Living in Luxembourg: why the Grand Duchy remains one of the most rational choices in Europe

A country at real scale

Luxembourg operates on a simple scale: 2,586 sqkm for 681,973 inhabitants as of 1 January 2025 (STATEC), of whom 47% are foreign residents representing around 180 nationalities. It is this ratio that explains the quality of life perceived by those who settle here: a country small enough for distances to remain short, travel times fast and infrastructure efficient, yet populous and diverse enough to offer all the services of a major European hub.

You can live in the countryside and be in the city within 15 to 25 minutes. You can drop your children at an international school and be at your office in Kirchberg within the next half hour. You can leave home at 5:30 PM and dine on the terrace of a restaurant in the Upper Town by 6:15 PM. This level of fluidity does not exist in most large European metropolises. It concretely changes daily life.

Residential municipalities designed for families

One of Luxembourg's great strengths is the quality of its residential municipalities located around the capital. Each has its own identity, distinct price positioning, and different population profile. For a family settling in the Grand Duchy, the choice of municipality is almost as structuring as that of the country itself.

Strassen — 5 to 10 minutes from Luxembourg City. Direct continuity with the capital, complete infrastructure, renowned primary schools. Very popular with active families seeking immediate proximity without giving up residential quality. Average advertised prices around €11,000 to €12,500/sqm.

Bertrange — 5 to 10 minutes from the city centre. Both residential and commercial municipality (La Belle Étoile is the country's reference shopping centre), quick access to main road axes. Prices are comparable to those in Strassen, with a wider offer of individual houses.

Mamer — about 10 to 12 minutes from Luxembourg City. Highly sought-after municipality for its balance of family life and proximity to the centre. Schools, infrastructure, direct access to the A6. The European School of Luxembourg II is located here — a major asset for families of EU institution officials, and an option open to other families subject to tuition fees.

Kehlen — about 15 minutes from the centre. Preserved natural setting, good compromise between calm and accessibility. One of the sectors that best resisted the 2022-2024 real estate correction, driven by stable family demand.

Steinfort — about 20 minutes from Luxembourg City, towards the Belgian border. Very green setting, village spirit, popular with families seeking calm and space. More accessible prices than in the first ring, while remaining within reasonable commuting times.

Koerich — about 20 minutes. Rural environment, tranquillity, large plots. Interesting for profiles that prioritise space and nature without wanting to move away from main axes.

These municipalities share a common point: a stable, legible living environment suited to families, in a secure environment where children can grow up with an autonomy that few European metropolises still allow.

A mobility unique in the world

Luxembourg is today the only country in the world to offer entirely free public transport throughout its territory, since 1 March 2020. Buses, trams and domestic trains are accessible without ticket or subscription, for residents as well as visitors.

This feature, unique in Europe, concretely transforms daily life. Home-to-work commutes become smoother and less expensive. Teenagers gain real autonomy from secondary school onwards. Families reduce their dependence on a second car, often necessary in other countries.

The network continues to develop. The extension of the Luxembourg City tram to Findel airport has been operational since 2024, and the connection with the central station is now a structuring axis of urban travel. The railway network serves the entire country with high frequency and punctuality among the best in Europe.

A multilingual education system and complete international school offering

Luxembourg offers a school system recognised for its academic level and native multilingualism. From primary school onwards, pupils are exposed to Luxembourgish, German and French, with a progressive build-up of English at secondary level. It is one of the most demanding public systems in Europe in linguistic terms, and produces pupils able to evolve natively in three to four languages upon leaving high school.

But the real singularity of the Grand Duchy lies in the density of its international school offering, which allows expatriate families to maintain an educational path in their mother tongue or in a recognised foreign curriculum.

On the private side, several reference international schools are located in the territory:

• Vauban, French School and Lycée of Luxembourg (Gasperich). Private institution accredited by the French Ministry of National Education and member of the AEFE network. Vauban welcomes 2,635 pupils for 2025-2026, distributed across 105 classes from kindergarten to final year. The school prepares for the French baccalaureate (success rate above 95%) and remains the reference for Francophone families wishing a curriculum aligned with French programmes. Tuition fees 2025-2026 between €4,383 (Year 7-8) and €5,719 (Year 13) per year, plus an investment contribution fund. AEFE scholarships are available for French families subject to conditions.
• International School of Luxembourg (ISL) — Hollerich, on Campus Geesseknäppchen. Founded in 1963, ISL is one of the oldest international schools in the country, with approximately 1,350 pupils representing nearly 50 nationalities. Teaching in English, IB (International Baccalaureate) programme. Tuition fees 2025-2026 from €19,805 to €23,446 per year depending on level.
• St. George's International School — Hamm. British curriculum (GCSE, A-Level), teaching in English. Around 850 pupils from over 60 nationalities. Tuition fees 2025-2026 from €14,750 to €19,550 per year, plus various additional fees (building fund, stability fund).
• Notre-Dame Sainte-Sophie Private School (Weimershof) — double French and Luxembourgish curriculum.
• Waldorf School Luxembourg (Mersch) — Steiner-Waldorf pedagogy, path that can lead to IB.
• Maria Montessori School, OTR International School, École Charlemagne — other private Francophone and multilingual options.

On the European network side, the European School of Luxembourg I (Kirchberg) and the European School of Luxembourg II (Mamer) welcome as a priority the children of European institution officials, with access open to other families subject to registration fees. These two schools deliver the European baccalaureate, recognised throughout European universities.

The most significant evolution in recent years concerns however the public international offering. Several Luxembourg public institutions now offer multilingual international sections, accessible without tuition fees: Lycée Michel Lucius (English classes), International School Mersch Anne Beffort (EIMAB, French, English and German sections), International School Gaston Thorn (EIGT, Luxembourg City, French, German and English sections), Lënster Lycée International School (Junglinster), Lycée Edward Steichen (Clervaux), as well as institutions in Differdange and Esch-sur-Alzette. These structures allow a path leading to the European baccalaureate or IB, without the sometimes high fees of the private sector.

For expatriate families or profiles anticipating university studies outside the Grand Duchy, this diversity of offering — private and public, Francophone, Anglophone, Germanophone, multilingual — is one of the most concrete arguments for choosing Luxembourg.

Nature and balance

Luxembourg also stands out through the strong presence of nature in daily life. About one third of the territory is covered by forests. Natural parks (Haute-Sûre, Our, Mëllerdall) offer preserved landscapes accessible in less than an hour from the capital. Overall population density remains low compared to other Western European countries.

For families, this translates into immediate access to open spaces: hiking trails, cycling paths (more than 600 km developed), leisure areas. The Luxembourg Moselle region, in the east of the country, offers a setting of vineyards and preserved villages particularly enjoyed on weekends. The Mullerthal, also in the east, is sometimes nicknamed "little Luxembourg Switzerland" for its rock formations and marked hiking trails.

For profiles practising outdoor sports, Luxembourg offers a setting rarely associated with the image of a "financial" country. The proximity of the Belgian Ardennes, the German Moselle and French Lorraine also adds numerous weekend destinations accessible in less than an hour by road.

Security and stability: underestimated assets

An element often underestimated in Luxembourg's attractiveness, but which weighs heavily in the decision of families who settle here: security and stability in daily life.

Luxembourg regularly appears in the top of European rankings in terms of public safety. Large neighbouring cities (Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt) show significantly higher urban crime statistics. For families considering long-term settlement, with children who will grow up and move about autonomously from adolescence onwards, this dimension becomes a decision criterion in its own right.

The political and institutional stability of the Grand Duchy adds to this equation. Parliamentary constitutional monarchy, political system based on consensus, public finances among the most solid in the eurozone (AAA rating by the three main rating agencies), founding membership of the European Union and NATO: the Luxembourg institutional environment offers a predictability rare in Europe.

For a long-term patrimonial investment — and residential real estate always fits into this logic — this stability translates into implicit protection of acquired value.

A central position in Europe

For international professionals, Luxembourg's geographical centrality is a decisive operational argument. Findel airport, compact but well connected, allows quick travel to all European capitals:

Destination	Flight time
Paris	~1h00
Frankfurt	~1h00
Brussels	~45 min
Zurich	~1h00
London	~1h15
Milan	~1h20
Geneva	~1h10
Munich	~1h00

Luxembourg central station also allows reaching Paris in 2h10 by direct TGV, and Brussels in about 3h. For an executive whose professional interests extend across several European capitals — which is the case for a large part of Grand Duchy expatriates — this accessibility allows living in a stable environment while staying connected to the entire continent.

A partially invisible real estate market

One last element characterises Luxembourg: a significant part of its real estate market, particularly on high-end residential and heritage property segments, is not visible.

The most qualitative properties — townhouses in the Upper Town or Belair, family villas in Limpertsberg or Merl, heritage income-generating buildings — rarely circulate on public portals. They are transmitted off market, in restricted circles, via channels that are not open to a classic internet search.

For a buyer settling in Luxembourg, this concretely means that a search limited to real estate portals does not allow access to the best part of the available offering. This is one of the reasons why a significant part of our activity is carried out under search mandate.

The search mandate consists of entrusting a professional with a precise sourcing mission, with defined criteria (property type, location, budget, technical constraints). The professional activates their network, identifies properties available off market, filters those matching the specifications, and presents a tight selection to their client. It is an acquisition mode particularly suited to profiles looking for specific properties in a market where visible offering represents only a fraction of reality.

Mapa Property's position

At Mapa Property, we support families and international profiles settling in Luxembourg at every stage of their real estate project. Whether it is a primary residence acquisition, a patrimonial investment, or a targeted search for a specific property, our approach rests on three principles:

• A fine knowledge of the local market, municipality by municipality, including segments not visible on public portals
• A structured network for off-market access, particularly on prestige and heritage segments
• A coordination with the client's advisors (tax advisor, notary, private bank, lawyer), without substituting for them

For a settlement project that commits a decade or more, and sometimes several million euros of investment, this level of support concretely changes the quality of the final acquisition.

Conclusion

Luxembourg is not an image choice. It is a life choice.

For a family, this means stability, security, simplicity, legibility. For an international professional, this means centrality, fluidity, quality infrastructure, access to one of the best public education systems in Europe. For a patrimonial investor, this means a resilient real estate market, a stable legal framework, and acquisition opportunities not all found in public listings.

It is precisely this combination — rare at this scale in Europe — that explains why the Grand Duchy continues to attract each year new residents among the most demanding profiles.

---

Julien Brebion — Real Estate Director, Mapa Property

Sources: STATEC (demography and foreign population as of 1 January 2025), Ministry of Mobility and Public Works (free public transport since 1 March 2020), Ministry of National Education, Childhood and Youth (public international school offering), official documents from schools (Vauban, ISL, St. George's — fees and enrolment 2025-2026), Observatoire de l'Habitat, City of Luxembourg (population status as of 31 December 2025).