The town of Esch-sur-Alzette is proposing the following project: the Vëlodukt and its free Vëlodukt Ride (Taxivëlo) service.
At a time when towns are seeking to combine tourist appeal with a commitment to the environment, Esch-sur-Alzette is offering an experience that combines soft mobility, local heritage and inclusion. The Vëlodukt Ride service is an environmentally-friendly innovation that meets national ambitions for ecological transition and the expectations of visitors looking for new ways to discover a town.
The aim is to promote soft mobility among the city’s residents and visitors. To this end, the city has built the Vëlodukt, Europe’s longest pedestrian and cycle bridge. To ensure continuity, a “transportation” service, called Taxivëlo, was created. This links the centre of Esch with Belval.
Riding between the historic centre and the Belval district, Taxivëlos are modern, accessible, electrically-powered rickshaws that offer emission-free transport. This free, summertime service encourages visitors to opt for active, sustainable tourism in harmony with the surrounding landscape, while discovering the many facets of Esch. For the 2025 summer season, the Taxivëlos will be running between the 15th of July and the 13th of September, from Tuesday to Saturday between 12:00PM and 5:30PM. Students are stationed at the 2 departure/arrival points. They are present with one information stand at the Place de la Résistance and another one at Belval (between the Rockhal and the Belval Plaza 1 shopping centre). The two Taxivëlos take turns to transport interested parties between the two areas.
This service is the perfect way to start summer season and allow residents and tourists alike to discover the city from a different angle.
However, the Vëlodukt Ride service is not just a shuttle: it’s an experience. The Taxivëlos cross the Vëlodukt, one of Europe’s longest pedestrian-cyclist footbridges and a true masterpiece of urban cycling.
Here are a few technical and conceptual details about the footbridge:
The idea for this cycle and pedestrian bridge came about as part of the National Mobility Plan (PNM 2035). Its construction began in 2020 and the inauguration took place in December 2022. The bridge is 1.5 km long (including 300 metres of access ramp – city center – for people with reduced mobility ) and around 4.5 metres wide. The footbridge is designed to be sustainable, using low-carbon steel for example, and its sinuous design preserves the existing trees along the route.
For people with reduced mobility (PRM), an elevator has been installed on the Belval side, improving accessibility for everyone. To maintain the natural feel, trees and hedges have been planted along the access ramps.
The bridge symbolises the post-industrial transformation of the ore mining area, linking the steel landscape of yesteryear with the innovative neighbourhoods of today. By using this emblematic infrastructure, visitors are not just making a journey: they are experiencing the evolution of an area that has reinvented itself by combining ecology, culture and design.
The Vëlodukt Ride service was created specifically to advertise the Vëlodukt (the footbridge). What was launched as a pilot project in summer 2023 is now a flagship activity during the summer months. In view of its success, the city has decided to offer the service again in 2024 and 2025. The new season will start on 15th of July 2025.
The aim of the Vëlodukt Ride project is to link two key points in the city, the traditional city centre and the new Belval university district. This is an important aspect, because in the collective mind of many, these 2 districts separate the town from Esch-sur-Alzette. The town wants to show its unity and create a direct link between the old and the new, the traditional and the modern.
What’s more, the Vëlodukt Ride is much more than a transport service: it offers an immersion into the beating heart of Minett. The ten to fifteen minute ride passes through places marked by industrial history and urban regeneration, linking lively squares, universities, industrial sites and green spaces. Along the way, you can see the Arcelor Mittal sites that are still in operation.
But the immersion is also human: the drivers are students, trained to offer more than just a logistical service. They become storytellers, sharing anecdotes, heritage stories and advice with visitors in a friendly and authentic way. The Vëlodukt Ride project is not just aimed at tourists, but also at the citizens of Esch-sur-Alzette who are curious to discover another facet of their town.
Designed to be an inclusive service, Vëlodukt Ride welcomes people with reduced mobility, senior citizens and young people. The service is also intended to be inclusive in the social sense of the term: as it is free, everyone can benefit from it, regardless of their social status or origin. The rickshaws therefore guarantee equal access to discovering Esch. The town has 2 cycle rickshaws with a capacity of 2 passengers plus the driver.
By providing a strong link between the commercial city centre and the dynamic Belval district (Rockhal, university, restaurants, museums, etc.), the Vëlodukt Ride project creates an economic flow that benefits the entire town.
It encourages visitors to explore the whole area, rather than just one tourist attraction. Shopkeepers, cultural venues and local players all benefit directly. This systemic approach enhances the attractiveness of Esch as a whole.
This project is fully in line with the vision of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere, a label that recognises the sustainable development efforts of southern Luxembourg. The Vëlodukt Ride is a concrete expression of these commitments: tourism that is respectful, educational, rooted in history and oriented towards the future.
By combining soft mobility, industrial heritage and social inclusion, it becomes a powerful symbol of the Minett revival – a bridge between past and future, between citizens and their territory, between visitors and their hosts. It also gives people working in Esch or Belval the chance to enjoy an unusual lunch break and move easily from one district to another.
The Vëlodukt Ride project offers a new way of looking at urban tourism: fluid, gentle, accessible, cultural and economical. It demonstrates how a local authority can transform a cycling infrastructure into a tourist experience, while meeting the global challenges of the environment, social cohesion and regional development. This initiative can be replicated in other towns seeking to combine sustainability, attractiveness and citizen participation.
We firmly believe that this project can serve as a model for tourism innovation, and we thank the jury for the attention it has given to this application.
Here are the links to the project.
https://explore.esch.lu/see-do/the-cycle-bridge
and
https://explore.esch.lu/see-do/velodukt-ride-2