The Grand Ducal Palace, a town hall turned royal seat

The Grand Ducal Palace is one of those buildings most people only ever see from outside, and that’s fine. Its front sits right on the street in the middle of the old town and is one of the handsomest things in it. Inside is another matter, because it opens for just a few weeks in summer and tickets vanish. Here’s what to see, when you can get in and whether it’s worth the effort.

From town hall to palace

The city’s first town hall stood on this site, with origins in 1418. A gunpowder explosion destroyed it in 1554, and the building you see today went up in 1572 and 1573, according to the city tourist office. In 1741 the balcony swapped its stone balustrade for the wrought-iron one that’s still there, and in the mid-18th century a Baroque wing was added on the right to serve as the public weighhouse.

The turning point came in 1890, when the main building became the Grand Ducal Palace, the same year the current Nassau-Weilburg dynasty began. It was thoroughly restored between 1992 and 1995. Today it’s where the Grand Duke of Luxembourg carries out his duties, Guillaume since 3 October 2025, though the family doesn’t live here.

A façade you can enjoy for free

visitluxembourg describes the front as an exceptionally beautiful example of 16th-century Flemish Renaissance, and it isn’t overselling it. With the 1741 iron balcony at its centre, I’d call it the most photogenic building in the old town, and you can enjoy it at any hour without a ticket.

Immediately to its right is the Chamber of Deputies, built in 1860. Who runs the Luxembourg government and how parliament works I explain separately. It’s the national parliament, seated on the Krautmaart, as this street is called in Luxembourgish, with 60 members elected for five years under compulsory voting. The government’s portal puts turnout at the 2023 election at close to 90%. From outside it reads as part of the same ensemble as the palace, so on rue du Marché-aux-Herbes you’re standing in front of both institutions at once.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxembourg before prices climb.

What’s the tour like inside?

The Luxembourg City Tourist Office runs the tours exclusively during the summer. They last 75 minutes, take up to 22 people and run in English, French, German or Luxembourgish. According to the office you’ll see, among other rooms, the Grand Duke’s study, the dining room and the Kings’ drawing room, and visitluxembourg mentions lighting by Ingo Maurer in the state rooms.

Tickets are €18 for adults, €9 for children aged 4 to 12 and free for under-4s, according to monarchie.lu. All proceeds go to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess’s Foundation. The meeting point is outside the tourist office on Place Guillaume II, and you should be there ten minutes early. Photography inside isn’t allowed, and tickets can’t be refunded or swapped. The Grand Ducal Court says the palace is accessible by lift, and the tourist office asks wheelchair users to get in touch before buying.

What about 2027?

In 2026 tours ran from 18 July to 30 August, and by late September the website had every place marked as sold out. For 2027, monarchie.lu says dates will be announced later. The tourist office adds that it will be the 50th anniversary of the tours, so I’d expect more demand, not less.

Here’s what I’d do. If you’re travelling in high summer, check the tourist office website in spring and book the moment the dates appear. It’s the kind of thing worth sorting before you book the Eurostar or your flight to Luxembourg. If you’re coming at another time of year, don’t be disappointed, because the outside, with the old town around it, is reason enough to walk this way.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxembourg before prices climb.

The changing of the guard

There’s a guard outside the palace, and the tourist office announces a few ceremonial changes. In 2026 they fell on Monday 22 June, the eve of Luxembourg National Day, and on Saturdays 18 July and 5 September at 16:00. There are no dates for 2027. If you happen to coincide with one, enjoy it, but it’s not worth building your dates around.

The family lives at Berg Castle in Colmar-Berg, which isn’t open to the public. If you’re curious about that other residence, see my page on Berg Castle.

For context on the family itself, the Grand Duke speaks Luxembourgish, French, German, English and Spanish, according to monarchie.lu, and was sworn in on 3 October 2025, when his father Henri stepped down after a quarter of a century as Grand Duke.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Grand Ducal Palace and choose by the reviews.

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So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.