Day Trip to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

I have wanted to make this trip for a couple years but never got around to it. Yesterday, 11 August, I did it. I had considered taking the train. It is only €47 from Maastricht to Luxembourg City via Liege. But I also wanted to visit the American Cemetery and that is too far out of the city to walk. They do have a good bus system but I just thought I would enjoy the drive through the countryside.

Luxembourg City is a two and a half hour drive from Schinnen. It is an easy drive, just take E25 south and you end up at the city. I made the drive directly to the cemetery without a GPS or a map.

On the drive. Be aware there are not too many choices of places to stop and eat on the way. There were two AC Restaurants on the route. AC Restaurants are too expensive for me; a typical meal will cost €15-18 depending on what you drink. I highly recommend that you pack a lunch and stop at one of the many (very many) rest stops on the way. Some of them have large play grounds included so if you have kids that might be something to break up the drive. Getting them back in the car is a whole other story though.

Gas. I made the trip down and back on less than 3/4s of a tank of gas. It is about 225 kms (140 miles) from my town (Schimmert) to the American Cemetery. That is do-able on a tank of gas for most cars.

The drive. E25 is a good road but going through Liege can be something of a challenge. I saw signs for an E25 by-pass but I have never tried that route. The road through Liege is clearly marked, just follow the signs to Bastogne and/or Luxembourg. There are a couple turns and lane changes so pay attention.

I went to the cemetery first so I could see it before I was tired. It is much smaller than Margraten but just as nice. Most of the Soldiers buried here were killed during the "Battle of the Bulge" in late December 1944. There are five Soldiers from Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division (Band of Brothers). If you have watched the series a couple times you will recognize the names. Inside the visitor's building you can get their locations and go see their markers.

Parking in Luxembourg City can also be a problem. I ended up parking in the Kirchberg District outside of the main city. It was only a 30 minute walk to the city center from there and the views of the "Pfaffenthal" valley as you walk across the Pont (bridge) G. B. Charlotte were awesome. Below is a picture I took from the bridge.

Luxembourg was a fortress city and was protected by forts, casemates, high city walls, and the natural obstacle of the gorge and cliffs surrounding 2/3s of the old city. 

Follow this LINK and you can see all of the pictures I took on this trip.

French is the main language spoken and written in the city but German is also commonly used. I found few workers (in the shops and restaurants) that spoke much English. I speak enough German to get by but I saw other people struggling to communicate. Have patience.

They old city center is pedestrian friendly for shopping and strolling. Most of the roads are cobblestone so wear sensible shoes. There are restaurants for every taste. If you are craving American restaurant food there is a Pizza Hut and a Chi Chi's as well as McDonald's and Subway. There are a lot of street performers and they were very popular attractions. Nice for the entertainment but it was sometimes impossible to pass through an area because of the crowds standing to watch. 

There is no grid road system in the city so you really need to get a map. The map handed out for free at the City Tourist office is adequate. The Tourist Office has a good website that you should study before you go. Find it at this LINK.  The Tourist Office itself is not so easy to find. You cannot drive to it so I dismounted my car's GPS and carried it with me. The address is below.

30, place Guillaume II
L – 1648 Luxembourg

I spent seven hours just walking around the old city center and a little bit down in the valley. The main city, the older part, is almost surrounded by the "Vallee de la Petrusse" (spelled without the accent marks.). This is a very nice strolling park along a small river. It is a bit of a climb down and back up but worth the trip if you have the energy. There is a walk way or strolling path along the rim of the city that overlooks the valley. It gives you great views of the valley as well as the opposite side of the gorge.

Up in the main city I enjoyed the buildings, the gardens, and watching all the people. There are many churches here and I can hardly resist visiting churches so I went in three of them. I did not have the time to visit any of the many museums or other cultural attractions.

The city has a very international feel to it. There is a large tourist presence and they come from around the world. I heard many foreign languages spoken here. Most people were dressed nicely for their visit. I did see two "slob" families, dressed quite inappropriately in their finest "Late Night at Wal-Mart" clothes. Based solely on their speech one family was American and the other was British.

There are some ethnic neighborhoods if you stray out of the city centrum area. I think there is a sizable immigrant population living and working here. Unlike in most European and American cities it does not appear that they are refugees but are rather business people, office workers, and other middle class folks. They were dressed nicely, had good manners, and appeared to be fully integrated into the city's culture.

I was highly impressed with the city. It is very clean and well maintained. I did not see one boarded up shop or vacant house in the areas I walked through. The shopping district was busy and vibrant and the restaurants were all doing a brisk business. There apparently is a very active night life in the evening.

Give it a try, I think you will like it.