In the neighbourhood: Ville Haute & Gare
If you want to walk to work, be near to restaurants and nightlife or don't drive, living in the Ville Haute or Gare districts can be an attractive option, especially for fun-loving singles and couples.
Ville Haute or the central district comprises the streets around the Place D'Armes and Place Guillaume II and the Saint Esprit Plateau. Just south of it, you'll find the Gare quarter, which since 1859 has been the location of the Central Railway Station of Luxembourg. On the Bourbon Plateau, it's separated from the old town by a steep valley where the River Pétrusse joins the River Alzette.
A little background
Only 1km squared in size, the Gare district has a population of 11,713 (end 2021) of which 84% are foreign residents. The Pétrusse area is home to many of the embassies, whilst the Bourbon Plateau and Avenue de la Liberté combine residential and business premises.
The area closest to the station is filled with cafés, shops and bars, but is also where you'll find the city's homeless (many of their support structures are nearby) and it's the zone for prostitution and drugs.
How you view this will be based to some extent on where you've lived before, but it is not on the scale you will find in other European capitals.
À Vos Côtés is a team of welfare workers who stroll the streets in green jackets, to reassure residents in Gare and Bonnevoie with a feeling of safety when shopping, going to school or just walking the streets. They have been trained in de-escalation, preventation and dialogue. In serious cases they can provide a link to the police services and report cases of assault. They patrol the Gare area from 11.00 to 22.00 on Monday to Thursday, and from 11.00 to 23.00 on Friday and 14.00 to 23.00 on Saturday.
Also slightly over 1km squared, Ville Haute has 3,490 residents (end 2021). The small fort of Lucilinburhuc stood in this area, and is where the name Luxembourg is thought to have originated. The town grew and was recognised as a city in 1244.
Property prices
In some streets in the Gare quarter you'll find old Haussmann style buildings dating from the 19th century, many converted to apartments. Proximity to the city's facilities means that prices per square metre in both quarters are amongst the highest for property in Luxembourg.
According to Wort Immo the current price per square metre of real estate in these areas are:
Gare
Apartment (old) €10,699
Apartment (new) €13,214
Ville Haute
Apartment (old) €14,244
Apartment (new) €15,488
Luxembourg-Centre
House €13,933
Facilities
Shopping and services
Gare
There's a Delhaize right next to the station and a Monoprix on Rue du Fort Bourbon (also open on Sundays). You'll find fresh fruit and vegetables, household goods and groceries at Alima Gare at 1 rue Charles VI.
There is a Balkan food shop at 50 Rue du Fort Neipperg, just around the corner, with a Russian Market on 16-18 Rue de Bonnevoie, and an Asian store, Dafa, selling Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and African food products. SK Cash n Carry sells Indian and African products, and there's Asia Market on Rue du Fort Elisabeth. Ma Boucherie, on Rue de Strasbourg sells Hallal meat and you'll find another butcher, Emo Alima Gare, the other side of town.
If you fancy some fresh fish or seafood, head to Kraken fishmongers at 50 rue de Strasbourg, whic in addition to shellfish and fish offers homemade sushi.
Beauty products can be found at Yves Rocher at 32 Avenue de la Gare and Parfumerie Paris 8 further along the same road. If you're after a tattoo try Ink Junkies or One More tattoo and piercing parlour. If you're planning on tying the knot, you can buy an engagement ring at jeweller's Alexandre Rosenberg.
MediaMarkt/Saturn can handle your computer, telco and photography needs. Promoculture gets a thumbs up for its collection of educational books, and the Gare area is home to the Zithka Klinik.
In the area you'll find a Maison du Monde for reasonably priced furniture and home accessories, and HEMA for low cost clothing. For stylish children's options there's an Okaidi, or for sustainable clothing try Akabo. You'll find a Footlocker, DEVRED 1902, and Mango, all on Rue de la Gare.
Ville Haute
This is where you'll find most of the shops, particularly designer ones, and the Royal Hamilius shopping centre.
If you are thinking of making this area your home, you might be interested to know that the new Royal Hamilius centre includes a FNAC, Galeries Lafayette, Decathlon and a Delhaize grocery store, with more shops to come. There's a Monop' at 14 Rue Chimay and an Alima at 11 Avenue de la Porte-Neuve if you need to get the grocery shop done locally, and the ever-expanding Kirsch butchers has opened a new place on Grand Rue with a selection of meats, charcuterie, a deli and a street food counter.
Ville Haute is also home to Luxembourg City Hall and the Bierger-Center, as well as the courthouse. Skateboarders should check out the clothing and boards at Olliewood on Rue des Capucins. Basketball players may want to check out speciality store Bouncewear which stocks Nike, Jordan, Adidas and Converse.
For beautiful scarves, fashion accessories and clothing check out Les Sutras at 56 Grand Rue. And if you want to pimp clothes on site or pick up sustainable fashion from local designers, you can try Lët'z Refashion (part of Caritas Rethink your Clothes' project) at 8-10 Rue Genistre.
Bespoke fashion stores are on the rise in the city, with My Little Corner offering ladies' accessories, jewellery and clothing from French and Italian designers at 9-11 rue Louvigny, Actu'L Pons, showcasing local designers at 11 avenue de la Porte-Neuve and Francini_K, where Francine Keiser offers her own brand of clothing at 2 rue du Nord.
Schools and creches
The Gare district has a primary school on Rue du Commerce, while the closest primary and pre-school for Ville Haute is the Ecole de Clausen. Private School Fieldgen is located at 21 Rue d'Anvers.
There is a municipal creche at 17 Place du Théâtre, and there are childcare centres in the Gare district at 29A Rue de Strasbourg and 92A Rue Adolphe Fischer.
Transport and parking
The tram now runs from Gare through the city to Kirchberg.
Bus lines 6, 8, 17, 19, CN1, CN2, CN3, CN4 , plus the City Shopping, bus all serve Ville Huate, which has 12 Vel’OH bicycle stations and five underground car parks.
Both areas are served by the tram, on a line that travels through Limpertsberg and Kirchberg to LuxExpo (which will be extended to Findel Airport) and Gare (which will be extended to Cloche d'Or)
Bus lines 6, 7, 9, 11, 19, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, CN1, CN3 all stop at in Gare, and of course you have the Central Railway Station with national and international destinations. There are 9 Vel’OH bike stations and six car parks (Fort Neipperg, Fort Wedell, Nobilis, Plaza Liberty, Rocade and Gare). The parking des martyrs "Rousegaertchen" suffered severe fire damage in 2019 and is currently closed.
Trains from the Central Railway Station run to northern Luxembourg, west to Arlon, south to France (Metz with some direct trains to Paris) and east to Trier.
Recreation
Sports and parks
Despite its central location, if you choose to make Ville Haute your home, you'll find plenty of parks and green spaces, including Edmond Klein Park (City Park) complete with the wonderful Pirate ship playground featuring tube slides, tyre swings and water play features.
Pescatore Park with its fountains and lawns is a great place to have a picnic or take the glass elevator down to Clausen. Kinekswiss hosts many open-air concerts and children's events.
There are four small play areas dotted around the central district, including a play area opposite the Théâtre des Capucins, and just around the corner you’ll find a gymnastics hall.
The Badanstalt Aquatic Relaxation Centre has a swimming pool with whirlpools and water jets, two saunas, a steam bath and a solarium, relaxation areas and a fitness room, as well as a number of shower rooms and baths. You'll find it at 12 Rue des Bains.
Around the Gare, there is less greenery, but you can make the most of the Pétrusse Valley parks or catch a relaxing moment at Place des Martyrs.
Children can enjoy two stations with play equipment, located on Rue d'Anvers and Rue de Strasbourg. The former road is also home to a multi-use sports field and the latter road has a multi-sports hall. There's a gymnastics hall on Rue Michel Welter, and a training pool on Rue du Commerce. You'll find gyms located in the area here.
Culture and theatre
You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to finding something to do in Ville Haute. Several museums including the Luxembourg City Museum, the National Museum of History and Art, the Villa Vauban (City art gallery) and Casino Luxembourg (Forum of contemporary art) are housed here, in addition to the Cercle Cité (exhibitions and performances), and Théâtre des Capucins and Théâtre du Centaure. You can also catch many British and Irish plays, comedians and bands at the Altrimenti.
For music De gudde Wëllen and den Atelier at 54, Rue de Hollerich host regular concerts and live music. And of course, you have the many bars, clubs and street cafes to while away your weekends.
Restaurants
It would be nigh on impossible to list all the restaurants in the Gare and Ville Haute districts so it's probably best to go with recommendations or just try what you fancy – you'll find vegetarian, oriental and Mexican cuisine as well as more traditional fare like burgers and chips.
For something a bit different try Greek restaurant Athena (Rue Adolphe Fischer) or Lux'burgers on Rue de Bonnevoie. Nirvana Café offers tasty vegan food. In town, try Persian Foodbox on Rue Aldringen or the new trattoria Emilona on 4 Grand-Rue, which serves up Italian food and some killer cocktails.
South Indian vegan and veggie restaurant Krishnavilas is located in Gare close to the station and serves up idli, dosas, bhaji, uthappam and thalis. There are plenty of curry houses in the Gare area. Also new, Little Asia, has street food with Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese flavours.
A good number of cafes, sports bars are located in the area, in addition to some great cocktail bars. For some lovely handcrafted choux buns head to Louis on Grand Rue, and for pizzas made with fermented dough, try Girotondo on rue des Bains. For a healthy takeaway, you could try the new GrEat on rue de Strasbourg, which dishes up courgette farcie, Caesar salad, and plenty of wraps.
On the corner of Avenue Monterey and Boulevard Royal you'll find a new franchise from Maison Steffen, with fresh home-made produce to takeaway and a good delicatessen section. There's also one in Gare.
Find out more
You can find out more about the facilities and services in both quarters on the Ville de Luxembourg website. Lux Friends advertises house or flat sharing, whilst Vauban & Fort lists furnished rooms available for rent in both districts.
The Luxembourg Times has a new mobile app, download here! Get the Luxembourg Times delivered to your inbox twice a day. Sign up for your free newsletters here.
