Hiking in Luxembourg: the Mullerthal Trail and the best trails

Luxembourg may be small, but for walkers it is unusually generous. In a country you can cross by train in under two hours, the landscape shifts from the wooded sandstone ravines of the east to the high ridges of the Ardennes in the north and the terraced vineyards along the Moselle in the south-east. Almost every trailhead sits beside a station or bus stop, and since 29 February 2020 all trains, trams and buses have been free for residents and visitors alike, which makes point-to-point hiking effortless.

The Mullerthal Trail: Luxembourg's Little Switzerland

The star attraction is the 112 km Mullerthal Trail, a "Leading Quality Trail – Best of Europe" that loops through the region known as Luxembourg's "Little Switzerland." Split into three main routes plus several shorter ExtraTours, it winds past surreal sandstone formations, mossy gorges and the much-photographed Schiessentümpel waterfall, whose three-arch stone bridge has been the symbol of the region since 1879. The historic town of Echternach serves as the cultural hub and a natural starting point.

The trail runs through the Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall, which was awarded UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2022. The geopark covers 256 km², and its Luxembourg Sandstone formation reaches up to 100 metres thick, forming one of the most spectacular sandstone landscapes in Western Europe.

The northern long-distance trails

The rugged Éislek (Oesling) region in the north is home to the cross-border Escapardenne, which links Luxembourg and Belgium. It combines two waymarked routes:

• Escapardenne Eislek Trail — 106 km, Kautenbach (LU) to La Roche-en-Ardenne (BE), 5 stages
• Escapardenne Lee Trail — 53 km, Ettelbruck to Kautenbach, 3 stages, opened in 2018
• Mullerthal Trail — 112 km, Mullerthal region (east), 3 routes

Together the Escapardenne forms roughly 159 km of continuous trail from Ettelbruck to La Roche-en-Ardenne. The Lee Trail follows rocky ridges ("Lee" comes from the Luxembourgish for crag), strings together more than thirty viewpoints, and stays close to the railway so each stage end has a station.

Circular walks and regional routes

You don't need days to spare. More than 200 signposted circular trails, the Auto-Pédestre network, are dotted across the five tourist regions, each marked with a blue diamond and ranging from 5 to 15 km so they always return you to your start.

• Auto-Pédestre circuits — 5–15 km each, all five regions
• Circuit du Lac / Éislek Pad — Upper Sûre lake, Obersauer Nature Park
• Palmberg Traumschleife — 8.4 km, Moselle vineyards near Ahn

In the south-east, the Moselle offers gentler walking among the vines, including the premium Traumschleifen (dream loops), while the Upper Sûre lake in the Obersauer Nature Park rewards walkers with lake panoramas and the ruins of Esch-sur-Sûre castle.

Why Luxembourg works for hikers

The appeal is the combination: genuinely varied landscapes within a short radius, dense and reliable waymarking, and that free public transport which turns linear routes into simple day trips. Distances are human-scale, accommodation is well distributed, and the trail quality labels (Best of Europe, Premiumweg) are not marketing fluff.

Practical tips

Start your planning on the official Visit Luxembourg hiking portal, which lists routes, GPX tracks and stage breakdowns. Late spring through early autumn (May–October) offers the most settled weather and the fullest waterfalls after rain; the sandstone paths of the Mullerthal can be slick and root-laced, so wear proper footwear. Carry a printed or offline map for the forested gorges where signal can drop, plan stages around stations to exploit free transport, and book Escapardenne accommodation ahead in summer. Whether you have an afternoon or a week, Luxembourg makes it remarkably easy to walk well.