LUXEMBOURG

OVERVIEW

• When: 25 November – 26 November, 2025
• Where (accommodations): Le Royal Hotel Luxembourg
• Transportation: 2.5 hr drive from Frankfurt, Germany
• Sights/attractions: American cemetery and Memorial, Casemates du Bock, Chemin de la Corniche, Neimenster Abbey,  Place d’Armes, Place de la Constitution, Adolphe Bridge & “Passerelle Souterraine”, La Passerelle (Viaduct), Église Saint-Alphonse, Cathedral Notre-Dame, Pfaffenthal elevator, Grund (Old town)
• Food/drinks: Beim Lentz, L’Observatoire, Konrad Café & Bar, Clairefontaine

Luxembourg was never in our travel plans for this Thanksgiving Euro trip, but when plans change and the Universe adds another country to the list, I am all for it!

Our initial plan was to fly into Brussels on Wednesday, spent a couple nights there sightseeing Belgium, then fly to Copenhagen, Denmark for another three nights and return back to Boston Monday afternoon.

I have friends that live in Brussels and we talked about meeting up, that’s when one of them told me about the upcoming three day strike. Apparently, it’s a planned strike which affects trains on the first day, followed by more widespread strikes on Tuesday, and finally a national strike on the Wednesday- the day we were scheduled to arrive.

I called SAS airlines about our flight, and asked if we need to be concerned. They said, they are aware of the strike, but would not know if the flights will be affected until about 5 days before the scheduled departure. Well, that is a bit too risky for my liking. I asked if there were other strikes before (yes, there was one in October), and was the airport affected (yes, the airport in Brussels was closed). That is all I needed to know. I ended up paying nearly the same cost to change the tickets as to what I paid for the original flights. That said, now we would be leaving Saturday evening and landing Sunday afternoon before the strike begins. This also gives us more time in Europe (cannot complain there!) .

My sister and brother-in – law live in Frankfurt, so we decided to rent a car in Brussels, drive 4.5 hours to see them and spend two nights together.

It was the best idea! We enjoyed a couple of dinners, checked out Frankfurt Christmas Market, and had a lovely family time even for a short while together.

Of course, we are not here to rest. We are here to explore, and new countries to see! Frankfurt to Luxembourg is only 2.5 hours drive. Perfect place to break up the drive back to Brussels, where we will resume our original plans and accommodations.

Le Royal Hotel Luxembourg

We chose this hotel due to it’s convenient location and because it has a spa. I knew that after the flights and the drives we would want to relax for a bit, so having a sauna and a pool was much appreciated.

Overall Luxembourg City is very walkable (but prepare to climb many stairs). We were able to do all of the sightseeing on foot from this hotel. Well, apart from the Luxembourg American Cemetery.

Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial

Over 5000 American soldiers that died during WWII are laid to rest in this cemetery and we wanted to come pay our respects. It was on the way driving into Luxembourg City, so we stopped here first.

General George S. Patton’s grave is separate from the others and is up front. He used to be buried along side with his soldiers, but the other graves would get damaged by many visitors coming to find Patton’s grave, so it was moved for both the convenience and to protect the other graves.

It’s about 12-15 min drive from the city center to the cemetery. There are also busses and all public transportation in Luxembourg is free!

Casemates du Bock

One of the main tourist attractions in Luxembourg is this UNESCO World Heritage site, which is a subterranean defence system made up of long tunnels. We checked into our hotel, left the car, and set off to explore Luxembourg on foot. We didn’t want to wander inside the tunnels after sunset (and they close at 6pm), therefore we started here first.

The tunnels itself is not something out of this world, but the cool part is that they open up to the beautiful views of the city below.

From several openings in the tunnels you can see Grund – the Old Town district of Luxembourg. One of the main landmarks there is Neimenster Abbey– public meeting space, cultural center, and former Benedictine abbey.

Chemin de la Corniche

Often referred as “the most beautiful balcony in Europe” this is a path on the city wall overlooking the Alzette valley. The day was cloudy, but somehow it didn’t diminish how beautiful the views were of the city below.

I can only imagine how gorgeous it is on a sunny day.

Bridges and viaducts

As we explored Luxembourg we could not help but notice the amount of bridges connecting the city and the stone walls. One of the most well known is Adolphe Bridge & “Passerelle Souterraine”. This historical landmark is essentially a double bridge. Steel-framed pedestrian and cycle path is suspended underneath the arches of the bridge connects separate parts of the city and of course part of our self-guided tour involved crossing it.

Another landmark is La Passerelle (Viaduct) or Old Bridge. Tall beautiful arches, great views of the valley below.

We also did part of the Wenzel Circular Walk and came across more scenic bridge views.

Churches and Christmas Markets

It wouldn’t be Europe if it didn’t have old and beautiful churches. We only went inside Cathedral Notre-Dame of Luxembourg because it was open.

We also passed by Église Saint-Alphonse but it was closed for visitors by the time we arrived.

And then there are the Christmas Markets and festive decorations! The best part about visiting Europe at this time of the year. The weather might be gloomy and dreary but the gorgeous and brightly lit markets cheer up even the grayest sky.

Frankfurt has amazing Christmas Market and we were lucky to be there for its opening day. We didn’t know if Luxembourg will have a market yet, because each city has different dates. Come to find out- Luxembourg had several markets going when we arrived already and they opened a week earlier! Both Place d’Armes and Place de la Constitution had beautiful markets with carousels, tons of food options and no lines.

There even was a tube slide which we OF COURSE took part in (while being late for dinner and me dressed in skirt and heels).

Every day this week we are getting more and more into the festive Christmas spirit!

Luxembourg food

Everywhere we go we try local cuisine, Luxembourg is not an exception. Lunch that we had at Beim Lentz was the best meal in this city. Cozy restaurant, friendly staff, and a great hearty meal.

We stopped by L’Observatoire which is located in the Sofitel hotel and I had AMAZING Espresso Martini with a great view. It was a perfect point to rest between sightseeing and a little boost to continue going.

Konrad Café & Bar claims to have the best carrot cake and we not only got that, but also a pistachio cheesecake. Both were delicious, both had gluten. But when in Luxembourg…

Finally, for dinner I booked a multi course Clairefontaine. It was nice and fancy, but man was it overpriced! We are ok to pay a lot for food when it’s wow. But the only wow dish we had here was my chicken with truffle mashed potatoes. The rest was great presentation but not really worth the expense.

We did not leave hungry for sure (only more poor, joking), but the price to satisfaction ratio simply was not there.

After dinner we had one last final ‘sight’- The Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator. Operating until 1am (free) and with a panoramic view of the valley it was a fun way to end our day in Luxembourg!

CONCLUSION

Great twenty four hours in country #74! We walked twenty thousand steps, climbed more stairs than we normally do in a week, checked out the Christmas Markets and the scenic views, and we were good to continue our drive on to Belgium. Luxembourg is small, so more than a few days here might get boring, but a short visit is definitely recommended. Even in a gloomy weather we found it charming and cozy. One final tip- make sure wear comfortable shoes- there are a lot of cobble stones and uneven stairs-this little capital city will keep you on your toes (literally!).