When people ask me what my favorite cities are in Europe, Luxembourg City is always on the list. With its international vibe, beautiful architecture, and unique landscape, it wows me every time I’m there. Here are my top five reasons why you need to visit Luxembourg:
1. Location, location, location!
The landscape of Luxembourg City is part of what makes it so unique. It’s located on rolling hills, and part of the city is on top of the hill and another is in the valley. This makes the views from the town very picturesque. From the Citadel of the Holy Spirit, you can see the viaduct over the valley and the small buildings in the Grund district, which almost look like a model train city.
The tiny country of Luxembourg is situated in the heart of Europe and borders Belgium, France, and Germany. This gives you the option to take amazing day trips! Within an hour of Luxembourg by train, you can check out the historic churches and gardens of Metz, France and the plethora of Roman ruins in Trier, Germany. If you venture a few hours further, you can easily travel to the Alsace-Lorraine region of France to cities such as Strasbourg and Colmar (which both look like the setting of Beauty and the Beast), or to cosmopolitan Paris, or to vibrant Brussels, Belgium.
2. Super old walls that you can walk inside!
Luxembourg once was a fortified city that was called the “Gibraltar of the North” due to its 24 forts and 23 kilomentres of casemates, which are chambers from which guns or cannons could be fired. When the Spanish controlled this region in the 1700s, they carved tunnels into the hillside to create these casemates, which you can still enter today! There are only 17 kms of casements left, and this is not an activity for the claustrophobic as some of the tunnels are really tight! It is a unique activity though, and the views from inside the casements give you a very different view of the city.
3. Gorgeous architecture!
If you’ve been dreaming about visiting a European capital with a fairytale vibe, Luxembourg City is the place to go. The architecture in the Old Town is cohesive, beautiful, and classy. You can also see the charms of time gone by through the metal signs hanging outside store fronts. It is also really unique to see how the buildings were built into the hill overlooking the valley. You can also see the more modern part of town with skyscrapers from the Old Town which helps to bring together both the old and the new.
4. A tower that looks like it’s straight out of Rapunzel!
When I first saw this tower rising up from beneath a layer of trees, I really thought that I’d also see Rapunzel’s long hair dangling from one of the windows. But alas, this tower is not the home of a princess, but actually the tower of a bank! The tower isn’t on its own, but is part of a larger building which also houses a bank museum, which is free to enter. Despite this reality, seeing the tower in the midst of what looks like a vast forest really adds to the fairytale vibe of the city. You can see a great view of this tower from the Monument du Souvenir.
5. Nature in the center of the city!
If you want a break from the hustle and bustle of city life, Luxembourg is a great place to visit because there is basically a forest in the city! If you head down into the valley below the Adolphe Bridge, you’ll be in a park surrounded by trees. Even though you won’t be far from the city center, you’ll still feel away from it all. There is also another large park, the Parc Municipal de Luxembourg, which will also make you feel like you aren’t in a city. Down in the valley of the Grund district is also perfect for nature lovers. Not only are their gardens below the castemates, but there is also the Alzette river running through.
Do I have you convinced to visit Luxembourg yet? Even though the country and city are small, a visit to this international, fairytale looking city is well worth it for its location, nature, and architecture.
