Parc Merveilleux, fairy tales and Luxembourg's only zoo

The commune of Bettembourg says it with pride. Every child in the Grand Duchy has been to the Parc Merveilleux. It’s a 25-hectare park on the route de Mondorf with a fairy-tale forest, animals from five continents, a mini train and nine play areas, and visitluxembourg points out that its reputation reaches well beyond the border. If you’re travelling with young children, it’s one of the most complete days out in the country.

What’s inside

Three things rolled into one. First, the fairy-tale forest, where Snow White, Cinderella and other characters come to life in animated scenes. Second, the animals. The park says it’s Luxembourg’s only zoo, with nearly 200 species from Africa, the Americas, Australia, Asia and Europe. Two tropical houses, Amazonia and Mahajanga, are walk-through, so you meet the animals without barriers, and there’s a petting zoo where children can stroke the pygmy goats. visitluxembourg mentions pelicans, flamingos, monkeys and crocodiles, plus aquariums and terrariums.

Third, play. There are nine play areas, a giant spider’s web to climb, a “bird village” with a view from the top, a maze, crazy golf and the giant lying next to the playground, the park’s emblem, which children clamber over all day. The mini train, pony express and mini cars run on tokens.

How much is it?

A dated ticket costs €15 for adults and €11 for children aged 3 to 14. An open-dated ticket goes up to €17 and €13. Under-3s go free, and students, over-60s and disabled visitors pay €13. Token rides are extra, €1.50 a go or €12 for ten tokens, which stay valid in later years.

The best shortcut is the LuxembourgPass. According to visitluxembourg, entry to the park is free with it. If you already have one for other visits, this is where it pays for itself.

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

For children who want more

The park runs a zoo school with workshops by age and a “junior keeper” programme for children aged 6 to 12, who learn what the keepers do on set days. Some animals can be fed with food sold at the token till and in the shop, and the packet tells you which ones. You can also sponsor an animal and get a certificate and a plaque with your name on the sponsors’ board, an unusual present for a child who comes home besotted with one of the animals.

Opening times and season

In 2026 the park opens every day, Sundays and public holidays included, until 11 October. The tills run from 9:30 to 18:00 and the park closes at 19:00. In September 2026 the website hadn’t yet published the 2027 season, so if you’re going in spring, check first. The park warns that it doesn’t refund tickets for bad weather.

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

Getting there

There’s a free car park opposite with more than 200 spaces. Without a car, take the train to Bettembourg and then a bus. From Monday to Saturday, bus 550 leaves the station every 30 minutes, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays a free shuttle runs every 20 minutes from 11:20 between the park, the Krackelshaff park and ride and the station. With Luxembourg’s free public transport, the trip from the capital costs nothing.

A park with a story

It was the idea of Willem Ter Braake, a Dutch landscape designer who proposed building a park like this in Luxembourg. The commune backed him, local businesspeople raised the money, work began in 1955 and it opened the following year. It had its heyday in the 1970s and then stagnated. At the end of 1997 the APEMH, an association that provides training and work for people with intellectual disabilities, bought a majority stake and renovated it. In 2023 it set a record with 290,000 visitors.

That second life is what I find most compelling here, and a good reason to spend your money here rather than at a chain theme park.

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

More nearby

Inside there’s an à la carte restaurant and a self-service cafeteria with a covered terrace, and the park and restaurant are wheelchair accessible, with three adapted toilets. At the entrance, built like a castle gate, is one of the Minett Trail hikers’ lodges, as the trail finishes here. Another family outing covered by the same pass is the pair of rural and carriage museums at Peppange, in Roeser. For more ideas around the country, see Luxembourg with kids.

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.