Things to do in Luxembourg City
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Luxembourg City
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall: terraces, long evenings, Moselle and Mullerthal at their best, with National Day in June.
Late April to early May is the quiet shoulder with spring in the valleys and the night marathon energy in May.
Warm and festival filled, but August brings annual restaurant closures and late August brings Schueberfouer crowds.
Harvest gold in the Moselle and Mullerthal, the food traveller second best window.
Cold, dark and quiet, lifted by Winterlights from late November, with February the cheapest and emptiest month.
Quiet month anchored by the Luxembourg City Film Festival in the centre.
What's on
- Luxembourg City Film Festival March
The country main film festival in city centre cinemas with an international programme.
- ING Night Marathon Luxembourg mid to late May, Saturday night
Night marathon and half marathon through the illuminated old town and valleys. Book hotels early that weekend.
- National Day 22-23 June
Torchlight parade and fireworks on 22 June, parade and Te Deum on 23 June, street parties across the old town.
- Fête de la Musique 21 June
Free concerts across squares and quarters, rolling into summer open air programming.
- Schueberfouer late August to early September
The great Glacis funfair founded in 1340, about three weeks of rides, stalls and late nights. Arrive by free tram.
- Moselle wine festivals September
Village wine festivals and harvest tastings along the Moselle river through September.
- Winterlights Christmas markets late November to 1 January
A trail of small markets across the squares with skating, a giant Advent calendar and Moselle cremants.
Best things to do in Luxembourg City
Chemin de la Corniche
The free rampart walk above the Alzette valley, with the Grund, abbey and Rham Plateau laid out below you.
Casemates du Bock
Fortress galleries cut into the Bock rock from 1644, with cannon openings and views over the valley.
Grund
The lower old town in the Alzette gorge, a riverside village of stone houses, bridges and terraces.
Panoramic Elevator of the Pfaffenthal
A free 71 metre glass lift between the upper town and the valley, with the best single panorama in the city.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
The late Gothic former Jesuit church with fine stained glass and the Grand Ducal crypt, free to enter.
Lëtzebuerg City Museum
The best museum for the city itself, built into the rock with a lift riding 1000 years of history.
Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart
The national collection in the old Fishmarket quarter, strongest for its Roman mosaic and Luxembourg art.
Mudam Luxembourg - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Contemporary art in a Pei glass building inside Fort Thungen ruins, best when a major show is running.
Where to stay in Luxembourg City
Ville Haute
first trip, old town on foot
Walk to Place d'Armes, the palace, both upper town museums and the Corniche in minutes, with dining on the doorstep.
Grund and Clausen
atmosphere and evenings
The prettiest valley streets and riverside terraces, with the lift up to the sights and Clausen bars nearby.
Kirchberg
business, Mudam and Philharmonie, weekend value
Modern hotels by the EU institutions with a fast free tram to the centre, but quiet to dead at weekends and evenings.
Gare and Pfaffenthal
trains, value and the hostel
The station, tram spine and the densest budget and mid range cluster, plus the flagship hostel in Pfaffenthal.
Think twice about
- Gare station perimeter at night
Visible loitering, street drinking and low level drug dealing around the station forecourt and Rue de Strasbourg at night. Not dangerous by big city standards, but rougher than the rest of the city, so keep valuables zipped and consider sleeping a street or two back.
- Kirchberg as a leisure base
Safe but sterile for visitors: offices and institutions empty at weekends and evenings, many restaurants close, and you commute by tram to the old town for your holiday. Fine for business or a weekend hotel deal with eyes open.
Best restaurants in Luxembourg City
Mosconi
The Grund temple of Italian cooking, famous for its handmade pasta tasting menu by the Alzette river.
Ma Langue Sourit
The country consensus number one table, modern cooking in a garden facing room 15 minutes from the city.
Clairefontaine
The upper town grande dame for polished French cooking and one of the best wine by the glass lists.
Ryôdô
A hushed Japanese tasting menu of around ten courses, with a strong sake list and a valued bento lunch.
Um Plateau
A stylish French restaurant bar between the Grund and Clausen, with a terrace and a lively room.
Chiche!
A warm Lebanese sharing restaurant built for mezze spreads, with falafel reviewers call the best in Luxembourg.
Brasserie Mansfeld
A handsome Clausen brasserie for steaks, seafood and Moselle wines that groups of all tastes leave happy from.
Am Tiirmschen
The old town place for Luxembourgish classics like Judd mat Gaardebounen at fair prices for the Ville Haute.
Outdoor things to do in Luxembourg City
Mullerthal Trail
Sandstone gorges, mossy forest and rock labyrinths on the short B2 loop, the best taste of Little Switzerland.
Vianden Castle
A fully restored hilltop fortress above the Our valley, reached by free train and bus in about an hour.
Caves St-Martin
Rock cut cellars in Remich for a guided cremants tour and a tasting on the terrace above the Moselle.
Caves Bernard Massard
The best known family cremants house, with cellar tours ending in a tasting room over the Moselle.
Sightseeing.lu
A guided e-bike loop through the valleys and Kirchberg that uses the lifts and funicular to cheat the hills.
Lux Golfcenter
A no membership driving range and golf taster centre ten minutes from the station, clubs available to borrow.
Kikuoka Country Club
The championship 18 hole course and former Luxembourg Open venue, with a hotel and spa on site.
Golf de Luxembourg - Belenhaff
A technical, tree lined members course in historic parkland at the Domaine de Belenhaff in Junglinster.
Best hotels in Luxembourg City
Hôtel Le Place d'Armes
The city best address, a Relais and Chateaux house on Place d'Armes itself with serious restaurants.
Le Royal Hotels & Resorts - Luxembourg
Grand luxury on Boulevard Royal with large rooms and the deepest weekday to weekend rate swing in the city.
Grand Hôtel Cravat
A family run house of more than a century facing the valley, the traditional mid range choice in Ville Haute.
Hotel Simoncini
A bright art hotel in the centre, the design boutique alternative to the grand hotels at a mid tier price.
Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal
Valley view luxury above the Grund, with panoramic upper floors no Ville Haute hotel can match.
Sofitel Luxembourg Europe
The Kirchberg luxury flagship by the Philharmonie and Mudam, clubby and quiet at weekends.
Meliá Luxembourg
A design hotel facing the Drai Eechelen park and Mudam, the best located Kirchberg base for culture.
Mama Shelter Luxembourg
The playful Kirchberg mid tier with a rooftop and a lively restaurant bar, good for groups and weekend deals.
Is Luxembourg City expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €190 a person |
| Splurge | €450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Casemates du Bock: a few days ahead
- Philharmonie Luxembourg: weeks ahead
- Caves St-Martin: a few days ahead
- Caves Bernard Massard: a few days ahead
- Sightseeing.lu: a few days ahead
- Kikuoka Country Club: weeks ahead
- Golf de Luxembourg - Belenhaff: weeks ahead
- Mosconi: weeks ahead
- Book weeks ahead for Ma Langue Sourit, Mosconi, Ryodo, Philharmonie headline concerts and visitor golf at Kikuoka and Belenhaff.
- Book days ahead for palace summer tours, Bock Casemates on summer weekends, Caves St Martin in summer and hostel private rooms.
- Compare weekday against weekend hotel rates before booking: business hotels can drop sharply at weekends.
Is Luxembourg City safe?
- Emergency number is 112. Violent crime against visitors is rare and the old town and Grund feel safe late.
- Around Gare at night keep big city awareness and valuables zipped, and expect pickpocket risk at the funfair, markets and packed trams.
- Wet cobbles, steep lanes and slippery Mullerthal rock are the realistic injury risks. Good shoes matter more than anything else.
Luxembourg City travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Place d'Armes front row terraces charge for the square, not the cooking. Eat traditional food a few lanes away instead.
- Doing both casemate systems on a short trip wastes an hour. Pick the Bock and spend the hour on the Corniche.
- Kirchberg institutions are mostly outside viewing only and will not rescue a rainy day the way the City Museum will.
- Check Luxembourg Card maths now transport is free: its value is entry only, against the museums you will actually visit.
Getting around Luxembourg City: public transport and more
- All standard public transport nationwide is free since March 2020, including buses, trams, trains in second class and the funicular. Just board.
- The tram is the city spine from the airport via Gare and Ville Haute to Kirchberg, and the airport run is free at about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Use the two free lifts, Pfaffenthal panoramic and Saint Esprit to the Grund, plus the funicular, to make the vertical city flat.
- Driving in the centre is the worst option: use free park and ride sites plus the tram instead.
Who Luxembourg City suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Luxembourg City your trip
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