Trens para Stad Lëtzebuerg

The city of Luxembourg is one of Europe’s smaller and often overlooked capitals. It enjoys a superb location on high ground. So it’s no surprise that the historic centre is often referred to as the Ville Haute (High Town). Two rivers, the Pétrusse and the Alzette, have carved deep gorges through the heart of the city, making Luxembourg a very scenic town with lots of steep slopes. There is a fine traffic-free central area around the Place d'Armes.

The capital's main railway station in the heart of the city lies two kilometres south of the Ville Haute. It is the jumping-off point for local services to nearby towns such as Metz and Nancy (both in France), Trier (Germany) and Arlon (Belgium), all about an hour away. The best short excursion by train within Luxembourg is the ride north from the capital to Clervaux and beyond. This line, which continues over the border to Liège in Belgium, is full of scenic highlights. From Luxembourg to Clervaux takes just an hour.

The city of Luxembourg makes a perfect first stop on the continent for travellers from Britain setting off to explore Europe by rail. The fastest route is usually via Paris (which requires an easy change of stations). The route from London via Brussels takes a little longer, but offers better scenery.

There are direct TGV services to Dijon, Lyon, and Montpellier. Closer to hand, there is an hourly direct train to Koblenz in the Rhine Valley. It is a journey of just two-and-a-half hours, but one noted for its memorable scenery as the train follows the Moselle Valley downstream towards the Rhine.