Old Mousel brewery site turned late-night bar quarter — cocktails, clubs, and the loudest weekend nights in the city.
Clausen is Grund's louder younger sibling. The Rives de Clausen complex on Rue Emile Mousel occupies the old Mousel brewery buildings, and by 11pm on a Saturday it's the only place in Luxembourg City where you’ll find actual dancing. Ikki, Marnach and Melusina run late; expect €9-€12 cocktails and a mixed crowd of expats, EU civil servants and weekend visitors from Trier. Weeknights are calm — some venues don’t even open Monday to Wednesday.
The daytime is different: quiet residential streets climbing up to Kirchberg, the birthplace of Robert Schuman on Rue du Fort Rheinsheim (small free museum), and easy access to the riverside path toward Grund. Stay here only if you want to be steps from the party. Families and light sleepers should look at Belair or Limpertsberg instead.
By day the valley floor is almost sleepy — a handful of joggers on the Alzette path, a delivery van outside the shuttered bars, retirees walking dogs up Rue de la Tour Jacob. The transformation happens fast on Thursday evening, when staff start rolling out terrace furniture and the first EU-institution crowd arrives straight from Kirchberg offices around 6pm, still in work clothes. By midnight it could be a different postcode entirely, and by Sunday morning it has gone quiet again.
What Clausen does not have is much daytime retail or a proper grocery — you'll walk to Bonnevoie or the station area for that. It rewards visitors who want one specific thing: proximity to the nightlife cluster without a taxi home. Everyone else is better served treating it as a two-hour evening excursion from a bed elsewhere in the city.
Where to stay in Clausen
Almost no hotels — a couple of small guesthouses and one boutique conversion. Lago Welcome Clausen II is the one property actually inside the quarter, useful if you want to fall out of Rives de Clausen and into bed within five minutes. If you can find a room, Rue de la Tour Jacob and Rue Malakoff are quieter than Rue Emile Mousel. Expect €113-€165 in high season (May-September, plus EU summit weeks when Kirchberg hotels overflow into Clausen), and closer to €100 in January-February. Anything advertising itself as 'Rives de Clausen adjacent' will have thumping bass until 3am on weekends. Most visitors sleep in Ville Haute or Kirchberg and walk or bus in for the night — book Lago Welcome Clausen II only if you genuinely want to be inside the noise.
Hotels in Clausen
Things to do in Clausen
- Bar-hop Rives de ClausenCluster of 8-10 venues in the converted brewery on Rue Emile Mousel. Ikki does Asian-fusion cocktails, Marnach is more of a late DJ spot. Open Thursday-Saturday until 3am.
- Schuman birthplace museumRue du Fort Rheinsheim 6. Free, small, dedicated to the founder of the European coal and steel community. Open Wednesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Riverside walk to GrundFollow the Alzette path west from Rives de Clausen along Rue Münster, about 20 minutes flat to Neumünster Abbey. Lit at night, safe, and skips the road entirely.
- Three Towers viewpointShort climb up Rue de la Tour Jacob to the medieval Trois Tours gate, part of the Wenzel Wall system. Free, always open, and quieter than the Corniche viewpoints.
- Terrace drinks at MelusinaRiverside terrace at Rives de Clausen, best from 6-8pm before the crowds arrive. A glass of Riesling from the Moselle runs about €6, beer around €4.50. Kitchen closes 10pm, bar stays open later.
- Skip the brewery museum toursOccasional guided tours of the old Mousel brewery buildings run about €15 and cover ground you can see for free just by walking through Rives de Clausen in daylight. Better spent on a drink instead.
Getting around & the essentials
Brewery to Bock circuit
Start at Rives de Clausen, cross the Alzette and climb Rue de la Tour Jacob to the Three Towers. Continue up to the Corniche, walk south to the Bock Casemates, drop back down via Montée du Grund and return along the river path. About 90 minutes with a couple of steep sections.
Bus 9 from Gare Centrale runs to the Clausen stop on Rue de Trèves in about 12 minutes; a single ticket costs €2 and covers two hours across the whole network. Night bus CN1 covers the return from Ville Haute until around 3:30am on Fridays and Saturdays. From Kirchberg, walk down the Pfaffenthal lift (free, runs until 2am) and along the river — 15 minutes. Taxis from Rives de Clausen to Gare cost about €13 late night. There's no tram to Clausen, and the steep valley sides mean a car is more trouble than it's worth; parking on Rue Emile Mousel is scarce on weekend nights.
Clausen, questions answered
What time do Rives de Clausen bars close?
Most run until 1am Thursday, 3am Friday and Saturday. Sunday and Monday many are shut entirely. Check individual venues — a few kitchens close by 10pm even when the bar keeps going.
Is there a dress code?
Ikki and the cocktail bars lean smart-casual; the pubs and student spots don’t care. Trainers are fine almost everywhere except one or two doors on Saturday nights.
Is Clausen safe to walk through at night?
Yes — the main Rives de Clausen strip is well lit and busy until closing, and the riverside path toward Grund has streetlights the whole way. The steeper residential streets up toward the Three Towers are quieter and less lit after 11pm, so stick to Rue de Trèves or the river path if walking alone.
Can you get to Clausen without a car or taxi?
Yes, bus 9 from Gare Centrale takes about 12 minutes to the Clausen stop, and the free Pfaffenthal lift from Kirchberg puts you a 15-minute riverside walk away. Night bus CN1 handles the return on weekend nights until around 3:30am. Most visitors combine the bus in with a taxi or the night bus back rather than driving.
Nearby areas
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