Luxembourg City

We left Paris by train this morning and headed to Luxembourg. The process was pretty easy and the train was nice. Overall, much simpler than going by air, considering the distance.

Luxembourg is a small country surrounded by Belgium, France, and Germany. It is less than 1000 square miles in total area. It is a democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Its current monarch is the Grand Duke Henri. They speak French, German, and Luxembourgish, which is a Germanic language specific to Luxembourg. What we have found here is that most everything is written in French, with no other translations, even the signs for historical sites are just in French. Same with menus. We only found one restaurant with a menu in more than one language. This is unusual for Europe where there are often multiple languages, especially for tourist/historical signage. Fortunately, we can figure out what we need to.

Gorges and a bank (the building on the right with a turret)

Gorges and Adolphe Bridge

We are in Luxembourg City and we walked around the main part of the town. The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Luxembourg was originally a Jesuit church built in 1613. It was later converted into a Catholic cathedral, expanded, and changed to Gothic architecture. Some of the royalty of Luxembourg are buried in the crypt here.

Notre Dame

Grand Ducal Palace: On the right. This official residence of the Grand Duke and where he and the Grand Duchess keep their offices. This building dates back to 1572.

Luxembourg City was a heavily fortified city, starting in the 16th century. Some of the walls of the city still remain, and they are impressive.

remains of the city fortifications

abbey below the remains of the old city fortifications

We also went into St Michael’s Church, which is the oldest church site here, going back to 987. The current church goes back to 1688. The inside of the church has some of the old frescoes exposed, although they are not in good condition.