Money, tipping, and prices in Luxembourg

Cards versus cash

Cards are accepted almost everywhere — Visa and Mastercard universally, Amex at most hotels and higher-end restaurants. Contactless works on trams and lifts even though the ride is free (some readers are there for accessibility data). Carry €26-€43 in small bills for markets, some village bakeries and the occasional wine estate. ATMs are common at BGL BNP Paribas, BIL and Spuerkeess branches and charge no foreign fee on most European cards.

The currency is the euro, and has been since Luxembourg used the Luxembourg franc before 1999 alongside the Belgian franc — there is no separate local note or coin to hunt for. Exchange bureaux cluster around Gare Centrale and inside the airport arrivals hall, but their rates run 3-5% worse than a card withdrawal from a Spuerkeess or BGL BNP Paribas ATM. If you land with only foreign cash, change the minimum you need for a taxi or bus and do the rest at a bank machine once you reach Ville Haute or Kirchberg, where branches are dense.

Tipping

Service is included by law. Rounding up to the nearest €4 or leaving 5-10% is polite for good restaurant service but not expected. Taxi drivers get the change rounded up. Hotel porters and housekeeping €2-€3 per bag or day is generous. Don’t tip at bars or bakery counters — nobody does. Don’t tip on the free public transport, ever, but a smile at a bus driver goes a long way when you need directions.

The same restraint carries over into services many visitors over-tip on elsewhere: hairdressers and spa staff at hotels like Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal or Le Royal Hotels & Resorts Luxembourg do not expect anything beyond the printed bill, and a tour guide leading a walking tour of the Bock Casemates or the fortifications appreciates €2-€5 per person for a half-day but will not chase it. Wine-estate tastings along the Moselle in Remich or Grevenmacher sometimes suggest a token €1-€2 per person if you did not buy a bottle. When in doubt, round the total up rather than calculate a percentage — it reads as generous without looking like you are following an American script.

What things cost

Coffee €3-€4, espresso €2. Beer €4-€6 in a pub. Glass of Moselle riesling €5-€8. Sandwich or salad from a bakery €7-€10. Full sit-down lunch €16-€24. Dinner mains €19-€33 at mid-range restaurants; €52+ at fine dining. Supermarket basics: baguette €2, cheese €7-€13, saucisson €5. Museum entries €4-€10. Castle tickets €5-€10. A day of moderate sightseeing without a fancy dinner runs €52-€78 per person.

Hotels are where the country's reputation for expense really bites. Budget aparthotels such as The Central City Luxury ApartHotel or Cocoon Hotel Belair run €90-€130 a night for a double. Mid-range business hotels — Novotel Suites Luxembourg, Park Inn by Radisson Luxembourg City, Legere Hotel Luxembourg — land at €130-€180. Grand addresses in the old town, Grand Hotel Cravat, Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal or Hotel Le Place d'Armes Relais & Châteaux, ask €220-€380, more during EU summit weeks. Airport hotels like ibis Luxembourg Aéroport or NH Luxembourg Airport cluster around €95-€140 and suit a 6am flight more than a city stay.

Where to save

The free transport is the single biggest budget saver — you’ll never spend a cent on getting around. Water fountains at Place Guillaume II and along hiking trails are drinkable; skip €3 bottled water. Cactus and Auchan supermarkets have €10 hot deli plates. The mensa at the University of Luxembourg in Belval serves full meals to the public for €9. Museum-free days are the first Sunday of the month at most national museums.

Picnic instead of eating out at least once: a Cactus or Delhaize run for bread, Kachkéis, cured meat and a bottle of Moselle riesling costs €12-€18 for two and turns a bench on the Chemin de la Corniche into the best-value dinner view in the city. Booking an aparthotel with a kitchenette — several of The Queen Luxury Apartments villas or Apart2stay — cuts food spend further over a stay of three nights or more. Off-season (November to March, excluding the Christmas markets) room rates across the mid-range tier drop 15-25%, which matters more to the daily total than any single meal choice.

Taxes, VAT and service charges

Luxembourg's standard VAT rate is 17%, the lowest in the EU, and it is already folded into every menu price, hotel rate and shop tag you see — there is no last-minute surprise at the till the way there sometimes is with US sales tax. Restaurant bills legally include both VAT and service, which is exactly why the tipping culture stays so light: the staff are not working for tips to make rent. Hotel city taxes, where they apply, are typically €1-€2 per person per night and are usually already built into the quoted rate rather than added at checkout.

Non-EU residents can claim a VAT refund on purchases over roughly €50 made in a single shop, using the tax-free forms available at the point of sale and processed at the refund desk in Luxembourg Airport before departure. It is worth it mainly for electronics, jewellery or a case of wine bought at a Moselle estate rather than for clothes or souvenirs, where the paperwork time outweighs the €5-€10 you get back. Keep receipts and the goods accessible in hand luggage, since customs can ask to see them.

Banking hours and getting cash

Bank branches — Spuerkeess, BGL BNP Paribas, BIL — generally open Monday to Friday 8:30-16:30 with a lunch closure in smaller towns like Echternach or Vianden, and most are shut weekends entirely. In the capital, branches around Boulevard Royal and the Gare district keep continuous hours and have the densest ATM coverage, so that is where to sort out cash needs rather than waiting for a village stop. Sunday and public holiday closures hit small shops harder than banks; supermarkets close by law on Sundays except a handful near the station.

For a short city break, carrying a debit card with no foreign transaction fee removes almost all need to plan around banking hours — cafés, bakeries, museums and even the weekend Glacis flea market accept cards down to a €5 minimum in most cases. Keep one backup of €50-€80 in cash for the rare rural inn, a Sunday market stall in Remich, or a bus fare zone slip if you somehow find yourself outside the free transport network in neighbouring France or Germany on a day trip.