Place d'Armes is one of the main squares in Luxembourg City, and an integral part of the pedestrian zone.
Originally served as a parade ground for the troops defending the city. Today it's surrounded by lots of street cafés and restaurants, it has become the place where the young and the old, the locals and the visitors meet.
Place d'Armes, also named “Parlour of the City”, was aligned by Sebastian van Noyen from Utrecht and completed by Governor Jean Charles de Landas in 1671. The French troops of Louis XIV paved the square, planted lime-trees and used it for parades.
The Place d'Armes hosts one of the larger Christmas Markets and, multiple open-air concerts during summer season.
The City Palace, nowadays called Cercle Cité, is situated on the Place d'Armes. In 2006, comprehensive renovation and restoration work was carried out on the Cercle in order to transform it into a convention and exhibition centre. The work was completed in April 2011.
Since reopening in 2011, the mission of Cercle Cité has remained unchanged: to bring together people, exhibitions and festivities under one roof in the heart of Luxembourg City. This unique and prestigious space is open to associations, artists and, of course, visitors to the city.
Building on its history, Cercle Cité has become an international cultural hub where tradition meets modernity. The mission of the centre becomes apparent in the different areas it houses: the exhibition space named after the old Ratskeller, the parlours on the Bel-étage, a conference centre, the Luxembourg City library, as well as the Japanese restaurant Aka.
