Customs and daily life

Daily life

• Languages: the country has three administrative languages: Luxembourgish (national language), French and German. At the école fondamentale, literacy is generally taught in German (a pilot project allows literacy in French in a few schools); at the classical lycée, French becomes the language of instruction from the fourth year. In everyday life, French is very present in shops and English in international companies (common usage, not rules). Many residents are foreign, and switching language mid-conversation is normal.
• Politeness: people greet on entering ("Moien" in Luxembourgish, "Bonjour" in French); the formal "you" remains the rule with strangers and at work at first. These customs are habits, not rules.
• Transport: completely free trains (2nd class), trams and buses, for residents and visitors alike; keep an identity document with you, it may be asked for. Cycling is progressing thanks to cycle paths.
• Procedures: declare your arrival to the commune as soon as possible; employees are entitled to two days of leave for a house move. Most procedures are done online on Guichet.lu and MyGuichet.lu (see LU-ADMINISTRATIONS-TOUS-001).
• Work: an employee is entitled to at least 26 working days of leave per year, plus 11 statutory public holidays. Many colleagues are cross-border workers (France, Belgium, Germany): meeting times often take travel into account.
• Shops and Sunday: since 19 June 2026 (law of 19 December 2025), shops and craft businesses may open from 5:00 to 21:00 at most from Monday to Friday and from 5:00 to 19:00 at most on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and their eves (from 5:00 to 18:00 on 22 June, 24 December and 31 December); 1 January, 1 May and 25 December remain closed unless a collective agreement provides otherwise (butchers, bakeries, pastry shops, caterers and tea rooms from 5:00 to 19:00); restaurants, accommodation, bars, cinemas and shops in stations and airports are excluded from this law, and exemptions exist by collective agreement (Guichet.lu).

Public holidays

The 11 statutory public holidays: 1 January, Easter Monday, 1 May, 9 May (Europe Day), Ascension, Whit Monday, 23 June (national day), 15 August, 1 November, 25 and 26 December. A public holiday that falls on a non-working day entitles you to a day of compensatory leave, in principle within 3 months (Guichet.lu).

Emergency numbers

• 112: rescue (ambulance, fire brigade).
• 113: police.
• On-call medical centres (maisons médicales de garde): in Luxembourg City, Esch-sur-Alzette and Ettelbruck, in the evening and at night (20:00 to 7:00) and at weekends and on public holidays.
• On-call pharmacies: list on pharmacie.lu.

Common pitfalls

• Believing that French is enough for school. At the public école fondamentale, literacy is generally taught in German; there are free international tracks (see LU-ECOLE-TOUS-001).
• Forgetting to declare your arrival to the commune: without this step, no certificate of residence.
• Buying a 2nd-class ticket: pointless, it is free; only 1st class is paid.
• Not insuring your car: third-party liability insurance is compulsory for vehicles; home insurance is strongly recommended.