Hiring a car in Luxembourg, from the desk to the open road

Hiring a car in Luxembourg is easy, and nearly everyone does it in the same place, Findel airport. What’s worth doing first is deciding what you want it for, because in the capital you won’t need it and everywhere else it opens a lot of doors. Here’s where the firms are, when they open and what I’d check before signing.

At the airport, from arrivals to level -2

Once you’ve collected your bags on level -1, the desks are right there, and the cars sit one floor down in indoor car park A, with signs to follow, as lux-Airport explains. Seven brands have a desk (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty and Sixt) and an eighth, UFO Drive, works purely through its app. Flex car sharing is also available every day.

The detail that matters most is opening hours, because they differ. On weekdays most open from 08:00 to 20:00, with Enterprise until 22:30. Saturdays close earlier, Avis at 16:00 and the rest at 17:00. Sunday is where it can catch you out, because Avis opens at 12:00, Sixt at 13:30, and Enterprise and Hertz at 14:30. Only Europcar opens on Sunday morning, from 09:00 to 17:00. If you land early on a Sunday, choose the firm by its hours.

Your UK licence and the hire firm’s terms

Your photocard licence is fine for a year in Luxembourg. The catch is the hire firm, which can set tougher conditions than the law, typically a year behind the wheel, a higher age limit or an international permit, according to the UK government. Each firm sets its own conditions, so read them before paying.

Remember too that you’ll be driving a left-hand-drive car on the right. If that’s new to you, the airport is a calmer place to start than the city streets.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

Other firms and car sharing

visitluxembourg publishes a non-exhaustive list of hire firms that includes ACL, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise, Europcar, Sixt, Hertz and UFO Drive, plus two car-sharing schemes, Flex, run by the railway company CFL, and Carloh. For a few hours around town, car sharing can work out better than a full-day hire.

Before you drive off

Take photos of the car before leaving the car park, check the fuel level matches the paperwork, and make sure you know which fuel it takes. Those three minutes can save an argument at the return desk.

Check whether the contract lets you cross borders. Luxembourg is surrounded by France, Belgium and Germany, and it’s easy to leave the country without noticing. Ask before you sign, and keep your passport on you for the German side, where temporary checks are in place.

In winter, check the tyres. In icy, snowy or frosty conditions, winter or all-weather tyres marked M+S or with the alpine symbol are compulsory on all wheels, and the fine falls on the driver.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

Returning the car with time to spare

When you drop it off, remember the airport operator recommends being in the terminal two hours before your flight, and add time for refuelling and the handover check. On an early flight, note that no desk opens before 08:00 on weekdays, according to the airport’s website. That page doesn’t explain out-of-hours returns, so ask when you book rather than finding out on your last morning.

Fuel and parking

When you bring the car back full, it helps to know Luxembourg has an official maximum fuel price, published by STATEC. At the end of September 2026 the ceiling sat at roughly €1.84 for unleaded and €2.10 for diesel. More in petrol prices in Luxembourg.

With a car in the capital, street parking is charged by the hour and the rate depends on the colour of the zone. Zones and park-and-ride are in parking in Luxembourg.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Luxemburgo and choose by the reviews.

How I’d plan it

On a trip of several days I wouldn’t collect the car on landing. I’d spend the city days without one, on free trams and buses, and hire it for the day the tour of the north, the Mullerthal or the Moselle begins. The road rules, limits and paperwork are in driving in Luxembourg, and a suggested route in Luxembourg road trip.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Luxembourg on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.