It wasn’t until my second day in Luxembourg that I actually visited Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg is a somewhat confusing place — it’s the name of both a country and a city. The city, Luxembourg, is sometimes called Luxembourg City to distinguish it from the country, but more often, it’s just called Luxembourg. I suppose it’s something like New York City versus New York State in that you could call either just “New York” and, depending on context, people would understand you to mean either the city or the state.
Because Emma and I spent most of our first day in Luxembourg in Vianden, a town about an hour outside of Luxembourg City, it wasn’t until our second and final day that we actually made it into the city to explore.
Luxembourg City has much fewer things to see than a city like, say, Paris or London. If you ever visit (the country or the city), I would probably only devote two or three days, with only one of those days for Luxembourg City itself.
It’s possible as well that my opinion is swayed by the fact that we were there on a Sunday, when relatively little was open. I’m not necessarily sure I would’ve gone into very many shops or restaurants or museums even if they were, but it did feel very quiet in town as we were walking around, even for a Sunday morning.
We visited the Grand Ducal Palace, the official residence of the Grand Duke and the royal family, which, to us, as visitors on a Sunday morning when nothing was open, was ultimately just a cool work of architecture to look at from the outside. There was also a Notre-Dame Cathedral (yes, another one — I really ought to start keeping a list of all of the Notre Dames I’ve been to) that we poked our heads into for minute or two.
I think the best part of Luxembourg City was the giant Adolphe Bridge across the Pétrusse valley. Luxembourg, like many cities, is a city in parts, with a bridge connecting the different sections. Most cities, like Budapest or Paris, have massive rivers running through them, sectioning off each partition. Luxembourg, on the other hand, is split not so much by a big river (though it does have one), but by a big valley.
It’s like Luxembourg is a city of two massive hills, with a deep chasm in-between the two. That’s where Adolphe Bridge comes through, which allows you to walk between the two halves. You can also take the stairs and venture down into the valley, which is home to both a lovely park and a small neighborhood of expensive-looking homes. It was something of a hike to get down into the valley, but I would say it’s absolutely worth it. It’s quite something to look up at the bridge towering above you with the two halves of the city on either side.
Luxembourg ended up being my last excursion while I was in Paris. Just a few days later, I got the email informing me that I was being sent home by my university. I think Emma and I both saw it coming, though of course, we didn’t want to believe it could be true. I thought for sure I would at least have a few more weeks — I definitely didn’t see it coming so soon.
That’s about it for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life during my semester abroad in the Paris, France. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest,Instagram, Facebook, Bloglovin, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!
Coat: Thrifted (Free’p’star Paris)
Skirt: Thrifted (Free’p’star Paris)
Blouse: Express
L'ensemble du jour 