Limpertsberg, a district of roses, schools and a funfair

Limpertsberg is one of those districts most visitors pass through without knowing its name. If you’ve been to the Schueberfouer, you’ve been on its doorstep. If you’ve seen an opera at the Grand Théâtre, the same. It’s residential, quiet and full of students, and it has what I think is one of the loveliest stories in the capital, the story of the roses.

A district born when the walls came down

Until 1867 this was fields and market gardens below the ramparts. Dismantling the fortress freed up the land, and in the early 20th century broad avenues and classic town houses went up, according to the tourist office. The city dates the first primary school to 1906, the Lycée des Arts et Métiers, now the Lycée de Garçons, to 1908, and the church to 1912.

Hence its other nickname, the schools district. Today it covers 157.07 hectares, had 11,424 residents at the end of 2023 and houses part of the university. The city praises its residential feel and how close it is to the centre; the Luxembourg old town is a short stroll away.

Why “the city of roses”?

Because this is where the rose growers worked. Firms such as Soupert & Notting, Ketten Frères and Gemen-Bourg exported millions of roses a year and made Luxembourg known across Europe as a city of roses. Street names, gardens and Notre-Dame cemetery, where the Soupert & Notting family grave lies, still carry the memory.

It’s my favourite fact about the place, because it shows a Luxembourg before steel and banking. There’s more context in my facts about Luxembourg.

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

The Glacis, the funfair and the flea market

On the edge of the district lies the Glacis, a vast open space that’s a car park for most of the year. Every summer it becomes the Schueberfouer, the capital’s great funfair, which in 2027 runs from 20 August to 8 September, daily from 12:00 to 01:00. Around it are cafés, bars, restaurants and clubs.

Outside funfair season the Glacis hosts the Glacismaart, held between 10:00 and 17:00 on the third Sunday of every month, March to November, with August off. Think car-boot sale meets flower and farm market. If your trip lands on that Sunday, I’d go in the morning. The rest of the city’s markets are listed in markets in Luxembourg.

If you arrive by car, the Glacis is the practical choice. The tourist office describes it as a car park for more than 1,000 cars on the edge of the centre, with free trams and buses alongside, and notes that it also hosts open-air concerts on National Day. Rates and other car parks are covered under parking in Luxembourg. The Glacis chapel, named after the square, is a neo-Gothic building of 1885, one of the churches architect Charles Arendt left in the city according to the council’s magazine Ons Stad, and worth a glance as you pass, even if only from outside.

Culture and a sculpture park

The Grand Théâtre sits between Limpertsberg and Kirchberg and is the country’s leading house for opera, dance and theatre, with a 943-seat main hall and a studio of about 250. The district also has the Halle Victor-Hugo, holding up to 2,200 standing, and the Tramsschapp, an arts centre in the old tram and bus depots.

For a walk, Tony Neuman Park covers 46,366 m² with sculptures, rare plants and rose beds. It belonged to a private villa, was left to the Luxembourg Red Cross and is now cared for by the city. visitluxembourg points out that several of the sculptures are by well-known Luxembourgish artists and that there’s a small playground, so it also works as a stop with children. It’s one of my favourite parks in Luxembourg City for a break. Place Auguste-Laurent, 6,000 m² in front of Saint-Joseph’s church, is the everyday heart of the area.

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

Getting there and around

You can walk up from the old town, take a city bus, or come from Kirchberg across the Red Bridge linking the two plateaus. The tourist office notes that the Pfaffenthal funicular also heads towards Kirchberg, Limpertsberg or the centre. Late on Fridays and Saturdays, the CN1 runs to the Glacis car park until 03:30.

My plan for the district

I wouldn’t give Limpertsberg a whole morning on its own. I’d pair it with the Schueberfouer in late summer, the Glacismaart on its Sunday or a night at the Grand Théâtre, and slot in Tony Neuman Park in between. That’s the best of the district, and enough to see why locals like living here.

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

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Luxembourg on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

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.