The Namur cable car: fares, hours and what it is not
The téléphérique is run by a different company from the citadel, sells its own ticket at its own counter, and is in neither Citadelle Pass. It carries you from the town at the bottom of the hill up to the fortress, and it runs from ten in the morning until half past six.
It is not in either pass, and that trips people up daily
Standing at the bottom of the hill, the cabins and the fortress look like one attraction with one till. They are two businesses. A Citadelle Pass covers the underground galleries, the medieval visit, the tourist train and the audio-guided visitor centre, and it does not put you in a cabin. I have watched more than one visitor wave a pass at the cable-car counter. What the passes do contain is set out on the tickets page.
The thirty-day validity is more useful than it sounds. Buy a one-way, walk up the Route Merveilleuse on a decent morning and keep the second leg for a day when your legs have had enough, or do it the other way round and ride up to walk down through the woods.
Where it runs, and where to find the bottom station
It runs between the town below and the fortress above, over the wooded slope, which is the whole point of it: it removes the climb. For the exact position of the lower station and any change to the timetable, the operator’s own site is the authority and it is linked in the footer of every page here. I would rather send you to the people who run it than describe a street corner from memory.
If you are driving instead, you do not need the cable car at all: the free car parks are on the hill itself, including the Esplanade and Terra Nova, and that is covered on how to get there. Walking up costs nothing, and the ramps are cobbled and steady rather than steep in bursts.
The one tour on this site that goes up it
The Namur photo shoot is the only listing whose itinerary names the ride: it says you will take the famous Namur cable car, or walk up if you prefer, to reach the Citadel. Its exclusions then say the cable-car ticket is yours to buy. That is a listing being straight with you, and it is the reason this page sits in the top navigation rather than in a footnote.
Nothing else in the catalogue includes the fare, and nothing includes entry to anything ticketed on the hill either. The full list is on every tour we list. Once you are up here, the free half of the Citadelle is described on what costs nothing here.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Namur cable car?
An adult return is roughly eight euros and a one-way about five and a half, with lower fares for seniors, young people and children, free travel for toddlers of three and under, and an Article 27 social rate. Every figure is in the operator’s table on the tickets page, and a ticket stays valid for thirty days from purchase.
Is the cable car included in a Citadelle Pass?
No. It is a different operator and a separate ticket, and neither the three-visit nor the four-visit pass covers it. The passes are about the underground galleries, the medieval visit, the train and the visitor centre; the one most people are really asking about is on the souterrains page.
Do I have to take the cable car to reach the Citadelle?
No. You can walk up the Route Merveilleuse for nothing, or drive up and park free at one of four areas, including the Esplanade and Terra Nova. The routes are on how to get there. The ride is worth its fare if the climb is the thing standing between you and the view.