Luxembourg motto: “Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn”, which translates to “We want to remain what we are”.
Luxembourg, a small country between Belgium, Germany and France, became the 56th country that we’ve visited together. While not a common tourist destination, we found Luxembourg to be a charming stop-over between our visits with friends in Belgium and Germany during our three-week adventure across Europe to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg City was certainly the quietest capital city we have ever visited, but overall, we thought the city was gorgeous with some really interesting history. The historical core of the old town sits at the confluence of the Alzette and Petrusse river valleys and was declared an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. We stayed in Luxembourg City as a home base, but the country is so small that we could see the countryside highlights on day trips. Castles, sparkling wine, interesting rock formations in lush forests, what’s not to love about spending a few days in this tiny country.
One of the highlights of Luxembourg City is the medieval fortifications. Built above the winding Alzette river valley in the 10th century, the original castle and village were protected along three sides by the steep cliffs of the Bock promontory. The Bock casemates, a vast series of tunnels and galleries carved into the rock, were an important part of the fortress defense system.
One of the best ways to see the city and appreciate the medieval history is to follow the Wenzel Walk, a self-guided tour that meanders through the different historical parts of town. We started the Wenzel Walk at the Bock Casemates. The view from the windows inside the casemate galleries provided a unique perspective over the Alzette river valley and the Grund neighborhood.
Next up was a walk along the Chemin de la Corniche, which is a promenade along a defense wall built by the Spaniards in the 17th century. From here, you can get a great view of the Bock promontory and the casemates above the Alzette valley.
Our favorite spot along the promenade is a little terrace bar called De Gudde Wëllen. We enjoyed happy hour drinks here on the evening that we arrived with terrific views over the Grund neighborhood.
From here, a road winds down the hill to the lower level of town known as the Grund. Along the way, we passed one of the old entry gates to the city, also built by the Spaniards in the 17th century.
We also walked below the Bock casemates for a whole new perspective. The Castle Bridge, built out of red sandstone in 1735, replaced the original wooden drawbridge that connected the Bock promontory to the Upper Town.
Interestingly, the bridge provides multiple methods for crossing between the cliffs in addition to the top road. During our tour of the Bock casemates, we walked through the middle arches as well as through a spiral staircase that led to a deep tunnel underneath the lower road.
We walked along the base of the Bock casemates to get to the Wenzel Wall, a defense wall for the inhabitants of the valley that linked the Upper Town to the Rham plateau.
On the other side of the Wenzel Wall is a moat that was uncovered by archeologists in 1992. One of the moat walls dates back to medieval times while a second moat wall dates back to the time of Spanish rule in the 17th century.
We crossed over the river on the stone footbridge called Stierchen. From the other side of the Alzette river on the Rham plateau, the views across the Grund and over to the city center really gave an appreciation for the multiple layers of this capital city.
We finished our Wenzel Walk tour by wandering through the Grund and admiring the Alzette river valley.
Most of our evenings were spent exploring the historic city center, Ville Haute. Parisian-style shopping streets, medieval squares with al fresco cafes, and the Palais Grand-Ducal are some highlights.
The city center is built on a plateau, a large Early Jurassic sandstone formation. In Constitution Square, you can pull up a table, grab a drink, and enjoy the sunset views over the Petrusse river valley and the double-decked arched Adolph Bridge.
We took a walk on the lower part of the Adolph Bridge to admire its architecture and to get a view back onto Constitution Square with the Monument of Remembrance granite obelisk in the center and the spires of the gothic Notre Dame Cathedral just behind it.
Mullerthal Region
Our first day trip was spent north of Luxembourg city exploring castles, villages, and the Mullerthal forest, also known as Luxembourg’s “little Switzerland”. The rolling countryside of the Mullerthal region has been designated an UNESCO Global Geopark. Our first stop was to check out some sandstone carvings and a rock formation known as Champignon (mushroom).
We also took a short hike to see some caves in the Mullerthal forest. Huel Lee cave was a quarry where millstones were cut out of the rock.
Our third stop was Beaufort Castle, which includes the ruins of the medieval fortress and a Renaissance castle. We took a self-guided tour through the medieval ruins, which was built during four construction periods between 1015 and 1650 and included Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance architectural styles.
At the end of the tour, they gave us a free sample of their delicious, blackcurrent liquor, Cassero du Chateau de Beaufort. The production of the Cassero in the castle cellar started in 1932 when the doors of the castle were first opened to tourists.
Our final stop was the village of Echternach, the oldest town in Luxembourg. The highlight here is the Abbey of Echternach, a Benedictine monastery. The remains of the patron saint of Luxembourg, Saint Willibrord, are in an elaborate, white sarcophagus in the crypt below the abbey.
The town is most famous for the hopping dance procession held every year on the Tuesday of Pentecost and was first documented in the year 1100.
Moselle wine region
Our second day trip was to the Moselle wine region in east Luxembourg. The Moselle river creates the natural border between Germany and Luxembourg. The sun-drenched hillside on the Luxembourg side provides the perfect environment to grow the grapes used for the region’s famous crémant (sparkling) and white wines. Vineyards have grown in this region for over 2000 years. We took a tour of the prestigious St. Martin caves.
The underground tunnels are nearly 1km long and were carved out of the limestone rock in 1919.
The caves naturally remain a constant, cool temperature year-round providing the perfect temperature for producing and storing wine. St. Martin is passionate about creating their crémant according to the traditional methods established by Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon. We were incredibly impressed by the quality of the sparkling wines produced here, and we also fell in love with a new crisp, white varietal, Auxerrois.
After our wine tasting and a delicious lunch on the patio overlooking the Moselle at St. Martin, we hopped on a river boat cruise to soak in the beauty of the valley. Cruising along the Moselle river was a relaxing way to see the rolling hills, terraced vineyards, quaint villages, and castles of the region.
Back in Luxembourg City on our last night, we indulged in local Luxembourgish cuisine at a brasserie called Um Dierfgen. We tried Wäinzoossiss mat Moschterzooss, which is a traditional Luxembourgish pan-fried sausage with a fine mustard sauce, and Kniddeln mat Speck, which is dumplings with bacon in a cream sauce.
The cozy setting and the local comfort food was a great way to end our first visit to Luxembourg. As we walked back to our hotel one last time, we soaked in the evening views over the Grund along the Bock promontory.
Luxembourg City is truly breathtaking and quite unique with its multiple levels and medieval fortifications.
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