Things to do in Luxembourg beyond sightseeing

There are two ways to do Luxembourg. One is to tick off the monuments in the capital and fly home thinking it’s a country of office blocks. The other is to get out, walk, ride up something and go down into something, and that’s where the country wins. This ranking is about activities rather than places. For the places themselves, with scores, head to places to visit in Luxembourg.

Walking is what Luxembourg does best

If I had to recommend a single activity, it would be walking. The Mullerthal in the east is a sandstone forest threaded with tight rock corridors, wooden steps and footbridges, and its long-distance path holds the European walking label Leading Quality Trails. You don’t have to tackle all 112 km. A half-day stretch from Echternach or from the hamlet of Müllerthal will take you past the Wolfsschlucht or the Schiessentümpel, and the bus there is free.

Up north, the Escapardenne links two routes through the Ardennes, the Lee Trail and the Éislek Trail, 159 km in total. The second one crosses into Belgium and finishes at La Roche-en-Ardenne, although about 50 km of it stays on Luxembourg soil. Down south, the Minett Trail covers 90 km in ten stages through old mines and nature reserves, with eleven huts, the Kabaisercher, along the way. I gather every route in hiking in Luxembourg. If you’d rather cycle, Luxembourg’s cycle network already tops 600 km, with 950 planned, and bikes go on the train when there’s space, which makes a big difference in a country this size. The detail is in cycling in Luxembourg.

Going up, going down

Luxembourg is all changes of level, and several of its best experiences come down to that. In the capital, the panoramic lift drops from Pescatore park to the Pfaffenthal and the funicular climbs from the valley to the Kirchberg in 63 seconds, both free. Underground, the Bock Casemates now come as a guided tour at €20, and it’s the one thing I’d book ahead in high season.

At Vianden, the chairlift is the only one in the country and leaves you 440 m above the Our with the castle straight ahead. It runs from April to mid-October, so on a winter trip don’t count on it.

If you’d rather see the country from the air, visitluxembourg lists three options in the north, and each works differently. A balloon is the easiest for a visitor. Ballooning 50° Nord flies from Fouhren from mid-April to October, with flights at first light or towards the end of the day, and you book on its website. Tandem skydiving is run by the Cercle Para at Noertrange airfield, again bookable online. Paragliding is another matter, because the Cumulux club flies at Gringlee, Kautenbach and Michelau with members only and opens up to outsiders for one tandem weekend a year. For me the balloon is the splurge that pays off, with the Éislek laid out below you at dawn.

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

Water in summer, wine all year

Between 1 May and 30 September you can swim in the lakes, always in the designated areas. The Upper Sûre is the largest in the country, with a watersports base at Lultzhausen and the Burfelt platform 70 m above the water. Echternach’s lake is smaller and has a swimming area at Adventure Island from 7:00 to 22:00, and in the south there are the Remerschen lakes beside the Haff Réimech reserve. I compare them all in swimming lakes in Luxembourg.

The Moselle is another story. There are more than 40 wine cellars and estates, and two of the big names welcome visitors, Bernard-Massard in Grevenmacher and Caves St Martin in Remich. The local sparkling wine, Crémant de Luxembourg, has been made to its own rules since 1991, from grapes picked by hand, pressed whole and left nine months on the lees. To add the river, sightseeing boats leave from the quays and longer trips go as far as Trier or Thionville. I’d go in the second half of the afternoon, when the sun drops over the vines.

What can you do in Luxembourg with children?

My favourite family day is in the south. The Train 1900 steam train runs from Pétange to Fond-de-Gras, and from there the Minièresbunn heads through an old mine to Lasauvage, from 1 May to the last weekend of September. At Rumelange, the National Mining Museum takes you into the gallery on a mine train, €14 an adult if you book. Everything else for families, parks and museums included, is in Luxembourg with kids.

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

Festivals worth planning a trip around

Two events transform the capital. Winterlights, the Christmas markets and street entertainment, opens on 20 November 2026 and carries on until 3 January 2027. In summer, the Schueberfouer funfair fills the Champ du Glacis from 20 August to 8 September 2027, every day from midday to one in the morning. In between comes National Day on 23 June, with fireworks from the Adolphe Bridge the night before. The full calendar is in Luxembourg events.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Echternach 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.