Holiday apartments in Luxembourg, and why your own kitchen matters here

A holiday flat is the first thing many people look for when planning a trip, and in Luxembourg the figures say that kind of accommodation is growing. It’s worth understanding what’s counted and what isn’t, though, because the official statistics don’t separate apartments from everything else, and I won’t give you a number that doesn’t exist.

What the numbers say

STATEC publishes the country’s tourist capacity by type of accommodation. In 2025 it counted 182 hotels, 64 campsites and 126 short-stay establishments that are neither, with 3,613 bed places. A year earlier there were 96. That category includes the eight youth hostels of the national network; the rest are mostly apartments, holiday homes and guest rooms.

Those 126 units clocked up 301,762 nights in 2025, against more than two million in hotels. In other words, holiday flats are still a small, if growing, part of tourist accommodation in Luxembourg. It’s growing from a low base, so bear it in mind if you’re after a flat in a small village in high summer, because there won’t be many to choose from and I’d book well ahead.

When does an apartment make sense?

For me, when the trip runs to more than three nights and when you’re travelling as a family or a group. Luxembourg has a standard VAT rate of 17%, so being able to eat breakfast and dinner at home is where the real saving lies. For shorter stays, compare it first with the cheap hotels in Luxembourg. On a two-night break, though, a hotel is usually easier, with a reception desk, no key handover to arrange and no final cleaning to think about.

I have no official price source comparing flats and hotels, so I won’t tell you which is cheaper per night. I’ll tell you where the saving is guaranteed, and that’s the supermarket. Remember too that shops can open no later than 9pm on weekdays and 7pm at weekends under the 2025 law, so a late arrival may mean shopping the next morning.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

In the capital, follow the tram

If you’re renting in Luxembourg City, my rule is the same as for hotels. A flat in a residential district next to the tram beats a central one with no transport. The T1 tram line covers 16 km and 24 stops between the airport and Stadion, via Kirchberg, Hamilius and the central station, and since 1 March 2020 it’s been free, like all Luxembourg free public transport.

There’s another thing worth asking about. The capital’s tax rules, when they set the 3% tourist tax on the pre-VAT price, refer to furnished rooms and apartments in hotels, hostels and guesthouses. The text I’ve seen dates from 2021, and I’ve no confirmation it still applies in 2026. If your flat is in the city, ask whether the tax is included in the total.

Up north, a place with a view

Where apartments really come into their own is in the countryside. visitluxembourg mentions holiday flats in Vianden, beneath its castle, and in Esch-sur-Sûre, by the Upper Sûre lake, plus holiday lets in Diekirch. For a summer week with children, a place in one of those villages strikes me as a better plan than any hotel.

The line between this and a cottage is a fine one. Here I mean a flat or studio in a village; if you’re after a whole house in the countryside, a gîte or a room on a farm, see holiday cottages in Luxembourg.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

What about Esch-sur-Alzette?

Plenty of people look for flats in Esch-sur-Alzette, the country’s second city, and it makes sense. It has free trains to the capital and sits outside the scope of Luxembourg City’s tax rules. For a longer stay on a tighter budget, I’d consider it. The background on the area is in hotels in Esch-sur-Alzette.

What I’d check before paying

First, how keys are collected, because without a reception desk a late arrival gets complicated. Second, whether the price includes final cleaning and taxes. Third, where you’ll park, because street parking in the capital costs €0.50 to €2 an hour. And fourth, as ever, that there’s a bus, tram or train stop a few minutes away.

If a hotel suits you better after all, where to stay in Luxembourg breaks it down by area. And for keeping the whole budget in check, not only the accommodation, find out whether Luxembourg is expensive.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Luxembourg on GetYourGuide.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Luxembourg: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.