Dateline Discovery

Find charm and comfort in one of Europe’s coziest countries.

Hilltop fortresses guarded by more than two dozen cannons, warnings painted on medieval balconies and a trademark type of sparkling wine all speak to Luxembourg’s fierce sense of independence.

FRIDAY

Arriving on a rather overcast autumn morning, we exited the remarkably simple-to-navigate airport to find that we had just missed bus No. 29, which takes riders directly to the city center. We caught the next about 15 minutes later and got off at Luxembourg/Centre, then found our hotel, the Park Inn Luxembourg (Avenue De La Gare 45-47), about 10 minutes away.

Our first quest was to find lunch, which we did after crossing the beautiful Passerelle, a bridge over the Pétrusse valley that stands just shy of 150 tall at its highest point. A La Soupe (9 Rue Chimay), on one of the main pedestrianized streets in the heart of the city, offers artisan soup and sandwiches. Our timing was right — it began to rain right after we started eating — and so we waited it out before beginning our exploration of the city at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, built in the early 17th century and, not surprisingly, the only cathedral in the country.

We tucked around the corner immediately to the north of the cathedral to check out the Place Guillaume II, known locally as the Knuedeler, a medieval plaza punctuated by a statue of its namesake, the former King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Events are occasionally held here, such as concerts and markets, but it was empty as we passed through, so we walked over to the Palais Grand-Ducal, the residence of the Grand Duke since 1890. Although Henri, the current monarch, no longer lives here with his family, it is home to his offices, meaning tours are only available in the summer.

The adjacent Place d’Armes, the traditional heart of the city, is ringed by a number of curbside cafes and was only slightly more lively because of the weather, so we headed east, along the Rue du Cure and the Rue de la Boucherie, to the Bock Casemates, a fortress in the rocky cliffs overlooking the Alzette River.

The city’s original castle was built here and was taken over by Sigfried, the original count of Luxembourg, in 963. It became the city’s stronghold for several centuries, though the castle was destroyed and later rebuilt by the sieging French in the 1680s. The network of tunnels was added when Luxembourg fell under Austrian control in the 1730s, with 14 miles of passages reinforced by the installation of 25 cannons to protect it, and though it withstood a French invasion in 1794, earning it the nickname “Gibraltar of the North,” the castle was finally demolished under the Treaty of London that established Luxembourg’s neutrality in 1867.

What To Know
Date of visit: Oct. 13 to Oct. 15, 2017.
Airport location: Five miles east of the city. Bus No. 29 is a 20-minute trip to the city center.
Walkability: 8/10. The city is walkable and buses are an efficient way to reach the suburbs.
English: Very good, even if French and German are more prominent.
Must-See Attraction: Take advantage of the views of the entire city from the ruins of the fortress above the Bock Casemates.
Traveler’s tip: The “billet longue durée” allows unlimited public transportation in the country.

We spent about two hours exploring the maze of tunnels and passageways, and after exiting, made our way further east around to the Rives de Clausen, the site of the former Mousel brewery, which has been redeveloped into a trendy area with a dozen bars and restaurants and, at the end, the European headquarters of Amazon and Microsoft.

The district didn’t fully open for business until the evening, though, so we walked along the Alzette back through the Grund, the city’s lower district, and through Neumünster Abbey, a one-time monastery and then a prison that has now been reopened as a museum and cultural arts center. Looping around Rue Münster, we crossed the Alzette and crossed the bridge — taking in its gorgeous view of both Old Town and the Grund — and returned to the top of the valley via the Ascenseur, the 230-foot elevator that connects the two sides of the city. Though it’s free, be prepared to wait a significant amount of time given its limited capacity.

Dinner was at Am Tiirmschen (32 Rue de l’Eau), a hard-to-find establishment serving kniddelen and other traditional Luxembourgish cuisine. Several restaurants have operated here over the years; in World War I, it was where locals resisted the occupying German forces in an attempt to retain their independence and painted “Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn,” or “We want to remain what we are,” on the stone façade outside.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Gëlle Fra, the Monument of Remembrance set up in remembrance of the Luxembourgers who fought in World War I, and the nearby Monument National de la Solidarité Luxembourgeoise, an eternal flame commemorating those who died in World War II.

SATURDAY

With the city already explored, we decided to head to the countryside for the day — thankfully an easy proposition, given the extensive bus network. So, we caught the No. 2 bus to Fondation Pescatore, then switched to the No. 130 for a 45-minute ride out to Enner der Bréck and the estate of Bernard Massard (8 Rue du Pont, Grevenmacher), perhaps the largest winery in the entire country. Set up for a wedding later that day, we were the only ones there for the 10 a.m. tour, leaving us not only with a private tasting but our own exclusive guided tour of the cellars.

We weren’t as alone 30 minutes down the road at the Caves St. Martin (53 Route de Stadtbredimus, Remich), another vineyard that is known for its production of the Luxembourgish version of sparkling wine, known as crémant. Our guide showed us not only how it is made, but how the estate continues to embrace its traditional production, including turning more than a million bottles spread though a mile of underground passageways by hand every other day.

Afterward, we walked down to the town of Remich, a picturesque town in the southeast of the country with a bridge over the Moselle River to neighboring Germany. After wandering among the shops, and a stop for ice cream, we returned to the city itself via the No. 175 bus, which took nearly an hour.

We returned to the Grund — via a long wait at the Ascenseur — for dinner at Bosso (7 Bisserweg), a longtime family-run restaurant that lured visitors in with sumptuous portions of schnitzel. Full and satisfied, we retreated to the hotel, knowing our early morning flight out of Luxembourg required an early bedtime.

Verdict: Exploring the city itself is a job accomplished in one day, so hitting the countryside, either the forest to the north or the vineyards to the south, is the best way to round off a weekend in one of Europe’s most quaint communities.

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