Anyone been to Luxembourg City?

[TattiePants]

.....and would you recommend visiting? I’ve booked most of our summer holiday but need a one night stop off somewhere between Calais and the Black Forest and Luxembourg City is about the right distance. We’ll arrive mid afternoon then leave after lunch the next day so just want somewhere pretty to wander around and to have an evening meal. We’ll be driving so is it easy to drive in/out of and the DCs are 9 & 14?

I'm sure it'll be fine. Have been a few times but can't remember much about it . Try Clervaux instead.

Ah, that’s not a good endorsement if you can’t remember it!

It's lovely. My Dad lives there - definitely a good place for a wander around. Massive valley runs through the middle with gardens, scenic lift down. Good restaurants and bars.

It’s very scenic because it’s built on a huge gorge so yes, you could do worse. I’d personally recommend Bouillon, which is much quieter, but very pretty.

I remember the valley! It'll be fine for an overnight stop.

We used to live there, it is a beautiful little city. There is from memory a cheap multistory opposite the cathedral (Kneudler, I think it's called - after the main square) so driving in is no problem. Great food market in the main square on Wednesdays and Saturdays and an amazing ice cream parlour off the connected Place d'Armes that did all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours (violet etc). The views over the gorge are really cool and you can visit the old battlements which are passageways that go deep below ground. Grund is pretty. Big cafe culture and a few interesting shops. We really enjoyed our time there.

Forgot to mention the chocolate house opposite the Grand Ducal Palace which I'm sure the kids would appreciate - among other things they sell various flavours of hot chocolate on sticks

Yes, I love it. Walk down the gorge and around the river paths and take the amazing lift up to the higher levels. Visit the fort on the opposite side of the river to the old town - you walk down into the gorge and then climb a tree shaded path up a hill on the opposite side. It’s surprisingly quirky.

I’ll take a look at the other suggestions too thanks. Metz or Reims in France were other options but the location of Luxembourg was better and it’s another country to tick off the list!

And if you've got a car there's a big castle called Viandan not too far North where we used to take visiting relatives, it was like something out of a fairy tale!

Lots more suggestions! The kids would definitely like the underground passageways and we’ll all love chocolate and ice cream. I’m sold!

If you go to Metz I recommend the constellation show on the cathedral.

www.constellations-metz.fr/

@gloominous I found a hotel near the EU buildings which is obviously outside the main centre but it had a family room and secure parking for a car with a roof box on. Would it be an ok location to walk/bus/taxi into the centre?

I was going through some old photos recently and found some of Luxembourg. I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is.

@TattiePants I’ve stayed at the hotels in that area. It is right by the tram into town. And also right by the fort I mentioned!

@ellobrian that’s really helpful.

I hope you like it! I have a secret love of Luxembourg. Everyone goes on about how boring and bureaucratic and small it is but I think it’s charming. There’s also a modern art gallery right by those hotels btw. And it’s incredibly easy to get around.

Do you mean in Kirchberg? I used to walk there, although me and my husband have very different definitions of 'walking distance' so it might be further than you're used to (country girl here)

As I said there's easy parking in the city centre and the public transport is great. It used to be 2 euros for a single and 4 euros for a day ticket pretty much everywhere (the same ticket got me out to the countryside) and buses were free at the weekend to encourage people to shop! Thay was in 2016 so it probably hasn't changed much.

It’s a very cute little town. The valley is gorgeous and I loved that you could (when I went anyway) walk right through the area where the Grand Duc’s palace is and look right though the windows more or less! Super safe, friendly, walkable and pretty - I don’t know why more people don’t visit.

We went for a few days last Easter. It's very pretty. It was a really nice place to wander around.

Yes Kirchberg is the area. Google maps hasn’t been updated since 2009 so I couldn’t get a feel for what it’s like. The kids might moan at the walking into the centre but it sounds like we can reply on public transport. I’m getting excited now, the other 16 nights are booked so it’s just the first and last night to sort now.

Can I ask whether the hotel is on the north side of JFK avenue or the south side (near the philharmonique and Mudam)? The latter is way better in my opinion. Tram is easily accessible from both sides though.

But for one night it makes v little difference! I am being excessively picky. Ignore me!

I could be entirely wrong (and can’t be arsed to Google) but I think buses are potentially free all the time now? Certainly we found it easy to navigate and travel around the centre.

Definitely agree with the chocolate house recommendation! It has a very Netflix-film-about-a-prince vibe to it!

From memory it was pretty much on JFK though it was on the north side. It was a Mercure / Sofitel type chain hotel (I think).