Imagine a country where every bus and train and tram journey was completely free of charge….and not just for children and pensioners but working adults and tourists too.

Welcome to little Luxembourg where five years ago, in a bid to cut carbon emissions, they made all their public transport free.

Luxembourg is so small you can travel end to end in a morning. It takes about three hours by public transport and it won’t cost you a cent. The total cost for two buses and two trains, travelling about 60 miles: zero euros.

While elsewhere in Europe rural bus routes are disappearing and train travel can be more expensive than driving or even flying, Luxembourg has taken things in the opposite direction: improving its transport services and dispensing with fares altogether, with a view to easing traffic congestion, reducing inequality and meeting climate targets.

As a very small and very wealthy country – the richest in the world if you look at GDP per capita – it can easily afford to do this.

Unfortunately for residents and tourists everything is else is pretty expensive. Luxembourg has the highest prices among EU countries, at 52% higher than the EU average. 

But the little country nestled between Belgium, Germany and France also has the highest wages in Europe, which helps support higher costs.

A report from the EU Urban Mobility Observatory in 2022 said: “Luxembourg’s 640,000 residents enjoy the world’s highest per capita income of any independent state, which comes with the highest vehicle density in Europe (696 cars per 1,000 people as of 2020). Almost nine out of ten Luxembourgish households have a car; one in ten families have three or more.

“To curb its driving addiction, the country is trying an ambitious idea: On 29 February 2020, it became the first nation in the world to make all public transport entirely free at the point of use.”

Luxembourg also has the highest number of luxury cars per capita with dealerships for the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley appearing to be everywhere. Many rich people in Luxembourg don’t use public transport even though its fee.

The report adds: “Under current projections, the number of cars on the road in Luxembourg is, according to the 2035 Mobility Plan, set to increase by 6% by 2035, due to population growth. Part of the challenge is that, even for those in close proximity to Luxembourg City, public transport coverage is not sufficient for many residents’ needs; travelling exclusively via bus or train is an even bigger challenge outside the city centre.”

So it says, as part of the country’s mobility plan for the next decade, Luxembourg will embark on 14 major rail improvements and redesign urban street plans while also introducing bus rapid transit and carpooling lanes on main roads taking the country up to 2035.

Around 70,000 Brits visit Luxembourg every year. Tourism is an important component of the national economy of the Grand Duchy.

Major destinations are historic Luxembourg City, a UNESCO world heritage site,  the medieval castle of Vianden, Echternach,with its abbey and the wine districts of the Moselle Valley.  The mountainous Eislek region in the Ardennes to the north are also favourites for outdoor enthusiasts.

Luxembourg has good road, rail and air connections with the rest of Europe, making it a popular destination for international meetings as well as for extended weekend stays.

It’s cuisine combines the quality of French dishes with the quantity of German and Belgian servings. But there are also some national favourites such as Bouneschlupp, a soup with French beans, Judd mat Gaardebounen, neck of pork with broad beans, and Fritür, small fried fish from the Moselle. Dry white wines from the Moselle valley include Riseling, Pinot Gris and Pinot blanc.

Also popular is Luxembourg’s Cremant, a sparkling wine produced in accordance with the traditional method for French champagne.

Flights from London Heathrow to Luxembourg take around one hour and 15 minutes with British Airways.