Hôtel Le Place d'Armes

Le Place d'Armes strings together seven eighteenth-century townhouses on Luxembourg City's café-ringed central square, and the conversion's charm lies in its refusal to flatten them: corridors wander, staircases surprise, and no two rooms repeat. A Relais & Châteaux member since opening, it is the old town's most characterful luxury address, its interiors mixing exposed beams and stone with contemporary tailoring, and its inner courtyards providing unexpected quiet a few steps from the square's bustle.

Rooms and suites vary from snug beamed doubles under the roofline to generous apartments; the best overlook the Place d'Armes itself or the silent courtyards. Service runs personal and multilingual in the Luxembourg manner.

Dining is a pillar: the house's gastronomic room, café tables spilling onto the square and a vaulted cellar restaurant cover the range from tasting menus to brasserie classics. The pedestrianised old town—a UNESCO site with its casemates and dramatic Alzette gorge viewpoints—begins at the door, and the Kirchberg business plateau is minutes by car. For the city's history and table in one address, this is the choice.