We left London on a cold winter evening after work – and reached Luxembourg only to discover it was even colder!

Despite the freezing rain, we still managed to cover a lot of ground.

Our first impression was that the city is very impressive, full of nice modern buildings and very clean. It is also a good place for shopping, and many of the main European brands have outlets there.

We were staying close to the Central Station, so in the morning we crossed the viaduct to reach the Haute Ville.

On the way we stopped at Notre Dame Cathedral, an impressive building with lots of intricate detail. As it’s usually the case in Luxembourg, it was impeccably kept and looked brand new.

We reached the city centre, and explored the streets around Place des Armes and Place Guillaume II.

To scape the cold, we had drink at the Tube, a London-themed pub where the only other customer was actor John Hannah.

We then decided to check out the National Museum of History and Art, which was free. The museum has a diverse collection which includes anything from ancient artifacts to modern art. The displays of Roman relics, including a massive mosaic were very impressive and definitely worth the visit.

We ventured outside for a walk around the Lower City, but it was a bit too cold and wet to properly enjoy it.

For lunch we stopped at Beet, which has the best veggie burgers, and it was a highlight of our trip.

After a few drinks at the popular Urban (an Irish pub). We stopped for dinner at Nirvana Cafe, an Indian buffet with great food and even better service (free slices of vegan cake to take away, yum!).

We were lucky that our second day in the city was dry, so we walked around the city walls to take some photos of the impressive views. The most famous highlight of Luxembourg is Casemates du Bock, a labirynth of tunnels which was unfortunately closed for the winter.

We decided to take a walking tour (13€ per person, from the Luxembourg Tourist Office, which also offers other tours). This was a two-hour walk around the centre which was okay, but (a) I actually thought I’d get hypothermia at one point and (b) it highlighted that you can see all the main sights by yourself without much commentary.

We went back to Urban to warm up and get some food before it was time to head back to the airport.

I didn’t really know what to expect from Luxembourg, but it was a good place to spend a quiet and chilled weekend.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Go: Flights from London take only 50min, so it’s a great choice for a short break.
• Stay: We stayed at the Park Inn (£75 per night) which was right next to the Central Station. This area is very seedy at night, but it’s got great transportation links.
• Getting around: Luxembourg has excellent public transportation – buses from the airport cost only 2€, and it’s very easy to find your way around.
• Wi-fi: All bars and restaurants offer their own wi-fi, but there’s also a free service everywhere, which is quite handy.