Luxembourg City: A place of two halves

A work colleague whetted our appetite to visit Luxembourg, as she had lived there for a short period and spoke of how beautiful the country was.  I’m not a big fan of visiting cities, but she told me this was a place of two halves, and that we should start there as we would love it; she was not wrong!

We crossed the tunnel with a plan to spend a couple of nights there, quick sightseeing tour of the city then fill up with cheap fuel and head into Germany before looping round up through France over 4 weeks.  Apart from France, all the other destinations were new to us, so it felt like a real adventure, especially as I speak only holiday French as a second language!  No need to worry on that front because the Luxembourgish people put us to shame by speaking almost perfect English wherever we went.

Unfortunately, the junction we needed to exit from the motorway which was a 2-minute drive to the campsite was closed due to roadworks, so our untrusty sat-nav took us to the next junction which turned out to be the ring road for the city centre.  I turned into a shopping centre car park that had a height barrier, then had to reverse back onto the ring road and do an illegal U-turn at the next set of traffic lights after crossing 4 lanes of traffic to get me back facing the right direction without heading into the heart of the city! 

I have to say that the local drivers that day were very accommodating and courteous, allowing me to make what I would call quite dangerous manoeuvres with just minor indication on a 4-lane ring road.  There wasn’t so much as a toot of a horn or hand gesture from them, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief to be escaping to a quiet suburban road.  Lesson learned, we used our bikes and public transport after that to get around the city.

Luxembourg City

I’d been told it was a city of two halves, and it most definitely was.  We left our bikes at the entrance to the old quarters and walked through the narrow streets with beautiful stone architecture, along the Alzette river in the gorge that splits the city in two.  We followed the old rampart walls taking in the beauty of this UNESCO world heritage site.  From this base level you can see up to the Bock Casemates which is a tunnel network that includes a dungeon, prison and archaeological crypt.  I was gutted that these caves were closed for refurbishment work so we couldn’t experience the interior, but it leaves us a reason to return.

From here you can catch a lift (even with your bike) up to the top of the cliffs or walk if you’re feeling super fit because its very steep, and come out opposite the Cite Judiciare, which is home to the European Court of Justice (it looked a bit battered compared to other buildings).  It was not what we were expecting when we exited the lift, very different from the sights below. 

We walked along the rampart walls on the Chemin de la Corniche promenade taking in the magnificent views over the city and noting the high-rise modern sector of the city that lies beyond the old world that is so well preserved.  We stopped to pay our respects at the eternal flame in front of the National Monument of Solidarity, which commemorates the dead of the Second World War.

We had lunch at the Art Scene Bistro Club café as we were making our way towards the Bock.  I tried a traditional Luxembourgish hearty dish of Kniddelen which is potato dumplings in a cream sauce with bacon bits on the top.  I can highly recommend it; I bought some in the supermarket the next day too.  It was a hot day and it laid heavy on my stomach for the afternoon bike ride back to camp! 

Before heading back, we stopped for a refreshing beer at Scott’s pub where we sat in the beer garden overlooking the Pont du Grund bridge and river Alzette.  It sounds very English, but I can assure you it was very traditional inside.  I sort of wished it was a cold day because the speciality hot chocolates they had on the menu looked scrumptious, give it a try if you’re there in the colder weather.  There was so much to see that we didn’t get around to it all, and we never ventured into the modern part of the city so you should allow a few days if you want to capture everything in one visit.

Cycling and Local Transport

The local transport, both trains and buses, are completely free of charge to residents and visitors across the whole of Luxembourg.  We used the bus a couple of times; they were frequent and very efficient.  There are good, safe, off-road cycle routes leading in and around the city, and a surprising amount of green space to relax in, not forgetting the super cleanliness of the place - we could learn a lot as a country from Luxembourg!

From our campsite we were able to get directly on the Alzette valley cycle path that meanders through a wooded picturesque landscape alongside the river, passing by an old mill and weir, and arrives at the entrance to the old quarters.  It was a lovely relaxing ride of 4 miles that took us around 40 minutes, all off-road on a wide hard-surfaced path.  I was minus electric assistance last year so didn’t ride very fast!  There is just one steepish hill at the very end that you climb up and drop back down into the city, it would be fine on an e-bike or for a fitter cyclist which I am not, the rest of the route was flat and all suitable for walking too.

You could ride from the campsite in the opposite direction along the Alzette valley to various other places, but we ran out of days and unfortunately the campsite was booked up for the weekend as there was a festival taking place in the city, so we had to leave after 4 nights.

You can catch a bus on the main road to the train station, where you can access several other towns within a short distance for day trips so you could easily spend a week at the campsite and use it as a base to other places, all free of charge.

Where to Stay

We pitched up at Camping Bon Accueil which is at Alzingen on the outskirts of the city in the Hesperange area.  The campsite is hidden behind the beautiful town hall and surrounded by the municipal park on three sides.  Despite it being in a built-up area it feels like you are in the countryside.  It has 70 pitches of a very good size, all on grass but with a hardstanding grid on the area where you park your vehicle, so it was nice and solid despite a lot of rain leading up to our visit.  Each pitch has a low hedge for demarcation, and it is very well kept.

The toilet/shower block is very modern with large showers that had superb hot water, and very clean always, although they closed in the afternoon and from 10pm but you could still access the toilets.  There is a café on site which was new and due to open in high season, it served snacks and drinks according to the menu.  The site has barrier access and is fenced off within the park so entered only by the front gate.  It has a decent width entrance although you turn off the main road down a dead-end side street so don’t think you’ve gone wrong as its at the bottom on the right-hand side.

We were there in May 2023, it cost 21 euros per night including electric, which I thought was very reasonable for the standard of the site and its proximity to the city centre.  The bus stop is a 5-minute walk along the main road, or direct access to the cycle/walking path into the city.  There was a very good bakery just along the main road for fresh bread, and a grocery store in walking distance.  We caught the bus to the bigger shopping centre, 10-minutes’ drive away which had a huge supermarket where we stocked up on goodies, prices were similar to home.

Summary

We barely scratched the surface of this magnificently stunning city, and we plan to revisit it in the future, along with other parts of Luxembourg.  The people are so friendly, the city was so clean and quite unique, definitely not one to be missed from your travel map.  Our route didn’t quite go as planned due to the inclement weather in Germany, so we spent 9 days in Luxembourg instead of 3 (4 of those in the city) then moved into France, but that’s the beauty of motorhoming out of main season, you don’t have to book and can change your plan on a whim.

Enough waffle for this week, if you have been to the area, please drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of it.  If you enjoy reading my blogs, please like and subscribe to my website so you get notified when the next blog is published.  It’s completely free, I don’t fill your inbox with unwanted spam, and it really means the world to me to know my experience has helped someone else.

Happy Travels