Luxembourg City in 2 days

Morning

• Bock Casemates1h15

  Start at the Bock Casemates, the tunnels bored into the cliff from 1644 where the city was founded in 963, going early before the tour groups arrive. Pay the modest fee at the door, allow about an hour underground, and wear grippy shoes for the steep worn steps.

  TipThese defensive tunnels were bored into the Bock cliff from 1644, on the spot where Count Siegfried founded the city in 963, and they run for a warren of galleries with valley views. The season runs roughly February to November with a modest entry fee paid at the door, so check before a winter visit, and wear grippy shoes for the steep worn steps.

• Chemin de la Corniche45 min

  Walk straight out onto the Chemin de la Corniche, the free rampart-top promenade called the most beautiful balcony in Europe, following the old walls above the Grund. Take your time along the parapet for the valley views before the light gets harsh.

  TipThis rampart-top promenade, famously called the most beautiful balcony in Europe, is free and open at all hours, running along the old walls above the Grund. Walk it toward sunset when the low light hits the valley houses and the cliffs, and start near the Bock end so you finish above the Alzette.

Afternoon

• 1h

  Lunch on or just off Place d'Armes in the Ville Haute, where the cafe terraces ring the square; step a lane back from the square itself for fairer prices and a plate of local gromperekichelcher or a bouchee a la reine.

• Notre-Dame Cathedral30 min

  Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral, free outside services, for its late Gothic nave and the crypt of the grand-ducal family guarded by two bronze lions. Fifteen minutes covers it unless a service is on, so keep it a short stop.

  TipThis 17th-century cathedral mixes late Gothic bones with Renaissance detail and holds the crypt of the grand-ducal family, guarded by two bronze lions. Entry is free outside services, so step in to see the crypt and the dark vaulted nave, but avoid the Octave pilgrimage fortnight from late April to early May if you want it quiet.

• Place de la Constitution and the Gelle Fra30 min

  Cross to Place de la Constitution for the Gelle Fra, the gilded Golden Lady on her granite obelisk, and the free viewpoint over the Petrusse valley and the Adolphe Bridge. This is the classic postcard angle, best in afternoon light.

  TipThe Gelle Fra, or Golden Lady, is a gilded WWI memorial statue on a tall granite obelisk above the Petrusse valley, and the square around it is a free open viewpoint. Come for the view over the valley and the Adolphe Bridge, and note the same square is where the panoramic lift and the Winterlights market and ice rink appear in December.

• Adolphe Bridge and Petrusse Valley Park1h

  Walk over the Adolphe Bridge and take the free pedestrian walkway slung underneath for the view up at the stone arch, then drop into the green Petrusse valley park along the old streambed. Loop back up toward the plateau afterwards.

  TipThe Pont Adolphe is a landmark stone arch over the Petrusse valley, with a free pedestrian and cycle walkway slung underneath the road deck for a view straight up at the span. Walk across the top for the classic photo toward the Gelle Fra, then drop into the green Petrusse valley park below, which threads under the bridge along the old streambed.

Evening

• Place d'Armes1h

  Return to Place d'Armes for an evening drink when the terraces fill and the bandstand square comes alive. This is the social heart of the Upper Town once the day crowds thin.

  TipThis lively square in the heart of the Ville Haute is lined with cafe terraces and hosts a bandstand, regular markets and the main Winterlights Christmas market in December. Come for an evening drink when the terraces fill, and check the weekly market days if you want local produce, as the square is a short walk from the palace and cathedral.

• 1h45

  Dinner in the Ville Haute, choosing a small place on a back lane over the tourist-priced square terraces, then walk a floodlit section of the Corniche after dark when the ramparts and the valley are lit and nearly empty.

Morning

• MUDAM Luxembourg1h45

  Take the free tram out to the Kirchberg plateau and start at MUDAM, I.M. Pei's contemporary art museum set inside the old Fort Thungen. Tickets run around 8 to 10 EUR and it closes one day a week, so check the calendar first, and leave time for the glass Pei atrium.

  TipThe Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art was designed by I.M. Pei and set inside the old Fort Thungen on the Kirchberg plateau, its glass wings rising from the fortress walls. Tickets run around 8 to 10 EUR and it closes one day a week, usually a weekday, so check the calendar first, and leave time for the light-filled Pei atrium and the cafe.

• Philharmonie Luxembourg30 min

  Walk a few minutes to the Philharmonie on Place de l'Europe, ringed by its forest of tall white columns by Christian de Portzamparc, which is worth circling for the architecture alone. Check the programme if you fancy an evening concert later in the trip.

  TipThis striking concert hall on Place de l'Europe in Kirchberg, designed by Christian de Portzamparc, is ringed by a forest of tall white columns that is worth seeing even without a ticket. Walk the colonnade by day for the architecture and the plateau views, and check the programme if you want an evening concert in one of Europe's better-regarded halls.

Afternoon

• 1h

  Ride the free tram back toward the centre for lunch, then head to the Plateau du Saint-Esprit at the edge of the Upper Town to catch the free lift down into the valley. Keep it light before the walking afternoon in the Grund.

• The Grund and Neumunster Abbey1h30

  Take the free lift down into the Grund, the lower town in the Alzette valley, and walk to the Neumunster Abbey, now the Neimenster cultural centre with a cafe courtyard. Follow the riverside paths under the ramparts as the afternoon light softens on the cliffs.

  TipTake the free public lift down from the Plateau du Saint-Esprit into the Grund, the lower town in the Alzette valley, where the old Neumunster Abbey is now the Neimenster cultural centre with concerts and a cafe courtyard. Time a visit for late afternoon so you can walk the riverside and settle at a canal-side bar as the ramparts light up above.

• Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator45 min

  Wander up the valley to the Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator, the free 71-metre glass lift, and ride it up for one of the best no-cost views in the city over the valley and viaducts. It runs long daily hours, so there is no need to rush.

  TipThis free glass lift drops 71 metres from the Upper Town near Place de la Constitution and the Pescatore park down to the Pfaffenthal valley, with a viewing platform at the top. It is genuinely free and open long daily hours, so ride it for one of the best no-cost views in the city, then walk the valley floor back toward the Grund.

Evening

• Rives de Clausen1h30

  Head down into Clausen for the Rives de Clausen, the former Mousel brewery turned into the city's main nightlife strip of bars and restaurants under the Bock cliff. Arrive for dinner before it fills, as it gets busy on Friday and Saturday nights.

  TipThe former Mousel brewery in the Clausen valley has been turned into the city's main nightlife strip, a cluster of bars, clubs and restaurants under the Bock cliff. It is quiet until evening and busiest on Friday and Saturday nights, so head down by the free lift and valley walk rather than driving, and note the old brewery buildings still frame the courtyards.

• 1h30

  Stay in the valley for the evening along the Grund and Clausen waterside bars, the liveliest and most local night the plateau cannot give you, then take the free lift back up to your Upper Town base when you are done.