Cycling in Luxembourg, mixing pedals and trains

Luxembourg suits a bike in size, but it’s hillier than it looks on the map. That’s why I like the system it has built, in which the bike and the free train work as a pair. You ride what you want and do the rest sitting down.

A national network that keeps growing

CFL, the national railway, puts the national cycle network at more than 600 km and plans to take it to 950. In a country of 2,586 km², that’s enough to cross it several times without repeating a road. The Ministry of Mobility adds a figure that says a lot about local habits, with 58% of residents cycling in 2020 and two households in three owning at least one bike.

For a visitor, the appeal is that areas like the Mullerthal, the Moselle and the northern valleys have CFL routes starting at a station and RentaBike hire close by. The ministry itself admits that what’s lacking is infrastructure rather than enthusiasm, and most cyclists ask above all for lanes separated from cars, so take care on the roads. South of the capital, visitguttland highlights the Charly Gaul cycle path where it passes through Weiler-la-Tour. If you follow pro racing, the Tour de Luxembourg runs in mid-September, with more than 700 km over five stages in 2026. Other outdoor ideas are in things to do in Luxembourg.

How does taking a bike on the train work?

It’s the key to the whole thing. On domestic trains your bike travels free and needs no reservation, as long as there’s room on board. Platform screens show the train’s layout before it arrives, so you know where the bike compartment will stop, and the bike doors are green. Wheelchairs and buggies have priority, and you need to be able to lift the bike on and off yourself.

Crossing the border changes things. On many international journeys bike carriage is paid and may need a reservation. For Belgium, the Netherlands, Aachen and Trier, CFL’s machines sell a bike ticket. Inside stations, riding is banned, so push it. The lines themselves are in trains in Luxembourg.

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Bike & Rail, built to start and end on a train

CFL publishes a set of routes, lettered A to T, each starting and finishing at a station. Some are entirely in Luxembourg, such as Ettelbruck-Echternach-Wasserbillig, Luxembourg-Remich-Wasserbillig or Luxembourg-Mersch-Ettelbruck. Others cross into the neighbours, such as Kleinbettingen-Arlon, Luxembourg-Metz-Nancy, Wasserbillig-Koblenz or Clervaux-Cochem.

What I like about them is that they cover exactly the places the railway doesn’t. Echternach and Remich have no station, but a Bike & Rail route takes you through them and back to a station by the end of the day.

Hiring a bike in the capital and the regions

Luxembourg City runs vel’OH!, the municipal bike share, available round the clock, every day of the week. According to its Visit Luxembourg listing, every bike has electric pedal assist, with a range of 30 to 40 km and a 25 km/h cap, which is a real help in a city this hilly. I couldn’t find its fares as text on the official pages I was able to open, so I won’t quote one. To climb from the valleys to the old town without breaking a sweat, the Pfaffenthal lift has room for five cyclists and ten pedestrians per trip.

The tram is another ally in the city. Luxtram designed its trams with no step between platform and floor, explicitly with bikes, buggies and luggage in mind, and the funicular from the Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg halt links the railway with the Kirchberg plateau. Between the lift, the funicular and the tram, you can see the capital by bike without tackling its steepest climbs, which matters in a city where the Pfaffenthal sits 60 m below the old town.

Outside the capital, regional hire is RentaBike. The LuxembourgPass gives free hire at the points in Echternach, at the youth hostel, Wiltz and Diekirch-Ettelbruck, and 30% off at the Heringer Millen in the Mullerthal. If you were buying the pass for the castles anyway, the bike comes free.

Without the pass, RentaBike Mëllerdall lists day rates on its official page, from €20 for a city or trekking bike to €35 for an e-city bike, €40 for an e-mountain bike and €15 for a children’s mountain bike, with helmet, lock and pump at no charge. The best part of the scheme, to my mind, is that you collect the bike from one partner and return it to any other, whether a town hall, a shop or a campsite, and repairs are included in the price. Visit Luxembourg lists 36 hire points nationwide, and besides the Mullerthal ones (Grundhof, the Echternach and Beaufort youth hostels and the Rosport campsite) there’s RentaBike miselerland at Remich and Ehnen on the Moselle and the Camping de la Sûre in Diekirch.

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Parking, pumping and repairs

For parking, CFL’s bikebox network has 73 locked shelters, free to use, 63 of which sit beside a station. There are also repair points near stations, with tools and a pump for anyone who needs them, plus open, unsupervised racks. CFL recommends a helmet and, with children, a child seat, which you can bring or hire from the operator.

How I’d do it

My choice would be one stretch with character, say along the Moselle towards Remich or around Echternach in the Mullerthal, and arrive and leave by train, riding only the part that’s worth it. First time round, I’d hire from RentaBike with the LuxembourgPass rather than bring my own bike from the UK, since international rail bike carriage is the fiddly bit.

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