Let’s Go To Luxembourg: An Underrated European City Break

Luxembourg is one of those small countries in Europe that has always managed to elude me – its location amongst several other accessible countries means it should be easy to visit, and yet I couldn’t quite get there. With no flights from Scotland, the only way to visit is from another country, and most people will tie it in with a larger trip to Belgium, France, Germany or the Netherlands.

In the end, I visited Luxembourg as a standalone weekend via Brussels, because there are direct buses from Charleroi airport – here’s a quick breakdown on how I very chaotically planned it.

Booking a trip to Luxembourg in 10 easy steps:
1. Find cheap Ryanair flights to Brussels Charleroi
2. Spend ages trying to decide whether it’s really worth it
3. Eventually agree to sell your soul to the low cost airline once again
4. Book accommodation
5. Double check where the bus arrives into in Luxembourg City
6. Google where “Luxembourg Bouillon” is
7. Almost throw up in your mouth when it comes up with “Bouillon – City in Belgium”
8. Frantically look up whether you can cancel Ryanair flights within 24 hours of booking
9. Realise that P&R Bouillon is in fact in Luxembourg City
10. Relax a bit, though wallowing in the hatred of booking a Ryanair flight when you said you wouldn’t

This post contains affiliate links. Please note if you buy or book anything through my links, I may earn a little commission that helps keep this site running, at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

Anyway, I made it. All flights were on time, unlike the previous time I flew Ryanair. In fact, it was one of the most casual, fun weekend trips I’ve done! Because Luxembourg City is small enough just to walk around and see everything in a few hours, two days (realistically just over 24 hours) was plenty of time to take it all in.

Luxembourg Bouillon, like many bus stations in cities, isn’t actually in the city centre, but a 30-45 minute walk away. I opted to get the bus into town, because all public transport in Luxembourg is completely FREE!

I made a beeline for a café for a much-needed cup of tea, naturally finding the quirkiest one in town (I seem to have some sort of magnet) while I figured out what to see and do next. Here’s everything I got up to in Luxembourg!

Palais Grand Ducal

Arguably the main thing to see in Luxembourg City is the Grand Duke’s Palace. I found it relatively understated compared to a lot of palaces in Europe – rather than a big square or garden overlooked by one dramatic building, it was just there, on a street, looking extremely pretty amongst the other buildings surrounding it.

As a Duchy, Luxembourg’s head of state is a Duke, and this is the official residence of the Grand Duke and Duchess. Its opening days are limited so it’s unlikely you’ll get to go inside unless you plan around it.

Passaig du Palais

Hidden off the main streets of Luxembourg City’s old town, the Passaig du Palais is a small insight into old Luxembourg. Just a small passageway connecting an alleyway and a street, it’s the sort of place that would have been so easily missed in the days before social media.

Even with the attention drawn to it, this cute corner is definitely worth a quick pit stop for some photos, and a cut-through between a couple of streets.

Wenzel Circular Walk

The main thing I wanted to do in Luxembourg City was the Wenzel Circular Walk, a 2 mile walk around the river on the outskirts of the old town. In the end, I only did part of it, a loop along from Bock Casemates to the Grund, but the whole section I did was lovely and there was nobody else around at all.

I started with a walk alongside the bottom of the cliffside that makes up Bock Casemates before turning down and walking back along the river to the Grund.

It’s also along the river that you can meet the pink mermaid. She’s kinda cool, don’t you think?

Starting from Bock Casemates, the official route goes down Chemin de la Corniche, which I’ve written about separately as it’s one of the best parts of Luxembourg City, to Pont du Grund. I didn’t carry on past the Grund, but the walk takes you along to a defensive bridge and back around the back of the Grund to join up with where I started my Wenzel walk, so I mostly just missed out this extra loop.

It’s a great way to see the lower part of the city, after exploring the Old Town on the upper level.

Pfaffenthal elevator

One of my favourite facts about Luxembourg City is that it’s on two levels. This makes for some steep walking, but you’ll be glad to hear there’s an alternative – elevators! There’s one just across from Pont du Grund, which brings you back up to the old town, but there are others, and Pfaffenthal elevator is worth going slightly out of your way for.

This glass elevator allows a view of the area as you go down or up. I used it a couple of times to get a few videos and photos! There’s also a glass platform at the top, next to the elevator, which is brilliant for photos.

Best of all – all the elevators are totally free!

Bock Casemates

At the top of the old town, overlooking the lower level, is a fortress with lots of war tunnels which originate from the 17th century. You can pay 10€ to go in, which I was originally planning to do, but there are some outdoor parts you can explore for free and get great views from the top, so I ended up not actually going in. Maybe I missed out as it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but I’m pretty happy with what I saw.

There’s also a nice view in the opposite direction, towards the bold red bridge. If you look to the left of the bridge, you can see a white “stick” – that’s the Pfaffenthal elevator! It looks further away than it is – Luxembourg City is very walkable.

It’s also very green, which I loved!

Walk down to Pont du Grund via Chemin de la Corniche

Following the walls from the Casemates, there’s a street that winds down the outside of the old town – literally. It’s what separates the upper level with the lower level, and it’s known as “the most beautiful balcony in Europe”. Indeed, it’s very pretty all the way down Chemin de la Corniche, not just for views but also for architecture, and at the bottom it’s all quaint houses with cobblestone streets – you know the type.

An interesting view back up – three different streets!

Next to here is Pont du Grund, a bridge with one of the best viewpoints in Luxembourg City. It reminded me a little of Dean Village in Edinburgh; so pretty that I came here a couple of times on my visit! The first time, the river was raging and it was really high along the walls – you can see how much higher it had been from this photo.

This was probably my favourite viewpoint, along with the one from Bock Casemates.

The Grund itself is worth a little wander across the bridge, although I didn’t find that there was a lot there – it’s just quite a pretty area.

As I mentioned before, there are various elevators in Luxembourg City, and one of them is just next to the Pont du Grund. Therefore instead of having to haul yourself back up the hill, you can just hop in here and find yourself back at the top in the Old Town.

Dinner at Cafe Restaurant Um Dierfgen

I only had one night in Luxembourg, and I had been recommended Um Dierfgen by Rebecca, so I put it straight on the list! It’s a little pricey but then I found that Luxembourg as a whole isn’t that cheap, so it’s not particularly expensive comparatively.

I went for the traditional dumplings which set me back 21€. I was expecting something similar to pierogi in Poland, but these were much more dense and it was tough to get through them. They were nice, but not something I’d eat regularly!

Because I was on my own, and their tables were also fully booked, I was invited to sit at the bar for food, which worked out brilliantly. I watched as loads of people turned up hoping for a table only to be turned away, and gradually more solo travellers joined me. An older American lady sat next to me and we got chatting for a long time – her father was from Dundee and emigrated to the US shortly before she was born, and we talked about her visits to Scotland and mine to the USA. She was in Europe for several weeks, travelling through lots of different countries on her own and meeting friends along the way. I ended up wishing I’d got her contact details, as she was wonderful.

Next to her, a Japanese guy sat down and joined in the conversation. He’s living and working in Germany, but is from Yokohama, and he tries to travel on the weekends whenever he can while he’s in Europe.

And it wasn’t just my fellow patrons – the staff were also so friendly and chatty. The American lady had been coming in every evening and they helped her decide what to have tonight.

Anyway, I ended up spending about three hours in there! I highly recommend eating here.

(Funnily enough we’ve had a trade visit at work from a Luxembourg tourism team since and they also recommend Um Dierfgen for the dumplings!)

Lunch at Place d’Armes or Place du Gulliame

Like most European cities, there are a couple of main squares in the old town of Luxembourg City too. I have to say these weren’t my favourites, and a bit different to the usual atmosphere you find in European town squares. I had read that eating there would be a fantastic option for lunch, but nothing around Place du Gullaime really jumped out at me, as they seemed quite pricey and touristy.

I preferred Place d’Armes for food choices, and I popped into Café de Paris which had marginally cheaper tea than the café I’d been in the day before. I was surrounded by locals as well as tourists, which felt like a good sign, and once again all the staff were really friendly.

A couple of the best cafés in Luxembourg City

I still had a bit of time to kill, so after a final wander through a lot of the streets of Luxembourg to the gardens at Place de la Constitution (which were being dug up!), I turned back and decided to check out another café I’d passed that looked really awesome.

In fact, both cafés I went to were brilliant, so I’m giving them their own section!

Konrad Café & Bar. My wanderings had led me down a narrow street to Konrad Café, which is very much a hipster joint, but of the quirky variety – the type I love. I had a refreshing cold drink and a cake, wishing I’d come here for my cup of tea instead.

Kaale Kaffe. On my first day, I also popped in to Kaale Kaffe by chance (pictured above), because it also looked pretty funky. It’s full of vintage furniture and decor, and felt a lot less curated than Konrad, with things just plonked everywhere rather than organised in any kind of aesthetic way. I had to adjust where I was sitting because of the pile of books behind me. Anyway, very cool place! The tea was pricey (5€) but it’s a popular place to come for drinks in the evening and bites to eat as well.

And, of course, I found a couple of silly things

Firstly, this fountain.

The Hämmelsmarsch Fountain commemorates a tradition of a marching band accompanying a flock of sheep through the streets of Luxembourg to mark the start of the annual fair Schueberfouer; something that started in 1340! The tradition continues to this day – without the sheep, which is a travesty if you ask me. Bring back the sheep!

Then I spotted this ridiculous sign.

Unfortunately it looks like it’s actually just a sign for a beer brand! But I still like it.

Luxembourg was, shall we say, a surprise. It’s honestly the perfect little weekend destination because there’s enough to see to keep you occupied, but not so much that it’s overwhelming figuring out what to do in a short space of time.

And while the architecture is beautiful and the layout of the town makes for a unique walk, it’s the fact that it was jam-packed with lovely cafés and restaurants that really made it for me. The little nooks and crannies like the old passageway, the lifts, the walks along the river. The friendly locals in every single place I went to, as well as the fellow tourists.

On that note, I want to mention the language. There is an official language of Luxembourg, Luxembourgish, which sounds made up. However, most people in Luxembourg speak, at a minimum, Luxembourgish, French, German AND English. How impressive is that?!

It’s also fantastic to do in a weekend from Edinburgh, as flights to Brussels Charleroi usually run every Saturday morning, and return late in the day on Sundays. (Note this depends on the time of year as Ryanair’s schedule does vary.) This meant I could book a bus from the airport an hour or two after I was due to land, and return in the afternoon the following day to get back in time for the flight. Buses can be booked through Flibco, which is the same company I’ve used for Charleroi before to get to Ghent and Brussels.

There are a couple of food trucks outside Charleroi airport, perfect for picking up a croissant and a cup of tea before the bus. And, of course, frites on the way back!

(It’s worth noting that Charleroi’s biggest downside, apart from being incredibly inconvenient for Brussels itself, is that they now charge for all landside toilets! On arrival, I held off until I got on the bus – can confirm, thankfully, that the buses do have toilets!! Also the frites queue was massive when I returned to the airport, and sadly I didn’t get any, but they do look very good.)

From start to finish this was actually such a great trip! There was nothing I disliked about Luxembourg, there’s nothing that I felt like I ran out of time to do, and apart from a late-running bus causing me to panic that I was going to miss the coach back to Charleroi, nothing went wrong!

All in all, Luxembourg was a resounding success!

Read about more underrated city breaks here:
⭐ Sofia: A City Of Colour And Contrast
⭐ A Getaway In Gorgeous Gdansk: Gates, Museums & Christmas Markets
⭐ Bratislava: The Unexpectedly Pretty Capital Of Slovakia
⭐ Sorrow In Sarajevo: A Heartbreaking Tale Of The Bosnian Capital
⭐ Slovenia: Loving Ljubljana & Visiting Lake Bled In March