Hiking has become a well-loved pastime for an increasing number of the Grand Duchy's residents, especially since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Ministry of Tourism reports that the number of visitors to many of the country's hiking trails increased in 2020 compared to the previous year.

The Mëllerdall Trail counted no less than 160,000 walkers in 2020, an increase of 15,000 people compared to 2019. There was also a 25% increase in the number of visitors to the 158 kilometres of the Escapardenne trail.

5,000 kilometres of signposted footpaths are already available in Luxembourg. This began in the 1960s thanks to a boost from the Ministry of Tourism at the time.

Nowadays, 201 hiking trails are listed, and their distance varies from 4.3 to 15.7 kilometres. In addition, there are 43 CFL paths, 27 national footpaths, and numerous labelled walks and communal paths.

Luxembourg is also crossed by international routes such as the E2 European footpath which crosses Europe from Ireland to the French Riviera over more than 4,850 kilometres. The E3 route also passes through the Grand Duchy between the Algarve (Portugal) and Turkey over a total distance of almost 7,000 kilometres. The geoportail.lu website provides an overview of the various routes in Luxembourg.

Minett Trail to open this summer

As such, Luxembourg residents and hiking enthusiasts will likely be delighted to learn that a new hiking trail will be launched in July: the Minett Trail will stretch over 90 kilometres across the south of the country. This trail will be created in the framework of the Esch2022 European Capital of Culture campaign and will link Clémency to Bettembourg. The trail will connect the most beautiful places in the former mining basin of the Terres Rouges region and as of April 2022, 11 gîtes (small cottages) will offer hikers accommodation on site. Several architectural offices have selected unusual locations for these accommodations such as train carriages or the Bettembourg Park tower.

In addition to the permanent paths, an IVV walk is also planned by the various Luxembourg hiking associations every Sunday. The Luxembourg Hiking Federation features all the events on its website. If you like to walk in a group, you can join up to 1,600 people who participate in these hikes.