RTL Today – We tested for you: The superb Unesco Promenade in Luxembourg City
Note that the Luxembourg tourist office offers you a short but splendid Unesco Walk which will allow you to discover the most beautiful viewpoints of the capital. Follow the leader !
Our tour begins under the Gëlle Fra. At the foot of the emblematic monument, a few meters above the Casemates de la Pétrusse, we have not yet started that already, the city is discovered.
A few steps from Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg offers us, at a glance, its best: relief, green spaces and more than 1,000 years of history right under our feet.
From the Place de la Constitution, an ideal place to validate your camera, we take advantage of one of the water fountains to fill up our water bottles and follow in the footsteps of our Unesco walk.
Unfortunately she is not arrowed. It’s a choice made.”to avoid visual pollution. In the digital age, we seek to make signage as discreet as possible“, summarizes Robert Philippart, responsible for the UNESCO site, at the Ministry of Culture. But the walk is easy to follow with an interactive mapvia the dedicated application izi.travel or en paying guided tour.
The east loop completely accessible to the less athletic. Its 3.4 km and its low elevation will inevitably lead you to the most beautiful sites of the city: its fortifications and its old quarters, classified as Unesco world cultural heritage since 1994.
Photos of the “Unesco Walk” in Luxembourg City
At the corner of Place de la Constitution, opposite the cathedral, we find a staircase allowing us to descend towards the Pétrusse. The path continues, halfway between the town and the bottom of the valley. Under the windows of the Ministry of Culture, whose view we envy, we arrive at the Viaduct. A point of view gives us the opportunity to contemplate the skatepark and the whole valley. A little turned upside down during our visit, this green setting is undergoing major renovations in order to restore the bed of the Pétrusse.
We continue our way along the fortifications, until we reach the rousegaart, the rose garden, behind the Judiciary City. Just like in the good old days, when Luxembourg embodied excellence in rose production. We find dozens of varieties there. Using a smartphone, a QR Code will teach you more about the different plants. The rose “Grand Duchess heiress Stéphanie”, the rose “Independence of Luxembourg” or the “Simone Veil”.
Below, we observe the confluence of the Pétrusse and the Alzette, which encloses the Grund and Clausen. Above, it is rather the genius of Man that stands out with the imposing CFL viaduct. And further still, the Kirchberg towers, the European and business district. The place is calm and contrasts with the hustle and bustle that reigns on the other side of the Saint-Esprit plateau.
The walk continues behind the Cité Judiciaire. We go up a few meters to discover the Fountain of (the) doves by Fabricio Cocchia and enjoy a sumptuous view of the Grund. Then let’s find the course, at the level of the rousegaart. After passing a building containing dozens of statues, we come to a new shady viewpoint.
A few steps lead us to the Corniche. We are (once again) jealous of the offices set up here, whose windows offer an unparalleled panorama of the Grund and the Bock.
We pass by the Church of Saint-Michel, the oldest religious site in a capital, and take some photos of Neumünster Abbey, which became a military hospital and then a prison. At this location, we can only advise you to franchise the Brücke Castle (the Castle Bridge). Overlooking the Casemates du Bocka new panorama of the city is offered to you.
A few steps back, the Promenade Unesco takes on a more urban dimension and brings us back to the city. By crossing its medieval arteries, such as the Marché-aux-Poissons, we arrive in front of a hidden but very popular place in the capital: the pediment “Mir wölle bleiwe wat mir sin”, motto of Luxembourg.
Between restaurants and bar terraces, we pass behind the Grand Ducal Palace to deal with Rue du Marché-aux-Herbes from the north. A loud voice is heard: “Present arms!”
By chance, it was when we arrived in front of the palace that a procession left, allowing us to see Grand Duke Henri leaving his residence. While the soldiers resume their maneuvers, we head for the Clairefontaine Square, the focal point of rallies and protests across the country. Under the gaze of Grand Duchess Charlotte, whose statue sits in the middle of this paved space, we hurry towards Place Guillaume. The stop is shorter there, as the works amputated (still) the places.
Behind the town hall, stairs lead to rue Notre-Dame. The curious could take advantage of it to visit the cathedral. Before returning to the starting point of this Unesco Walk. We close this time loop there. Luxembourg turns out to be a capital where you can travel without ever leaving it. Almost a paradox for this everyday city, which deserves to be (re)discovered.
Useful info:
– The interactive map published on Outdooractive by Visit Luxembourg
– The leaflet (PDF) of the walk
– The Unesco Walk can also be done with a more urban route with a guided tour offered by the LCTO