Luxembourg Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

The walk stop by stop: Place d'Armes, the Grand Ducal Palace, the Bock, the Gëlle Fra

10 stops · about 26 min walking · start: Dicks-Lentz Monument · finish: Scenic Corridor

The Dicks-Lentz Monument is where the narration starts. Three central stops follow close together: Place d'Armes with its bandstand, Place Guillaume II, which locals call the Knuedler, and the Grand Ducal Palace. The walk then heads east to the edge of the plateau and the Bock Casemates, comes back by St Michael's Church in the Fish Market, and continues past the Kaddish Monument to Notre-Dame Cathedral. The Gëlle Fra on Place de la Constitution looks out over the Pétrusse valley, and a scenic stretch along the old fortress walls ends the walk. The app lets you change the first stop or the order, and none of the stops charges admission.

Open the route map ↗

1. 

   1Dicks-Lentz MonumentStart

   This monument honours Luxembourg's two national poets, Edmond de la Fontaine, known as Dicks, and Michel Lentz. Dicks wrote some of the first plays in the Luxembourgish language, and Lentz wrote the words of the national anthem, Ons Heemecht.

2. 

   2Place d'Armes

   This tree-lined square with its cafés and bandstand takes its name from the soldiers of the fortress garrison who once paraded here. On one side stands the Cercle Cité, an ornate early 20th-century building used for receptions and exhibitions. In summer the bandstand hosts open-air concerts.

3. 

   3Place Guillaume II

   Locals call this large square the Knuedler, after the knotted cord worn by the Franciscan friars whose monastery once stood here. In the middle rides an equestrian statue of William II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and the City Hall lines one side of the square.

4. 

   4Grand Ducal Palace

   The palace began life as the city hall, and its richly decorated Renaissance façade dates from the 16th century. Today it is the Grand Duke's official residence in the capital, where he carries out his duties as head of state. The Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg's parliament, sits right next door.

5. 

   5Bock Casemates

   On the Bock promontory Count Siegfried acquired a castle in 963, the moment usually seen as the founding of Luxembourg. From the 17th century tunnels were dug into the rock to shelter soldiers, guns and supplies, and the fortress was nicknamed the Gibraltar of the North. The old quarters and fortifications have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

6. 

   6St Michael's Church

   St Michael's Church stands on the oldest religious site in the city, where a castle chapel was consecrated in 987. The present building dates mostly from the late 17th century and mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque features. It stands in the Fish Market area, the oldest part of the old town.

7. 

   7Kaddish Monument

   The Kaddish monument is Luxembourg's national memorial to the Jews who were persecuted, deported and murdered during the Holocaust. It was created by Shelomo Selinger, a sculptor who survived the Nazi camps himself, and unveiled in 2018. Its name comes from the Jewish prayer recited in memory of the dead.

8. 

   8Notre-Dame Cathedral

   Built between 1613 and 1621 as a Jesuit church, Notre-Dame combines late Gothic architecture with Renaissance details and became a cathedral in the 19th century. Its crypt holds the tomb of John the Blind, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, who died at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and the burial vault of the grand ducal family.

9. 

   9Monument of Remembrance (Gëlle Fra)

   The Gëlle Fra, or Golden Lady, stands on top of a tall obelisk on Place de la Constitution, above the Pétrusse valley. Created by the sculptor Claus Cito and unveiled in 1923, it honours the Luxembourgers who volunteered to fight in the First World War. The Nazi occupiers pulled it down in 1940, and it was later restored.

10. 

    10Scenic CorridorFinish

    The route ends on a scenic stretch along the edge of the rocky plateau on which the old town was built. Here the former fortress walls drop steeply into the green valley below, and you can see why Luxembourg was once one of the strongest fortresses in Europe.