Luxembourg

May 3, 2026

When planning my trip, I had a hard time finding much to do in Luxembourg, but it was on my way from Belgium to Germany anyway, and when else would I have the opportunity to visit it? When looking at hotels, everything seemed really expensive, especially since I didn’t have anyone to split the costs with. But once nice thing is that there is free public transportation throughout the whole country. So to save a little money, I booked a room at the Ibis Hotel near the airport and took the bus into the city. This was another bare-bones budget-friendly room, but again I felt safe there and it did it’s job, so no complaints here.

I got into town pretty early in the morning, so my first stop was for brunch at Lloyd Coffee Eatery, and I had a pastrami and sauerkraut sandwich along with a much-bigger-than-I-expected tiramisu, because who said you can’t have dessert at breakfast? A few weeks before my trip, a friend told me about GuruWalks, a company that has a variety of walking tours all over the world. They’re free to book, and you’re just expected to tip at the end. I found one in English for the day I was in Luxembourg, and met the guide after brunch.

The tour group ended up being the Guide, Charlotte, two women from Poland, three women from Germany, and myself. We started at the Place de Metz, just over the bridge from the old town city center. We walked through the bridge – not over it, not under it, but through it in a little walking path tunnel to the Place de la Constitution, which overlooks the Pétrusse Valley. We walked through a main plaza with so many booths featuring international (not Luxembourgish) cuisine, and past the Grand Ducal Palace, and ended by walking through the Grund – a picturesque pathway along the valley below the city.

Unfortunately, just as our walking tour ended, it started to rain pretty heavily, so I didn’t get to spend much time getting lost wandering through the streets on my own. And, like many places in Europe, most things were closed since it was a Sunday. So, I ducked into Konrad Cafe for a drink and waited out the rain. The upstairs looks like any other small cafe, but downstairs felt like I was in a cave, and it was such a cozy wait to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. By the time the rain cleared up, I was ready for dinner, and made my way over to Le Grande Cafe where I had a delicious beef carpaccio with a refreshing local sparkling rose.

After dinner, I looked up directions on how to take the bus back to my hotel. I walked over to the bus stop and waited for what felt like much longer than I should have. There was a man at the bus stop who had been waiting just as long as I had, with a suitcase in tow. Finally, a passerby told us there is no bus at that stop on Sundays – not sure why the app told me otherwise. Before I could look up an alternate option, the suitcase man took off like he knew where he was going. I made the assumption that he was headed to the airport, which again is where my hotel was located, so I took the gamble and followed him and got on the same next bus he did. I must have looked like I also knew what I was doing, because a few minutes later a woman started asking me for directions, but not in English. (At least, I assume that’s what she was asking me based on inflection and gestures). I just shrugged, considering I wasn’t even sure I was going the right way myself. But sure enough, the bus stopped the airport and I made it back to my hotel without any issues.

Luxembourg is such a uniquely built city, and I’m so glad I had the chance to go. I don’t know that I would say it’s worth visiting on its own, but definitely plan to spend a day there if you’re already in the area like I was.

To be continued…