Historic Luxembourg City packs a lot into a small town

Adolphe Bridge opened in 1904 with the largest stone arch in the world; the corniche here is often called the Balcony of Europe

The Grand Ducal Palace is the official residence of the country's monarch and where he performs most of his duties as head of state

Luxembourg City only has 115,000 residents; the city was the first to be named a European Capital of Culture twice

The Monument of Remembrance, aka Golden Lady, is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered for service in World War I

The Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge connects the old town to the new EU complex; more than 15,000 people work in the EU offices

The tour of the Grand Ducal Palace was heavy on the history of the monarchs; the Nazis trashed the palace during WW2 when they used it as a tavern and concert hall

Luxembourg is often called the Gibraltar of the North for its military fortifications and strategic location; the city is on a plateau flanked by high cliffs on three sides

The first president of the European Parliamentary Assembly, Robert Schuman, was from Luxembourg; now the city is one of the three EU headquarters

Grand Duchess Charlotte stands in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral; the prime minister's house sits on this square

Luxembourg City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its fortifications; Luxembourg has the second highest per capita GDP in the world

The late-Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral was founded in 1613; locals speak Luxembourgish, usually in addition to French and German

Headquarters of the Luxembourg Central Bank; the city used to house offices of hundreds of banks but that number has dropped following the financial crisis

I.M. Pei designed the Museum of Modern Art which is built into what was originally Fort Thunghen; the city was fortified differently by every conqueror so there seem to be endless military structures

The lavish Belgian tapestries were a gift from Napoleon; the Grand Ducal Palace is only open for tours in the summer when the monarchs are on holiday

This is part of the European Parliament; this city also hosts the European Investment Bank and the European Court of Justice

The panoramic photos in this blog I took from the world's largest mobile observation deck; it was 70 meters high and rotated giving everyone a 360 degree view of the area

These bridges connect the Bock Casemates to the old town; there is still a tunnel under the street which was the original connection between the two areas

Neumunster Abbey, on the left, was built in 1688; during WW2 the Nazis used the abbey to imprison political resisters

St. Michael's Church was completed in 1688; Luxembourg is often rated as the safest city in the world

This is called the Three Towers; the central tower was built around 1200 when the second fortification ring was completed while the two flanking towers were added in the 14th century

The National Museum of History and Art does not fit architecturally with the rest of the old town; it was free though

Luxembourg City enjoys an advantageous position in the heart of western Europe - 130 miles from Cologne, 132 miles from Brussels, 240 miles from Amsterdam and 230 miles from Paris

When Grand Duchess Charlotte returned from exile in 1945 she found her palace trashed by the Nazis; now it is used strictly for ceremonial purposes while the family lives at one of their other palaces

City Hall; office of the mayor of Luxembourg City is here on the main square of town, Place Guillaume II

The Luxembourg Philharmonic opened in 2005 and is one of the finest concert halls in Europe; it hosts more than 400 performances a year

A brand new light rail line opened during my visit; many workers park in garages around the perimeter of the city and then take buses or walk to work

I took the English tour, with one other person, of the Bock Casemates; the extraordinary network of underground galleries is the city's prime attraction

The first casemates were built in 1644 and by 1684 more than 23 kilometers of underground galleries had been completed

This free elevator takes people from river level up to the old town; the city was experiencing unusually warm weather with temps in the 90s

Luxembourg's lower house of parliament was built as an annex to the Grand Ducal Palace in 1859; the train station is well south of town but an easy 2 euro ride away

Cranes were everywhere!; the city did a nice job of having tourist info at important sights but it was only in French and German

Yellow Room, Grand Ducal Palace; I'm using google images for interior shots of the palace since no photos were allowed on my tour

The heart of the city is largely pedestrianized; the population of the city doubles every day with workers flooding in from Belgium, France and Germany

Rafa telling everyone to check their tires; it seems an odd public service announcement from Rafa but nice that he did it

Neumunster Abbey lies on the puny Alzette River which winds around the city; this tiny river carved the soft sandstone into its unique shape