Well, welcome to Luxembourg!
The only Grand Duchy in the world.
Over the next few days we're going to be exploring the capital of Luxembourg City and this is
going to be a little city guide to show you some of the highlights.
Located smack dab in between Germany, France, and Belgium, the little Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
can be easy to miss if you're not looking carefully, however, we're of the opinion that
this is a beautiful destination that you'll definitely want to make time for.
From picturesque neighbourhoods with cream coloured walls, to dazzling views of blue
rooftops in the Old Town below, Luxembourg City is a charming destination that you'll
want to add to your European itinerary.
So this hear is the Corniche and it is a pedestrian promenade which has been called the most beautiful
balcony in all of Europe because it gets some spectacular views of the old town.
Now I haven't traveled enough of Europe to tell you if it is the most beautiful balcony
but I can agree that the views are pretty amazing.
So we are now entering the Bock Casemates and apparently this was the old fortification
of Luxemborg and it was known as the Gibraltar of the north.
This was once one of the most envied fortresses in all of Europe and stretched out like a
web for several kilometers across the city.
One of the coolest things about visiting this place is that you get so many different vantage
points of the city.
So Sam may be enjoying the views.
I am just really happy it is nice and cool down here.
Today it is an extremely hot summer day and we've been sweating for hours so this feels
like walking into a fridge.
It is really nice.
Right now we're visiting the Three Towers which are remnants of an old fortress.
So we are just taking a quick little break here.
We've been walking around a neighborhood called the Grund which is directly below the city
center.
And it is really picturesque and without tourists.
No one is wandering around these little lanes and streets.
So we're just taking our time, snapping some photos and enjoying the place.
Okay, so the signs right above me show high the water rose in the year 1806 when they
had floods and also in 1756.
It is almost twice my height.
So as you can imagine the whole street would have been underwater basically.
So behind me we have Saint Michael's church which is the oldest church in Luxembourg so
we're going to go inside and take a look.
The first church to be built on this spot dates back to the year 987, however, the church
was destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated many times over the centuries.
Now the Grand Duke spends most of his time in the countryside but when he is in the city
doing official business he is doing it at this Grand Ducal Palace behind me.
The Palace houses the Grand Duke's office and during the summer months you can even
gain access to the building if you pre-book a guided tour.
There is no shortage of museums in Luxembourg City, so we took some time to visit the National
Museum of Art and History.
And it is now time for Sam's favorite activity.
We are going shopping!
Woo Hoo!
Luxembourg offers a nice network of pedestrian streets where you can shop and even do a little
bit of people watching.
We are now looking at the Passerelle which is Luxembourg's very own viaduct.
It may look quite similar to the aqueducts which are usually used to carry water but
this was built strictly as a bridge so that people could get across the valley.
So we are now standing in William Square which is a really popular spot on Sundays and Wednesdays
because local vendors setup shop and they sell all kinds of things from fresh produce,
to flowers, street snacks.
Unfortunately, we are not here on a Sunday or a Wednesday so if you just take a quite
look around you'll see that the square is empty.
Lesson learned: time your visit right so you're not disappointed by the lack of a market.
So final thoughts of Luxembourg.
Alright, to wrap things up here it was a really cool city.
It is the type of city that you can explore in just one or two days.
A weekend type of destination because a lot of the attractions are nearby one another.
And we just found it a very easy city to get around in on foot.
So as a little travel tip if you're planning on being in the city for a few days we really
recommend the Luxembourg Card.
This is what we used while we were here and it is really good for public transportation
across the city.
Across the country actually and you also get access to seventy different galleries, museums,
historic attractions and it is not that expensive.
I mean it depends on whether you get a family or an individual card but we really recommend
it because we made a lot of use of it.
Our visit to Luxembourg City was short and sweet, but we hope this video gave you a little
taste of what it's like.
Now it's your turn: have you ever been to Luxembourg?
If so, feel free to share some of your tips in the comments below.