84 Best Sights in Luxembourg

Ehnen, with its narrow old streets, carved wooded doors, and unusual circular church, makes a peaceful escape. It's also home to the Musée du Vin, set in a typical group of Luxembourgish farm buildings, with pink stucco and cobbled courts. Its rooms are full of tools, equipment, and photographs of the wine-making industry, with a demonstration vineyard planted with samples of each of the local varietals. The museum has also been recently renovated and is scheduled to reopen in 2022.

Ehnen is home to a Musée du Vin (Wine Museum), set in a typical group of Luxembourgish farm buildings, with pink stucco and cobbled courts. Its rooms are full of tools, equipment, and photographs of the wine-making industry, and a demonstration vineyard is planted with samples of each of the local varietals. There are few labels in English.

In the small village of Bech-Kleinmacher you'll find the Musée Folklorique et Viticole ‘A Possen', a 17th-century stone wine maker's house, with a more modern and slightly incongruous side wing. Its extraordinarily atmospheric displays include a "black kitchen," with a ham-smoking chimney, and a cozy bedroom with a four-poster bed and homespun linens; there are museum displays on the wine industry, and a toy collection as well. There's also a Waistuff (wine stube) next door, where you can taste the local wine and sample dark bread smeared with pungent kachkeis, Luxembourg's favorite cheese spread.

In a grand mansion once occupied by a wealthy steel baron, the Musée Municipal has two distinct missions. On the first level, exhibits focus on archaeological artifacts and historical objects such as fossils and weapons, some of which were excavated from Mt. St-Jean. The gallery upstairs shows contemporary art and has the country's only public art space specifically devoted to contemporary photography.

The museum lies in one of the oldest parts of town, on the site of the old fish market that once formed the crossroads between two Roman roads. Inside, it has some outstanding paintings by the Expressionist Joseph Kutter, probably Luxembourg's greatest artist. The art gallery includes a fine Cranach and two Turner watercolors of the Luxembourg fortress. It also hosts the spectacular Bentinck-Thyssen collection of 15th- to 19th-century art, including works by Bruegel, Rembrandt, Canaletto, and other masters. The lower floors have been excavated from the rock and are given over to archaeological discoveries, including some fine Roman mosaics, though their descriptions are sadly not signed in English. 

In the Musée National d'Histoire Militaire, more than a dozen life-size, authentically equipped dioramas depict personal aspects of the hardships of the Battle of the Bulge. Unlike the similarly themed museum at Bastogne in Beligum, this thoughtful, neutral effort sidesteps discussions of strategies and fronts; it brings out individual details instead, from yellowed letters and K rations to propaganda flyers—both German and American—scattered to demoralize already homesick soldiers at Christmastime. All paraphernalia are authentic period pieces. The staff often welcomes veterans personally. Other exhibits illustrate Luxembourg military history since the end of the Napoléonic Wars.

Housed in a converted women's prison in the Grund, this museum has thought-provoking interactive exhibits and dioramas, with an environmental message aimed at both a local and global level. There's free entry on Tuesday from 5.30 until 8. 

Navitours runs four-hour boat tours both during the day and in the evening.

Between Stolzembourg and Vianden stretches a pretty promenade. This 8.5-km (5-mile) boardwalk trail parades the edge of the lower basin of the river north of town, away from the road. It's a breathtaking stroll and not too difficult to walk or cycle. It takes around two hours to complete, and if you want, you can always get the No. 570 bus back. Its starting point is opposite the Tourist Information Office. 

The city's finest building dates from the 16th century. Its elaborate facade shows a Flemish Renaissance influence, with ornate balconies and a symmetrical exterior, and it was formerly the home to the Grand Ducal royal family. It is now mainly used for business and entertaining, though in July and August it opens its doors to visitors, offering the chance to explore its extensive art collection, which was dispersed during World War II before being returned, and the Hall of Kings where foreign envoys are officially received. 

Pfaffenthal, like the Grund, lingers on the Alzette River at the foot of the great rock on which the Upper City perches. This was always a place for the city's have-nots. It used to be home to a large number of tanneries; dirty, smelly work purposefully kept downstream of the rest. In more recent times, while its near neighbor filled with bars and hip restaurants, this sleepy area went forgotten until in 2016 a glass elevator to the Upper Town was unveiled, followed by a funicular to the Kirchberg plateau (Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg railway station). There's still little else to do here, but both offer magnificent views, and it's worth the stroll down from Fort Thungen or the nearby bars of Rives du Clausen just to ride either. 

Specifically designed for families, the Parc Brill has a public swimming pool, tennis courts, climbing sculptures, miniature golf, and even a fenced in area where young children can safely run wild.

The 240-hectare Parc L'eh, which spans the French border, is a product of the area's enthusiasm for green, open spaces. Hiking trails crisscross the border through forests, meadows, and stands of wildflowers. If you're lucky you may spot some of Luxembourg's rare orchids, a testament to the landscape's rich mineral deposits. No matter the season, this is a delightful natural escape.

The Parc Merveilleux has rides, a petting zoo, a toy train, and miniature golf among its facilities. If you're traveling with kids, this is a great place to let them blow off some steam.

This elegant sloping square has a graceful statue of Grand Duchess Charlotte and imposing 18th-century ministerial offices.

This square, which is home to a bustling fairground during winter, is marked by the gilt Gëlle Fra (Golden Woman), set atop a tall column. This was originally erected to commemorate soldiers lost during World War I. But, in 1940, it was torn down by the occupying Nazi forces amid local protests. Plans to rebuild the monument were put on hold after the war when the gold-plated statue went missing. It wasn't found again until 1980, when fragments of it were mysteriously discovered beneath a sports stadium. No one knows how it got there. The current version was rebuilt in 1984 incorporating pieces of the original and has become a powerful symbol for the city. 

Echternach's cobbled place du Marché, in the old town center, offers a charming mix of Gothic arcades and restored medieval houses, festooned with wrought-iron signs and sculpted drain spouts. The arched and turreted 13th-century Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) is its centerpiece.

This square is known locally as the Knuedler, a name derived from the girdle worn by Franciscan monks who once had a monastery on the site. On market days (Wednesday and Saturday mornings) it is a mass of retail fruit and vegetable stands, flower vendors, cheese- and fishmongers, and a few remaining farmers who bring in their personal crops of potatoes, apples, cabbage, and radishes—as well as homemade jam, sauerkraut, and goat cheese. That's Grand Duke William II on the bronze horse; he reigned from 1840 to 1849, while Luxembourg was flush with new independence. The Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), its stairs flanked by two bronze lions, was inaugurated in 1844.

A number of banks, needing more space than that available on boulevard Royal, have put up huge edifices on Kirchberg, across the Alzette northeast of the center. Gottfried Boehm's glass-and-aluminum Deutsche Bank encloses a giant atrium, frequently used for art exhibitions, and Richard Meier's sober Hypobank is the perfect foil for an explosively dynamic sculpture by Frank Stella. The banks are cheek to jowl with the modernistic buildings of the European Union institutions, often accompanied by contemporary sculpture—the European Court of Justice, with pieces by Henry Moore and Lucien Wercollier; the Jean Monnet Building, with a replica of Carl-Fredrik Reuterswärd's Non-Violence; the European Center, where the Council of Ministers meets; and others, whose presence in Luxembourg are visible reminders of the disproportionately important role played by this tiny country in the politics of the European Union. This is also where the I.M. Pei–designed Musée d'Art Moderne Grand Duc Jean is located.

The best views are to be found from atop the Pont Viaduc (or la Passerelle). Built in the mid-19th century, this 290-meter-long bridge spans the valley and offers magnificent glimpses of the rocky ledges—partly natural, partly man-made—on which the city was founded. Below you can see the (normally) beautiful Vallée de la Pétrusse, a broad park full of willows that lies in the canyon of the Pétrusse River. 

These three turrets, remains of the fortress, are among the city's most romantic sights. The oldest of the towers was built around 1050. During the French Revolution, this was the location of the guillotine. From here you can clearly see the source of Luxembourg's strength as a fortress: the Bock.

A predecessor of the Princesse Marie-Astrid hosted the signing of the Schengen agreement. Owned by Vinsmoselle, the current boat, the fifth to bear the name and which entered service in 2010, offers entertainment, dancing, and wine on all its trips.

From the banks of the river Our, a chairlift carries visitors up for a remarkable view of the valley. It's the only one of its kind in the Grand Duchy, though it isn't always in use and is only in service between April and mid-October. For the more outdoorsy, a woodland path heads down from the upper station to the castle below.

Also billed as the Musée d'Art de la Ville de Luxembourg (City of Luxembourg Art Gallery), this lovely white mansion house is surrounded by perfectly tended gardens and feels like a haven of peace in the heart of the bustling city. Having undergone several face-lifts and changes of use since it was first built by the wealthy owner of a glove factory in 1873, major renovation work has given the building a new life as a permanent home for Luxembourg City's collection of Old Masters. Works by Canaletto and Van Dyck, to name but two, are juxtaposed with new pieces on matching themes by contemporary artists. Entry is free between 6 and 9 pm on Friday.