Chemin de la Corniche

The Chemin de la Corniche runs along the old city ramparts on the edge of the plateau, and the Luxembourgish writer Batty Weber called it the most beautiful balcony in Europe - a claim that survives contact with the actual view. Below, the Alzette loops through a green gorge past the Grund's stone houses, church spires and the old Neumunster abbey, with rock walls and casemate windows in the cliff beneath your feet. It takes fifteen minutes to walk and is free, which makes it the single best introduction to why UNESCO listed the city's fortifications and old quarters.

What you'll find

• The gorge view - the Grund, the Alzette and the abbey from above.
• The rampart walls - seventeenth-century defences underfoot.
• The descent to Grund - the lift or the stepped lanes down into the valley.
• Neumunster Abbey - the restored abbey and cultural centre below.

When to go

Good in any season - spring and autumn give the best light on the gorge, and winter evenings put the old quarter under floodlight. The free public lift from the Pfaffenthal side and the Grund lift make the level changes easy at any time of year.

Practical notes

It is short - a fifteen-minute walk rather than an excursion - so treat it as the centrepiece of a wider old-town circuit taking in the casemates and the Grund. The path is narrow in places and busy at midday with tour groups. Photographs into the gorge are best in soft light; harsh midday sun flattens it.

Nearby

The Bock casemates, the Grund quarter, Neumunster Abbey and the city's old town.