Minett Trail: Pétange – Differdange

• Start at Pétange Gare. Parking available on Rue de Niederkorn.
• End at Differdange Gare. Ride the train back to the start!
• Medium difficulty 16.5km hike, but we recommend splitting it into shorter family-friendly segments.

Three hikes in one, that’s what this section of the “Minett Trail” is, really…

The first section leads you from Pétange station to the “Fond-de-Gras” historical site, the second from Fond-de-Gras to the charming village of Lasauvage, and the third through peaceful woods into the bustling town of Differdange. All three sections are approximately the same length (5-6km) and served by buses or trains.

But the truth is: only one of these mini-hikes is truly worth exploring. Another is rather pleasant if you have the time… and the third is remarkably unremarkable.

So, which is which? Let’s dive deeper. Scroll to the end for practical tips and recommendations.

DEFINITELY WORTH IT – Pétange to Fond-de-Gras (5.5km)

A classic “Red Rocks Region” hiking segment. You encounter vestiges of Pétange’s mining heritage almost immediately upon entering the forest (see top left photo), then soon enter the intriguing “Giele Botter“, an area which was once an open-pit mine but is now a nature reserve home to astonishingly diverse flora and fauna. It is utterly fascinating to see how the scars left by mankind’s decades of exploitation are being reclaimed by nature.

As you wind your way towards the top of the old mine, the iron-rich rocks visible at every turn, you start to take in sweeping views over France, Belgium and Luxembourg before descending steeply down into the Fond-de-Gras.

TIP: Plan your hike for a Sunday or public holiday between May and September. Then, instead of continuing, simply ride the “Train 1900” steam engine back to your starting point.

The “Train 1900” isn’t the only attraction at Fond-de-Gras: there’s a mining train too, and you can rent “draisines” to make your own way along the railway lines. There’s also two cafés, a steam train workshop and other Industrial Revolution remnants to wander around and I noted that they are building a new swish-looking playground too. In short, this is a wonderful place for a Sunday afternoon with the family and, frankly, you really shouldn’t feel obliged to walk any further.

But… if you DO still wish to make full use of those expensive hiking boots…

RATHER PLEASANT – Fond-de-Gras to Lasauvage (5km)

Lasauvage is definitely one of the more interesting villages in Luxembourg. Squeezed into a heavily-wooded and steep-sided valley at the very south-west corner of the country, you’d probably have to look twice at a map to spot it at all, and you’d need a very good reason to actually try to go there. Luckily, such a reason exists: it’s simply a lovely, peaceful place with an atmosphere and style all of its own: colourful and well-tended mining houses with abundant gardens backing onto neat parkland and crystal-clear ponds laden with fresh frogspawn.

Strictly speaking, Lasauvage isn’t entirely in Luxembourg: the border with France meanders through the central “village green”-type park area like a drunken duck. There’s even – somehow – room in the village for a small football stadium, which you literally need to wander through if you want to follow the trail. Hike this trail on a matchday and you might get brought on as a sub!

In short, Lasauvage is arguably well worth a 5km hike from Fond-de-Gras, but not necessarily an 11km hike from Pétange. The trail between Fond-du-Gras and Lasauvage itself isn’t anything special: a typically pleasant plod through beech forest that you can do anywhere in Luxembourg. Your call.

UNREMARKABLE – Lasauvage to Differdange (6km)

I can always tell, in hindsight, if a hike is scenic or not by looking at my photos. If I have simply taken lots of photos of signs or trail markers, then there is not much to see… and that is literally ALL that I took when on this section of the trail.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. We did find this curious addition to an otherwise-standard forest bench:

But, as we soon discovered, this amusing sculpture isn’t on the Minett Trail at all, and we were – and I don’t like to admit this very often – completely lost. Perhaps that’s what the sculpture represents: a poor hiking soul who started off on the Minett Trail from Pétange with good intentions, lost his way, sat down to find his bearings and simply never made it?

Luckily we didn’t end up the same way; Differdange finally came into view and we were soon on the train back towards Pétange with over 18km in our legs.

In summary (recommendations):

• The 5.5km trail between Pétange and Fond-de-Gras is an superb showcase for the Red Rocks region. We recommend to hike this segment on a Sunday in summer, then ride the “Train 1900” steam engine back to Pétange. The kids will love it!
• Lasauvage is a pleasant village, worthy of being the target destination for a hike at any time of year. There are direct buses from there to Differdange.
• The section from Lasauvage to Differdange is unremarkable and should only be explored if you’re attempting to cover the complete “Minett Trail”.

Links:

• Official website
• Minett Trail on Geoportal
• Our route on Komoot

(c) 2025 Jonathan Orr