Scams and tourist traps in Luxembourg

If you’re used to cities with polished scams, Luxembourg will feel like a holiday from them. I found no official source describing the usual catalogue of shell games, friendship bracelets or fake police. What it does have are small traps, mostly down to distraction or not knowing the rules, which cost money all the same. Here they are, with the most likely first and the rarest last.

Pickpockets, the number one trap

The FCDO doesn’t mince words. It says pickpockets work buses and railway stations, singling out the Gare de Luxembourg. Spain’s foreign ministry puts the old town and the area around the station at medium risk. And there’s one spot that surprised me, hotel lobbies around Findel near the airport, which the FCDO describes as hotspots for theft and pickpocketing.

Its advice is familiar but it works. Split your passport, cards and cash, keep bags within reach in bars and cafés, and stay alert near sights and ATMs. If you’re robbed, go to the nearest police station within a day to report it in person, and ask for a crime reference number. For police and embassy contacts, see is Luxembourg safe.

Can you get ripped off by a taxi?

It’s the only trap involving real money that official sources mention. Luxembourg’s taxi fares aren’t fixed, prices are set freely, and the FCDO warns that some cabs charge highly inflated prices. Its advice is to stick to official cabs at marked ranks, read the price list they must display and agree the per-kilometre rate before setting off. Evening and Sunday supplements are allowed, so don’t mistake those for a con.

The Ministry of Mobility sets out your rights too. The driver must take the shortest route; if you ask for another, you’ll be asked to sign a document. Since 1 September 2016 you don’t have to take the first taxi in the queue, and you can hail a free cab in the street if you’re more than 50 m from a rank. If you think you’ve been taken the long way, raise it with the driver or company first and, failing that, complain by online form or on (+352) 247-74444.

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

The ticket that doesn’t exist

I haven’t seen this one described by any official source, I’m deducing it from the rules. Buses and trams in Luxembourg have been free since 1 March 2020, and Luxtram says plainly that you no longer need a ticket. So if anyone at a stop offers you a ticket, card or travel pass for them, you know it’s a scam. What’s free and what isn’t is in Luxembourg free public transport.

The rail surcharge and other small print

On trains there’s a legal trap rather than a scam. Board without a first-class ticket or a ticket for the leg abroad and you’ll be sold one on board with a €1 to €9 surcharge, cash only. If the platform machine wasn’t working, CFL says to tell the staff straight away and they’ll sell you one. Note too that machine tickets are valid from printing and can’t be exchanged or refunded.

Another bit of small print, hotels in the capital add a 3% municipal levy on the pre-VAT room rate for guests not registered as residents. It’s a tax, not a con, but check whether your booking already includes it.

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

Money, data and passes

The FCDO warns generally that scammers target foreign visitors, and advises making sure you have all the information you need before handing over personal or bank details. For British visitors I’d add one habit. If a payment terminal offers sterling, decline it and pay in euros, leaving the exchange to your own bank at a rate you already know. I also buy tickets and passes only through official channels. The LuxembourgPass is sold through visitluxembourg’s online shop, its app, tourist offices and some attractions, and the guided casemate tours are sold by the LCTO itself.

My three rules

Rucksack on your front at the station and on the tram. Taxi price agreed before getting in. And tickets, passes and entry bought only from the official source. Do that and Luxembourg is one of the places I’d worry least about being taken for a ride.

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

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.