Welcome to the first Luxembourg Outdoors monthly newsletter: my short round-up of recent adventures, seasonal hiking ideas and news from the trails. Think of it as your useful monthly nudge to get outside and explore a little more of Luxembourg on foot.
April Highlights
The biggest news this month is personal: after twenty years of living in the Mullerthal region, I’ll be moving back to Luxembourg City this summer!
For Luxembourg Outdoors, that should mean a wider spread of trails being featured. Until now, I’ve naturally focused mainly on the Mullerthal and Éislek regions, but being based in the city should make it easier to explore more of the south, west and Moselle regions too. Better transport links should also mean more short cross-border hops into the German Moselle / Saarland, France and Belgium.
To prepare for this change, my main April project was checking out three of Luxembourg City’s best walks: the Wenzel, Vauban and Mansfeld circular trails. All under 5km, all fabulous, and together they reminded me just how beautiful the capital can be on foot: angular fortifications, modern vs traditional architecture, dreamy valley views and, perhaps above all else, the confirmation that Luxembourg really is the green heart of Europe.
Outside the capital, I got absolutely battered by the weather way up north on the Éislek Pad Heinerscheid and took a group through the dark passages of the Consdorf C2. I also discovered Luxembourg’s longest accessible railway tunnel on the Auto-Pédestre Hobscheid, and my article on this was, perhaps surprisingly, the most popular post on the website this month.
News from the trails
Visit Moselle contacted me with the happy news that the wonderful Traumschleife Manternacher Fiels trail has reopened after a lengthy closure. This is one of the very best trails in the Moselle region and – bonus! – easily accessible by train directly from Luxembourg City. Definitely one for your to-do list.
They also told me about two newly opened trails for 2026: the local hiking trail GM2 in Grevenmacher, and the MN3 local trail near Berbourg. I hope to check both out over the next month or two.
Recommended trails for May
May is the month when the rapeseed bloom show is in full swing across the fields of central Europe, seas of yellow across Luxembourg’s ocean of green.
But it is also wild orchid season: shy, capricious flowers, that you’ll only find blooming if the conditions are just right. The Goldilocks of the plant world.
Two of the most reliable ways to go orchid spotting are on a couple of excellent Guttland Trails: the peaceful Aarnescht trail near Niederanven and the more sporty Raschpëtzer trail in Walferdange. The Raschpëtzer is particularly highly recommended, since it also takes in a quiet marvel of ancient engineering: an underground Roman aqueduct. No, I didn’t know that was a thing either. It’s amazing what you can discover on the trails.
My to-do list for May
Longer evenings bring the chance to tackle longer, more challenging hikes. The ER1 trail starting in Erpeldange (near Ettelbruck) fits the bill nicely: a smidge over 20km, with some seriously challenging climbs. I’m licking my lips at the thought of this one!
I’ll also be taking a closer look at the Camino de Santiago. Not the whole route, obviously, but the section through the heart of Luxembourg City, including why the number 18 bus is the hiker’s friend. Intrigued? Find out next month!
See you in the woods!
Jonny
Luxembourg Outdoors 