Day Trip To Luxembourg City: Historical and Architectural

A day trip to Luxembourg City is a must for all travellers to the country of Luxembourg. This beautiful country has so much on offer, from pretty shopping streets to getting lost in nature. We couldn’t wait to explore Luxembourg for good food, architecture and some relaxation. A day trip is just the start of what should be a much longer trip. 

*This is based on 2 night stay in Luxembourg in July 2020*

A Day Trip To Luxembourg City

Luxembourg City

You may be wondering where Luxembourg and the city is located? You can find this beautiful country in the heart of Europe, bordering France, Germany and Belgium. So if you are near the boarder, it’s super easy to make a day trip to Luxembourg by car or public transport.

There are some amazing things to do in Luxembourg, which I have listed below based on our 1 full day in Luxembourg city.

Facts About Luxembourg and Luxembourg City

Here are some facts that I recently learnt about Luxembourg and Luxembourg City:

• It has the same name as the country
• They have a famous motto “Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn” which means “We want to remain what we are“
• Luxembourg is tri-lingual: German, French and Luxembourgish.
• One third of Luxembourg is covered in beautiful forest landscape
• Luxembourg is the second richest country in the world
• The country may seem small, but its actually bigger than places like Malta and Monaco

Travelling Around During Our Day Trip To Luxembourg For FREE

That’s right, Luxembourg’s public transportation is completely free to travel on. This is for all public transport that you will encounter, such as the trams, buses, trains and even the funicular mentioned below! We absolutely loved this and it clearly shows that its well received in the country, as we saw the ones we used were very clean and without any graffiti.

Where To Stay In Luxembourg – Mama Shelter

Staying for 2 nights at Mama Shelter, this newly opened (July 2020) hotel was a great choice! Located in the neighbourhood of Kirchberg, it was easy to visit the city and get around. The hotel has underground parking, which was perfect as we drove from the Netherlands.

The room itself was nice and had all what we needed. We missed the option for room service or use of the minbar due to the corona rules in place, but made use of a delicious cocktail drink (with vodka and lillet blanc) at the rooftop bar in the evening.

The hotel had a cool vibe to it, with the funky ceiling at reception to the chill lounge chairs in the rooftop bar. Their ‘mama shelter’ style text is on the products in the bathroom and I loved that the table in our room had a monopoly style boarder too!

The Grund

This is by far one of the prettiest neighbourhoods we walked around during our day trip to Luxembourg. Even without the sunshine, this pretty cobblestoned area was dreamy. We followed the river down over the bridge and then back up the other side. There are some very photogenic streets along the way as well as crossing the Stierchen Bridge is nice to do. It’s seemed like a quiet place during our visit, but can imagine touristic months without the COVID 19 situation would be more busier. 

Elevator & Funicular

If you prefer not to be walking up and down the beautiful landscape of Luxembourg City, head over the the elevator or the funicular. With either one of these you can easily get down the bottom of the city areas. Allowing you walk along without hurting your knees on the way down. These are of course free just other public transportation.

The funicular is perfect to use when you are staying at the same hotel or staying in Kirchberg, as its just at the edge of the bridge towards the city center. So for us we did the pretty route from central station area all the way back to the hotel. This didn’t take that long, and enjoyed the walk along the river.

Old City Center

The main old city center is a charming place to walk in. From the old building to the pretty restaurants, its well worth your time. We walked here many times to just take it all in and get breakfast outside of the hotel. Some streets have pretty cobblestoned roads to lead you to the next streets. Which we loved!

Museums

We didn’t visit museums during our stay as we really wanted to explore the city more for our first visit to Luxembourg. But they are the perfect for when the weather is a bit cold and you are looking for something interesting to do. There are many different museums too, and I can’t wait to head back to visit some!

Some museums that look great to visit are:

• National Museum Of History and Art (pictured below)
• Luxembourg City History Museum
• Muerbelsmillen (showing old process of making mustard)
• Mudam Modern Art Museum
• Tram and Bus Museum
• National Museum for Military History

Shopping During A Day Trip To Luxembourg

We didn’t do any shopping during day trip to Luxembourg, simply due to wanting to explore the city itself more. The old center definitely had a good choice of stores, as well as walking from main train station. We found ourselves recognising many shops from the Netherlands, but also new ones that looked great. I would definitely find myself shopping in Luxembourg next time I visit.

Areas for shopping that we saw:

• Within the old city area (beautiful place to shop without any cars!)
• Shopping center in Kirchberg
• Some stores near the main train station

Nature Areas In Luxembourg City

There are many places and viewpoints where you can sit and relax in the city. We found a relaxing spot in the neighbourhood of Grund close to the Stierchen Bridge (pictured below). There was also a cute public apple garden we had walked through to get there, allowing some pretty views of the valley. 

For more viewpoints, walk along the top of the city edges and you will discover many public spots to stop and look own into the beautiful valley.

Else find yourself at the main park area, left of the city. This beautiful park area is a combination of mini parks. Pick a pretty spot for your picnic or to read your book for relaxation.

Kirchberg

Now let’s get to one of my most favourite areas for architecture! This upcoming area has already some very cool buildings to photograph. We had fun walking around looking for some cool angles for the photos. The area is where the Mama Shelter hotel was based, which was perfect every time we left and arrived for some architectural fun.

Check out our full Kirchberg blogpost with more architecture shots!

Check out my other Luxembourg posts

Day Trip To Luxembourg City

Luxembourg City In Snow: Winter White Wonderland

Mullerthal Trail: Hiking, Waterfalls and Forest Fun!

Luxembourg Gift Guide: Local Luxembourg Presents and Ideas

Christmas In Luxembourg

Snow In Luxembourg: Winter Fun!

Ultimate List Of Things To Do In Luxembourg

20 Practical, Pretty and Useful Luxembourgish Words

Summary Of Our Day Trip To Luxembourg

Luxembourg City is a beautiful place to visit for a day trip. We think the city was a little quiet during our visit in July, likely due to the corona situation. We travelled safely and respected all the rules by wearing our masks everywhere. The city itself is a place we would definitely return to, and highly recommend others to visit too. It is everything you want to enjoy a city trip in a European country. We love that its not at all far from any nature areas too!

Tips

• Take your time with a nice walk (and picnic) through the lower areas of Luxembourg
• Explore also using the free public transport, even the Funicular!
• Have fun!

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