I’ve heard Luxembourg described as a fairy tale city and it’s not hard to see why. With castles, ruins, and lots of nature, the capital of this small country is gorgeous. I spent most of my two sunny days there walking for miles.
I popped in to a small museum that had a great free photography exhibit on the history of the neighborhood around the train station. Hands down, my favorite photo was of the start of 1954’s Tour de Luxembourg.
William Square is the main plaza and is home to Town Hall.
The Palace of the Grand Dukes dates back to the sixteenth century with additions and modifications in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Place d’Armes is the real social hub of the city. The benches were always full with locals on their lunch breaks and tourists eating ice cream. My preferred snack was a goat cheese and asparagus quiche.
Nike, the goddess of victory stands tall over the city. The Gëlle Fra Memorial was built in 1923 to remember the Luxembourgish who died in WWI but when the Nazi occupiers pulled down the statue in the 1940s, it became a symbol of resistance. It was re-erected in the 1950s and actually disappeared for a few years in the early 1980s. It was eventually found, restored, and today is a national monument to freedom.
Throughout the city, I saw many plaques remembering WWII.
The Gothic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin is a quiet seventeenth century church.
There aren’t too many celebrities from Luxembourg, so you’ll find plenty of support for local boys and professional cyclists Fränk and Andy Schleck without having to look too hard.
It seemed that no matter where I looked, I had stunning views of winding streets, the old city wall, beautiful buildings, and turrets poking through the trees.
For just €3, I spent hours exploring the Bock Casements. An intricate series of underground tunnels and chambers used primarily for military defense, the Bock Casements were first built by the Spanish in mid seventeenth century and grew over the centuries to come under the Italians, Belgians, French, Austrians, and Prussians. Some of the city’s best views are from the tiny windows overlooking Pétrusse Valley.
The impressive Viaduct Bridge passes over the Pétrusse Valley with its massive arches.
I hadn’t expected to like Luxembourg so much. I assumed it would be another crowded European city with some cool architecture here and there, so I was blown away to discover that while it’s certainly a busy place, it felt much more like a charming little town with incredible history all the way back to its founding in 963.
