the point that the Luxembourg City Trade Association and the authorities opened an information point in the very centre to provide guidance and suggestions regarding all your possible shopping needs and interests.
Pascaline Smets operates the family-owned business of multiple high-end boutiques throughout Luxembourg, offering the best fashion brands. Whatever doesn't sell by the end of the season, however, ends up at her luxury outlet in rue Beaumont, where you can fetch a bargain with your favourite label.
A family business operating for over a century, the Ernster bookstore grew to be a five-storey paradise for bookworms with a wide selection of books in many languages, as well as a special section for children. Apart from the main store, you can find Ernster in the Belle Etoile shopping centre and in several other locations throughout the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Every month in the expansive Glacis square in Limpertsberg a market takes place, which is a mixture of a flea market, a farmer's market and some local arts & crafts. Browse and enjoy the best Luxembourg has to offer if you are in the city for the date.
Bonnevoie hosts a weekly market every Wednesday in front of the parish church
The Gare quarter holds markets in Place de Paris twice a week.
Place Guillaume II plays host to a market twice a week.
The organisation with the jocular name seeks to promote local Luxembourgish produce of all kinds, be it food, drinks, fashion, design or even leisure services. They organize markets multiple times every year in varying locations in Luxembourg to showcase the offer of their members.
Auchan Kirchberg
A mixed-use complex, containing offices, a large shopping gallery anchored by a bi-level Auchan hypermarket, and a restaurant plaza.
By plane
The airport is dominated by the country's flag carrier, Luxair, which operates a network of connections to most European capital cities, along with flights to major international transport hubs such…
By train
The imposing neobaroque It is relatively well served by connections from neighbouring countries. The railway station can be reached by the tram and most local buses.5 km).
By bus
There are two bus stations (for lack of a better term)
By own motor vehicle
There are many chargeable parking lots inside the city, but for parking on street during working days is a timelimit of maximum one or two hours.
On foot
Due to the city's small size and beautiful scenery, by foot is also the best way to appreciate it.
By bus
Buses serve all quarters. They run frequently (usually every 10-15 minutes during weekdays, less often on Saturdays and especially Sundays).
By bicycle
The city operates a self-service bike scheme named vel'OH! with stations dotted all around the city and neighbouring communes.
By tram
The tramway operates only as a single line, no.
By train
Travel by train within the city does not make sense if your goal is quick and efficient travel, as the trains are too sparse compared to the other options.
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