How to do Luxembourg on a budget without missing the good bits

Luxembourg is known as a pricey destination, and fairly so. Even so, it puts a lot within a visitor’s reach for free, starting with transport. Doing it on a budget isn’t about going without, it’s about knowing what costs nothing and spending where it counts. Beds are where most of the money goes, so I’ve listed the cheap hotels in Luxembourg separately. These are my tips, each with an official price behind it.

Getting around and sleeping, the two big costs

1. Spend nothing on transport

Obvious, maybe, but it changes the whole trip. Buses, trams, second-class trains and the funicular stopped charging fares on 1 March 2020, for everyone. That covers the airport tram into town and rail day trips to Clervaux or Esch-sur-Alzette. You don’t need to buy anything to get around within the country, and there’s no travelcard to load.

2. Sleep where it’s cheapest, not where everything is

With free trains, a hotel in Esch-sur-Alzette, Ettelbruck or any town with a direct station adds nothing in travel costs. In Luxembourg City, accommodation also charges a 3% municipal tax on the pre-VAT price to anyone not registered as resident. I couldn’t confirm whether other towns charge one. Compare several places before booking, since accommodation is the biggest cost of the trip, as I explain in is Luxembourg expensive.

Culture for free, or nearly

3. Free museums on weekday evenings

My favourite tip. The Mudam, the modern art museum, is free on Wednesdays from 18:00 to 21:00. The Natur Musée, on Tuesdays from 17:30. And the Dräi Eechelen, every Wednesday from 17:30 to 20:00, plus its final hour of opening. On a Wednesday evening you can pair the Dräi Eechelen with the Mudam, which sit next to each other in Kirchberg.

4. Under 21 or 26? Nearly everything is free

The Mudam and the Natur Musée are free for under-21s and students. The Dräi Eechelen, for under-26s. Travelling with teenagers or as a student, culture in the capital costs next to nothing.

5. The pass, only for castles and in a group

The LuxembourgPass costs €23 a day per person, but the group version, for three to five, is €55. Split five ways, that’s €11 a head, when Vianden Castle alone costs €13. For a family or group of friends heading north, it’s excellent value. For a city break, it isn’t. I go into it in LuxembourgPass.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Esch-sur-Alzette on Booking.com and filter by area before price.

Small savings every day

6. Left luggage instead of extra hotel time

If your flight or train home leaves late, don’t pay to keep the room. Left luggage at the central station, run by CFL, costs €3 for under four hours and €5 up to 24, open from 06:15 to 21:30. The airport has none.

7. Tap water and fountains

Official advice says tap water is treated and safe to drink, and visitluxembourg notes there are public fountains. A refillable bottle saves a small but daily cost in a country where everything you buy is pricey.

Day trips, driving and what costs nothing

8. Buy the cross-border ticket before you board

On a day trip to Trier, Arlon or Metz, the Luxembourg section is free but the foreign one isn’t. Buy it at the station machine, which works 24 hours, because on board CFL adds a €1 to €9 surcharge and only takes cash.

9. Castles and viewpoints with no ticket

Koerich and Brandenbourg castles are open access, and the capital’s best viewpoints, such as the Chemin de la Corniche, cost nothing. The full list is in free things to do in Luxembourg.

10. Driving? Violet zone or the station

In the capital, the violet parking zone costs €0.50 per hour and lets you stay up to ten hours, against €2 in the orange zone. And CFL says most of its station car parks are free, so leaving the car at a station and taking the free train in is the cheapest option.

If you asked me where to start, I’d start with accommodation and the calendar. Book a hotel out of the centre on a direct train line and put a Tuesday or Wednesday in the capital to catch the free museum evenings. Make those two decisions and you’ve done half the saving. Watch your UK card’s foreign transaction fees too, and when a terminal offers to charge in pounds, I’d pick euros.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Esch-sur-Alzette on Expedia and filter by area before price.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Esch-sur-Alzette and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Luxembourg before you arrive rather than at the desk.

If you still need a way in, check the best ticket deals to Luxembourg from where you are.