The Wenzel walk, Luxembourg's medieval wall step by step

Of all the ways to get to know Luxembourg’s fortress, this is the one I like best. The Wenzel walk is a 2.5 km stroll that follows the city’s medieval wall through its oldest quarters, with the Corniche, the Grund and some freshly restored towers along the way. It’s free, well documented, and in three hours the city makes sense. If you’d prefer a guide, see what a free walking tour in Luxembourg offers first. Here it is, stretch by stretch.

Who was Wenzel?

Wenzel is the German name of Wenceslas II, Duke of Luxembourg from 1383 to 1419. During his reign part of the city’s third wall was built, the one that protected the people living down in the valley. According to visitluxembourg, the Wenceslas wall was once 875 m long, with 37 towers and 15 gates. What survives is what the walk follows, and the government’s portal sums it up as a thousand years of history packed into 2.5 km, to be walked in about three hours. The whole route lies inside the site UNESCO listed in 1994 and describes as an outstanding example of a fortified European city.

From the Bock to the Corniche

The walk begins at the archaeological crypt of the counts’ old castle on the Bock rock, which visitluxembourg calls the cradle of the city and the country. Right beside it are the Bock Casemates, visited separately with a guide. From there you cross the castle bridge of 1735 and join the Chemin de la Corniche, the path along the ramparts above the Grund.

Before leaving the Bock, look up at the Dent Creuse, the Hollow Tooth. The tourist office explains that this half-dismantled tower on the Montée de Clausen takes its name from its shape, like a decayed tooth, and it’s one of the fortress remains you can see free from the street. It’s the photo I’d take before stepping on to the castle bridge.

The official page explains that the path follows fortifications from several eras, the medieval ones, those of the 16th-century Spanish period and those of Louis XIV from 1684. For me, that layering is the whole appeal. It doesn’t show you one wall, it shows you how one was laid over another for centuries.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

Down to the Grund

From the Corniche you drop into the Grund, the river quarter, following the wall. On the way you pass the Gothic gate called the «Dinseltor», one of the fifteen the enclosure once had. In Luxembourgish it’s the Dinselpuert, also known as Jacob Tower or the old Trier Gate, and the tourist office dates it to the 15th century. It had a drawbridge, a moat in front and a cannon casemate on the top floor, and from April to October a film on the birth and meaning of the medieval walls is shown inside. The Grund is the place to pause, because the walk takes three hours and this is the best excuse for a break, between Neumünster Abbey and the houses crowding the Alzette. For more on the quarter, see my page on the Grund. And if anyone in your group can’t manage the slopes, the public lift from the Holy Spirit plateau to the Grund lets them skip the walk down and rejoin you at the bottom.

The Rham plateau and the new viewpoint

The final climb leads to the Rham plateau, the part that has changed most. visitluxembourg says the path now takes in its four towers, all restored; the defensive ditch has been cleared and the casemates opened. This stretch of wall is thought to have been built between 1420 and 1424. The plateau has its own story beyond the walk, which I tell on the Rham plateau page.

There’s a detail I love. Since 1862 the railway to Liège has run through fortifications that were beefed up for fear of attacks by armoured trains. A new viewpoint has been opened near the railway bridge, and the route carries on towards the barracks from Vauban’s time. From the towers you get what visitluxembourg calls a still little-known view over the Corniche, the law courts and as far as the red bridge.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

On your own or with a guide?

On your own it’s free, and the city tourist office has the route leaflet to download in English, French and German. The easiest place to start is the Bockkasematten bus stop, on lines 9, 14 and 15. If you’d like a guide, the office arranges the walk for private groups of 1 to 20 from €200, starting and finishing at its office on Place Guillaume II. For a group of friends it can be worth it; for a couple, I’d go it alone with the leaflet. The office also has a Kulturpass rate of €1.50, but that’s for residents on modest incomes, so it won’t apply to you as a visitor. If you’re arriving from London on the Eurostar via Brussels, it makes an easy first afternoon walk once you’ve dropped your bags.

One warning I wouldn’t skip. visitluxembourg and the tourist office both flag rough ground, steps and slopes, with stretches unsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. Wear good shoes. If it leaves you wanting more, the next step is the longer Vauban circuit, which I explain alongside the full history on my page about Luxembourg fortress.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Luxembourg on GetYourGuide.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Luxembourg: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.