The most beautiful hikes in Luxembourg you can reach without a car

The smart move: free trains and buses

This is the country's big quirk: since March 2020, public transport is free across the whole territory (bus, tram and 2nd-class train), for residents and visitors alike. You hop on, you hop off, no ticket. As a result, most of the hikes above can be reached without a car, and many start right at a station.

The CFL have even waymarked 43 hikes designed station to station (the Hike & Rail offer): you walk from one station to another and take the train back, without having to loop all the way back to your starting point.

Three reflexes:

• One app: Mobiliteit.lu (ouvre dans un nouvel onglet), the official door-to-door planner for bus, tram and train. CFL mobile for live train times.
• Your bike travels for free on the train (subject to space), handy for lengthening or shortening a route.
• Start early, especially in the Mullerthal and towards the Upper-Sûre lake: rural buses are rare at the weekend, check the last return before you set off.

The same free transport also takes you to the lakes and pools where you can cool off.

The Mullerthal, Luxembourg's Little Switzerland

It's the country's best-known hiking region, and it works very well without a car. There's no longer a train to Echternach, but the RGTR bus takes you there from Luxembourg City, and from there you reach the trailheads. All free, of course.

The big classic is the loop past the Schiessentümpel, the little triple-arch waterfall you've definitely already seen in photos. Count on half a day, with steps, passages between the rocks and shade almost the whole way, perfect when it's hot. Shorter and family-friendly: the circuits around Berdorf, with caves and viewpoints. More sporty: the Echternach loop climbing up to the Wolf Gorge.

The tip: go on a weekday or early in the morning. The Schiessentümpel is the most photographed spot in the region, so the most crowded at the weekend.

The Mullerthal is a hit with families, just like our other ideas for outings with kids.

The Éislek, the northern Ardennes

This is where the train becomes your best ally. The northern line serves Ettelbruck, Kautenbach, Clervaux and Troisvierges, and the CFL have waymarked hikes that start at one station and finish at another: you walk one way and take the train back. The Clervaux to Drauffelt loop (8.4 km) is ideal for starting out, between the Clerve valley and forest.

For strong legs, the Lee Trail links Ettelbruck to Kautenbach over 53 km and three stages, along rocky ridges (the famous "lee"). And the best part: each stage starts and ends near a station, so you can do just one and take the train home in the evening. From Ettelbruck, buses also head to the Upper-Sûre lake and Vianden with its castle.

The Moselle and its vineyards

To the east, the Moselle means vineyards, sunshine and gentler trails. The finest car-free start is Manternach station: from there, an 11.5 km loop takes you into the Manternacher Fiels, the country's largest ravine forest, cool and moss-covered, with a vineyard planted deep in the woods and limestone cliffs. The trail brings you back to the station, so you just hop on the train.

A little further south, along the Moselle, the bus drops you at Ahn for a loop through the Palmberg vineyards, short and with a view over the river.

The Minett, the Red Lands

The south is the old iron country, now a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Minett Trail crosses the region over 90 km in ten stages, and several sections link two stations. The best for a first time: from Pétange station, walk 5.5 km to Fond-de-Gras, a former mining site turned open-air museum, through the Giele Botter reserve (an open-pit mine reclaimed by nature).

The bonus kids love: on summer Sundays you can ride back from Fond-de-Gras to Pétange aboard the Train 1900, a real steam locomotive. Further east, the section around Belval-Université mixes blast furnaces and forests, a stone's throw from the station.

The Guttland and the Valley of the Seven Castles

In the centre of the country, the Eisch valley lines up seven medieval castles over some forty kilometres: nowhere else in Europe will you find that many so close together. The catch when you don't have a car is that most of the loops around the castles start at their car parks.

The good way in is Mersch station. From there, a station-to-station CFL hike takes you to Mamer along the Mamer valley, its caves and Schoenfels castle: you walk one way and take the train back. And if you want to go further, Mersch is also the start of the national Eisch valley trail, which links the Seven Castles.