Good to know in Luxembourg

These are the small things that catch people out in the first weeks. None of it is complicated, but nobody hands you a list. So here is one. Each part links to the official page, and to a longer guide where there is one.

Numbers to save today

• 112: ambulance and fire. Free, day and night.
• 113: police. Free, day and night.
• 244 244 244: police Ligne bleue, for things that aren’t urgent. Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:00.
• 2060 1060: national helpline for victims of violence. Free, anonymous, open 24 hours since 1 May 2026.
• 20 333 111: the Maisons médicales de garde, the out-of-hours GP surgeries (see below).

From a phone with a foreign SIM, put +352 in front of the longer numbers. Our safety guide has more numbers and explains each one.

When your doctor is closed

There are three out-of-hours GP surgeries, the Maisons médicales de garde. You just walk in, no appointment. They’re open on weekdays from 20:00 to midnight, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 8:00 to midnight.

• Luxembourg City: 23, Val Fleuri
• Belval: 3-5, avenue du Swing, Belvaux
• Ettelbruck: 110, avenue Lucien Salentiny until 1 November 2026, then 63, avenue des Alliés from 2 November

After midnight, you have to call 112 first. They pass the call to the doctor on duty, who calls you back.

One pharmacy in each area is always on duty, from 8:00 to 8:00 the next morning. The pharmacists’ association lists today’s ones on pharmacie.lu.

Get the LU-Alert app

LU-Alert is how the government warns people about storms, floods and other emergencies. The free app replaces the old GouvAlert app, which is being taken out of the app stores. Many recent phones also get alerts as a “Cell Broadcast” text without the app: iPhones on iOS 17.5 or later, and Android phones launched with Android 11 or later, once they’re up to date. The LU-Alert set-up page shows which settings to check.

Drinking and driving

• The limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood (0.25 mg per litre of breath).
• It’s 0.2 g/l for new drivers in their probation period, learner drivers, anyone under 18, and professional drivers such as taxi, bus and lorry drivers.
• Fines start at €145 and go up to €10,000, with points off your licence. From 1.2 g/l your licence is taken away on the spot.

It’s against the law to sell or give alcohol to anyone under 16. Buses, trams and second-class trains are free inside Luxembourg, which makes leaving the car at home easy. Our getting around guide explains how.

Public holidays

Luxembourg has 11 legal public holidays. Good Friday isn’t one of them.

Holiday	2026	2027
New Year’s Day	Thu 1 January	Fri 1 January
Easter Monday	Mon 6 April	Mon 29 March
1 May	Fri 1 May	Sat 1 May
Europe Day	Sat 9 May	Sun 9 May
Ascension	Thu 14 May	Thu 6 May
Whit Monday	Mon 25 May	Mon 17 May
National Day (the Grand Duke’s official birthday)	Tue 23 June	Wed 23 June
Assumption	Sat 15 August	Sun 15 August
All Saints’ Day	Sun 1 November	Mon 1 November
Christmas Day	Fri 25 December	Sat 25 December
St Stephen’s Day	Sat 26 December	Sun 26 December

Source: the Labour Inspectorate (ITM). If you’re going shopping in Germany or France, their holidays are different. Our border shopping guide has the dates.

Sundays and holidays in the shops

Many supermarkets open on Sundays, but not all, so check your shop’s page before you go. By law, shops can open from 5:00 to 19:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and until 21:00 on weekdays. Most choose shorter hours. Almost everything is shut on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, though bakeries and butchers may still open. There’s more in our food shopping guide.

Tap water

You can drink it. The Water Management Administration calls tap water the most closely checked food product in the country, with more than 6,500 tests a year. Your commune publishes the results, and drenkwaasser.lu has a map. In some areas the water is hard and leaves limescale. That’s harmless, and the same FAQ says a softener is usually not needed.

Tipping

In cafés and restaurants, the price on the menu already includes service. By law, it can’t be added on the bill as an extra. So a tip is up to you.

Quiet hours

Quiet hours are set by each commune. In Luxembourg City, lawnmowers, saws and other noisy tools aren’t allowed between 21:00 and 8:00. On Sundays and public holidays you may only use them from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00. If you live somewhere else, your commune’s règlement de police has the local rule. Our commune guide covers bins and recycling.

Your first words

People here switch between Luxembourgish, French, German and English all day. A few words of Luxembourgish go a long way, and people are usually delighted when you try. These come from the government’s own list on luxembourg.lu:

English	Luxembourgish	French	German
Hello	Moien	Bonjour	Hallo / Guten Tag
Good morning	Gudde Moien	Bonjour	Guten Morgen
Good evening	Nowend	Bonsoir	Guten Abend
Goodbye	Äddi	Au revoir	Auf Wiedersehen
Please	Wannechglift	S’il vous plaît	Bitte
Thank you	Merci	Merci	Danke
Thanks very much	Villmools Merci	Merci beaucoup	Vielen Dank
You’re welcome	Gär geschitt	De rien	Gern geschehen
Sorry	Et deet mir leed	Pardon / Désolé	Entschuldigung
How are you?	Wéi geet et?	Ça va ?	Wie geht’s?
Yes / No	Jo / Neen	Oui / Non	Ja / Nein

Learning Luxembourgish for free, or nearly

• LOD.lu: the official online dictionary. It translates into English, French, German, Portuguese and Dutch, and has verb tables and a pronunciation guide. There’s also an app.
• LLO.LU: the national language institute’s free learning platform, with exercises and a level test. Anyone can use it, from anywhere.
• INLL courses: classes from A1 to C1 in Luxembourg City, Belval and Mersch. An autumn 2026 A2.2 course costs €280 a semester. Job seekers and a few other groups pay €10.
• The Biergerpakt (Citizens’ Pact) is a free, voluntary programme for adults who live or work here. It includes language modules up to at least beginner level A1.1.
• Congé linguistique: if you’ve worked for the same employer for at least 6 months, you can ask for up to 200 hours of leave over your career to learn Luxembourgish, in two blocks of 80 to 120 hours. You’re paid your normal hourly wage for those hours, up to a cap. The self-employed can apply too after 6 months of activity. Employees apply through their employer. Guichet.lu explains how.
• Sproochentest: if you’re applying for Luxembourg nationality, this is the language test. You need A2 for speaking and B1 for listening, and registration costs €75. The INLL page has sample tests.