Running, cycling and swimming in Luxembourg City

Luxembourg City is built on a plateau cut by two deep valleys, which makes it one of the better small cities in Europe to be active in and one of the more demanding. There are green corridors running through the middle of the capital, a national cycle network that reaches the borders, and a swimming complex on Limpertsberg built to international standard. There are also a great many hills, and anyone who starts running here without expecting them learns quickly.

Running

The valleys

The Pétrusse and Alzette valleys run through the middle of the capital and carry paths for most of their length. This is the city's great advantage: you can run for an hour on soft ground, under trees, beside water, without leaving the centre.

• The Pétrusse valley, from the Gare district under the viaducts toward Merl, gives a long flat-ish corridor with the city above you.
• The Alzette, through the Grund and Clausen and on toward Pfaffenthal and Dommeldange, is the other axis.
• The two connect, which makes a genuine long run possible entirely on paths.

The parks and the forest

• Parc de Merl and the municipal parks for shorter loops.
• The Bambesch, above Rollingergrund, for forest trails and hills.
• The Grunewald, on the eastern side, for the same at greater scale.
• Kirchberg's parks for flat, well-lit running close to the offices.

Practical points

• The hills are not optional. Any route between the plateau and a valley involves a serious climb, and the stairs between levels are a training tool in themselves.
• Winter running is dark. A head torch and reflective kit are sensible from November.
• The ING Night Marathon in the capital is the country's main running event and fills early.
• Running clubs exist in the capital and the communes and are a straightforward way to meet people.

Cycling

The network

Luxembourg has a national cycle route network, waymarked and largely off-road, running along the river valleys and the former railway lines. The valley routes are flat and well surfaced; anything crossing between valleys is not.

• The Moselle route east, along the river through the vineyards.
• The Sûre and Our routes north, through the Ardennes valleys.
• The Alzette route through the capital and north toward Mersch and Ettelbruck.
• The southern routes through the Minett and the former mining landscape.
• Cross-border connections into Germany, Belgium and France.

Cycling in the city

• Vél'OH!, the capital's bike-sharing scheme, with electric bikes and stations across the city.
• Cycle lanes have expanded considerably and remain patchy in places.
• The topography is the real constraint. An electric bike changes urban cycling here from an effort into a genuine transport option, and a large share of regular commuters use one.
• Bikes travel free on trains within Luxembourg subject to conditions, which opens up one-way routes.
• Secure storage is a real consideration. Ask about a bike room when viewing an apartment.

Swimming

• The Coque on Limpertsberg is the national centre, with an Olympic pool, a diving pool and a substantial fitness offering. It is the best facility in the country and it is on the tram line.
• Municipal pools operate in the capital and in many communes, at low cost, with lane swimming, family sessions and lessons.
• Badanstalt, the historic municipal baths in the Ville-Haute, is a smaller and considerably older experience.
• Outdoor swimming in summer at the Upper Sûre lake, in designated bathing areas only, and at the outdoor pools in several communes.
• Swimming lessons for children are widely available and are treated as a standard part of childhood here.

Gyms and clubs

• Commercial gyms operate across the capital and the communes at prices in line with everything else here.
• Communal facilities are frequently excellent and considerably cheaper, and they are underused by international residents who do not know they exist.
• Clubs cover athletics, triathlon, cycling, swimming, tennis, martial arts and much else, at low membership costs, and they are the social route as well as the sporting one.
• Ask the commune what it runs. This is the single most useful question and almost nobody asks it.

Where you live changes what you do

• Limpertsberg has the Coque and the Glacis and is above two valleys.
• Rollingergrund, Eich and Dommeldange have the Bambesch and the Grunewald at the top of the slope.
• The Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal put you on the valley path, at the cost of a climb home.
• Bonnevoie and the Gare reach the Pétrusse corridor easily.
• Kirchberg and Cloche d'Or have flat, well-maintained parks and less variety.
• The communes generally have better facilities per resident than the capital and a trailhead at the end of the street.

Being able to leave the front door and start running is worth more than a gym membership, and it is one of the few housing questions with a clear answer.

The winter problem, and how people solve it

From November to February there is very little daylight outside working hours, and this is where most exercise routines in Luxembourg fall apart.

• Move it to the morning. The one change that works. Early daylight also helps with the wider winter effect described elsewhere in this journal.
• Use the lunch hour, which in an office district with a valley path nearby is the only daylight you will see.
• Head torch and reflective kit for anything after work, and the valley paths are unlit.
• Pools do not care about the weather, and the municipal ones are cheap and open all winter.
• Indoor clubs, badminton, volleyball, climbing and martial arts, run through the winter and have the social advantage of a fixed weekly slot with other people.
• An indoor trainer for cyclists, which is how most regular riders here get through January.

The households that stay active through a Luxembourg winter are the ones with a fixed commitment involving other people. Individual motivation does not survive four months of dark afternoons; a team expecting you on Tuesday does.

Three questions we are asked

Is it a good city to run in?

Unusually good, because of the valleys, and demanding because of the hills. An hour on soft ground without leaving the centre is possible in very few capitals of this size.

Is cycling to work realistic?

With an electric bike, yes, for a large share of journeys. Without one, it depends entirely on whether your route crosses a valley. The network is good, the infrastructure in the city is improving, and the topography is the limiting factor rather than the traffic.

What does it cost?

Commercial gyms are expensive, as everything is. Communal pools and sports facilities are cheap, and club membership is very cheap by international standards. The outdoors is free and there is a great deal of it.

Where this fits

A trailhead or a valley path within five minutes of the door is one of the things households rate highest after a year and rarely ask about before signing. Tell us if it matters and we will filter for it.

A useful way to test cycling is to run a normal-day scenario. For the question raised by “Cycling”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

For gyms and clubs, note what you can see, what you can measure, what you need to ask and what would be expensive to change. For the question raised by “Cycling”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

For swimming, measurement is often more revealing than opinion. For the question raised by “Swimming”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

For where you live changes what you do, this is especially useful because the first impression can be misleading.

Every strong property choice contains a trade-off, and gyms and clubs is no exception. For the question raised by “Gyms and clubs”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

A stronger reading of running starts by asking what would change for the resident on an ordinary weekday.