Luxembourg sightseeing train, the Grund without the hills

Luxembourg City has two storeys and a very long staircase between them. Upstairs is the old town; downstairs are the Grund, Clausen and the Pfaffenthal, beside the Alzette. Going down is a pleasure, while coming back up can feel like a punishment, depending on the day. That’s what the sightseeing train is for, a little road train that loops round the lower town and brings you back up without a thought for the gradients.

From Pétrusse Express to City Train

Many people still look it up under the old name, Pétrusse Express, and the city tourist office still files it under that name. Today it’s sold as the City Train in the old town and run by an outside company, sightseeing.lu, which publishes the exact timetable. It leaves from Montée de Clausen, right by the Bock rock, and the ride takes about 40 minutes according to the tourist office.

Along the way, the operator lists the Rives de Clausen, the Grund, the 1735 castle bridge that links the upper town with the Bock, and the Pfaffenthal panoramic lift. There’s an audio guide in eight languages, English included. It runs every day from late March to early November, so from November 2026 you’ll have to wait for spring.

Prices and how to save

An adult ticket costs €14.50 as of September 2026. Students aged 13 to 20 and over-65s pay €12, children aged 4 to 12 pay €10 and under-4s go free. There’s a family ticket at €42 for two adults and one to three children, which already pays off with two kids.

The combined ticket with the Bock Casemates is €23.50 per adult. Since the casemates’ guided visit costs €20 on its own, you save €11 on buying the two separately, and they start from almost the same spot. The tourist office also sells a combo of the train with entry to the city’s seven museums, valid for 48 hours over two consecutive days.

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The bus tour, a different beast

The Luxembourg City Bus Tour is the bigger-wheeled version. It leaves from boulevard de la Pétrusse, by the Spuerkeess headquarters, and in 75 minutes takes in the Gare, Place de la Constitution and its Gëlle Fra, the Malakoff Tower of 1861, the viaduct, the view over the Pfaffenthal and Kirchberg with the Philharmonie. It costs €25 for adults and runs from early March to early November.

One important warning. It is not a hop-on hop-off bus. The tourist office is clear that it makes no stops, so it’s a panoramic drive with a commentary and little more. If you were hoping for hop-on hop-off transport around the city, the tourist office doesn’t offer one.

How to fit it into your day

I’d slot it in early in the afternoon, after the old town in the morning. You set off from Montée de Clausen by the Bock, loop through the Grund and Clausen and come back up without climbing a single hill. If you bought the combined ticket, you can link it with the guided casemates visit, which starts a few steps away. And if the lower town catches your eye, walk back down to the Grund afterwards for dinner.

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Is it worth it?

It comes down to who you’re travelling with. With young children, a pushchair or older relatives, the train strikes me as a good buy, because it turns the steepest part of the city into a gentle 40-minute ride and leaves energy for the rest of the day. The same goes for a first afternoon, before you’ve worked out how the two levels fit together.

If you’re fit, I’d skip it. The Pfaffenthal lift drops 71 m for free between 5:45 and 1:00, the tram and buses are free nationwide, and the Grund is an easy morning on foot.

The bus tour is harder to justify. The Luxembourg tram crosses the Red Bridge to Kirchberg for nothing and lets you get off wherever you like, which is exactly what the bus doesn’t do. I’d only take it on a wet day with little time, to get the commentary without leaving your seat.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Luxemburgo on GetYourGuide.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Luxembourg: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.