Luxembourg is a small country located in western Europe, between Belgium, France, and Germany. It is best known for its historic old town in the country's capital, Luxembourg City, as well as its vast amounts of greenery and nature.
I was only in Luxembourg a brief time, as it was the most optimal airport to fly into on my way to visit my aunt in Metz, France. But I still got to see a good part of the capital's old town and the underground passenges beneath it all. My trip actually started out on a high note, as the plane I took on my flight from Paris to Luxembourg had some pretty unique livery (that is, the design painted around the body of the fuselage).
Upon first arriving, my aunt and I made our way to Place Guillaume II for a bite of lunch. From what I saw, the meal prices in Luxembourg were quite high relative to most other countries in Europe. After lunch, we went to the tourism office to hear their recommendation for what to do in the city. They explained that the city is split into upper and lower, known as "Ville Haute" and "Ville Basse" respectively, and recommended some scenic route for us to take through Ville Haute.
Honestly, I really loved the style of architecture throughout the city. The black rooftops provided a visually pleasing constrast to the yellowish-beige color of the primary stones used for the buildings, and the many thin spires atop the rooftops also added a nice touch.
On our walk, we passed by the palace of the grand duke of Luxembourg, the castle bridge connecting the old town to the outside part of the city, and even got to explore some of the old underground tunnels at the Bock casemates landmark. After, we walked along the fortified walls above the Alzette river. This route provided a great view over much of the lower part of the city, Ville Basse, which again presented some really aesthetically pleasing rooftops.
In the afternoon, we had a tour scheduled to see the main section of the city's underground tunnel system, the Petrusse casemates. We met our tour guide at Place de la Constitution, where there's a memorial for those who volunteered to fight in WWI and WW2 with a golden statue on top. I managed to grab a photo, though the lighting is quite shit. We also passed by a statue made in memory of the Jewish people from Luxembourg killed during the Holocaust. From the plaza, we passed through a gated entrance with our tour guide and soon descended into the depths of the city.
The tunnel system was extensive, even with only seeing a small portion of it. Our tour guide shared that the tunnels used to serve as a way for soldiers to move around beneath to fortress in times of attack, whether that be to shelter from aerial assaults during the world wars or to defend the city against invaders in its early days. There were even some rooms that were used to host concerts or parties during times of peace. By the end of the guided tour, we had made our way down to the ground level of Ville Basse.
There really wasn't much to see down at the bottom. We just walked along the river for a bit with our tour guide from earlier, who told us about the efforts the city was making to get more people to live there and to enjoy being outdoors with their families, such as installing new parks and planting more greenery along the river valley. After parting ways, my aunt and I continued around Ville Basse, stopping to take a few photos together and to explore Neumunster Abbey and the church of Saint Jean du Grund before driving to her home in Metz.
I did return to Luxembourg the last day visiting with my aunt. We spent the day at the thermal baths in Mondorf-les-Bains, a town on the border of France and Luxembourg. I didn't really take any photos while we were there, mostly because I had my phone in a locker the entire time we spent at the spa. But honestly, it was nice not to have my phone with me. It was a welcome escape from technology that I can't say I experience too often in today's world.