Luxemburg is a small sovereign state in Europe. Compared to the likes of France and Spain, Luxemburg is tiny, and it takes little more than an hour to drive from one border to another. People in Luxemburg love cycling and despite being such a small country, Luxemburg has produced five Tour De France winners, including Andy Schleck and Charly Gaul.
If you want to explore this fascinating country, travelling on two wheels is a great way to do it in a more relaxed fashion. Much of the country is rural, so the scenery is fantastic. You can cycle through the Ardennes in the north, visit rocky gorges in the east, and explore the capital without worrying about car parking issues.
Read on for a guide to cycling in Luxemburg.
Essential Information for a Luxemburg Cycling Tour
Luxemburg is not as cycle-friendly as the Netherlands, but new infrastructure is being put in place to encourage people to travel by bike and the country has a strong commitment to green transport.
Using Public Transport
The Multimodal policy is designed to allow people to switch from one form of transport to another. For example, you can cycle to a train station and then store your bicycle in a secure M-Box. Or you can take your bicycle on the train – train carriages always have space reserved for bikes. This is great if you wish to travel from one part of Luxemburg to another quickly, perhaps to catch a flight home.
Accommodation
Unless you are planning to camp as part of your cycle tour, finding bike-friendly accommodation will be a priority. Luckily, there are plenty of hostels and hotels that welcome visitors with bikes. The Bed+Bike Luxemburg scheme lists hotels and hostels that are bike-friendly. The site is currently only available in French and German, but it can still be searched for details of accommodations and their contact information.
Luggage
There are services that ship luggage from one place to another. If you would prefer not to carry all your luggage in panniers, sign up with the Move We Carry site. It costs 12 Euros for one item of luggage and one transfer. The website is easy to use and the service is available between April and November. All you need to do is organise your accommodation. Your luggage will be collected before 10 AM and then delivered before 4 PM, so you can look forward to changing clothes and having all your essentials on hand at the end of a long day’s cycling.
Bike Rental
While some people prefer to ship their own bike because it is comfortable and set up to their exact specifications, it is also possible to hire a bicycle for your trip. There are bicycle rental services in Luxemburg City and Esch-sur-Alzette. The bikes on offer are self-service, electric pedal-assisted and are perfect for exploring the cities. It costs as little as 2 Euros to hire a bike for one day.
Road Safety
If safety is a priority, perhaps because you are taking your kids along for the ride, you can relax. Luxemburg is one of the safest countries in Europe for cycle tours. Cycling in the city is always a risk because there are more vehicles on the road, but away from the city, there are plenty of charming, off-road cycle routes.
Luxemburg Cycle Routes
There are 23 national cycle trails in Luxemburg and many more kilometres of single-track suitable for mountain bikes.
The Mullerthal Region of Luxemburg has plenty of cycling routes for beginners and expert cyclists.
- The L1 for Beginners is a 30km loop that begins at Heringer Millen. It then heads through the Black Ernz valley, until it reaches Echternach, before looping back along the River Sûre.
- More experienced cyclists will enjoy the M1 The Castle Tour, a 64 km circular route from Beaufort with 1040m of elevation. It offers a great combination of cultural diversity, wonderful scenery, and challenging climbs.
- The S6 Charly Gaul A route (named after the TdF winner) is for serious cyclists looking for a challenge. The route is 161km with 2600m of elevation, although you don’t need to tackle it all in one day! The loop begins and finishes at Echternach and passes through the Black Ernz valley, Vianden, the Luxembourgish Ardennes, and several pretty villages.
The Red Rock Region is famous for its red canyons and the ruins of ancient settlements. The PC8 is a 42km cycling route from Belvaux to Tétange. It covers a lot of varied scenery but because it uses public roads, it isn’t suitable for families.
Families are well catered for in Luxemburg. The PC15 route has lots of kids’ playgrounds along the route and there are a few shorter cycle routes in the city, including the 5km Old Town route.
Plan Your Own Cycle Routes
Experienced cyclists may prefer to plan bespoke routes, in which case, a route planner tool like Komoot is pretty useful. Sign in and create a route then send it to a navigation device or the Komoot app on your phone. Routes can be filtered by difficulty, distance, and accessibility to public transport.
Organised Cycle Tours
Another option is to book an organised tour. A guided tour will show you the highlights of the region without the worry of navigation. Many companies offer guided cycling tours, ranging from short city tours lasting a few hours to week-long cycling holidays. If you are not confident about navigation and like the idea of someone else organising accommodation and luggage transfers, a cycle tour holiday is a great idea.
Cycling in Luxemburg is a fun and relaxed way to explore one of the smaller countries in Europe. Whether you are a keen road cyclist or are hoping to persuade your kids to embrace the joys of two wheels, why not start planning your next cycling holiday in Luxemburg? You won’t regret it!
