Luxembourg City's open-air cinema turns 40 and crosses into Bonnevoie

For forty summers, the big screen has been a fixture of warm evenings in the Luxembourg capital, drawing residents and visitors to deckchairs under the stars. In 2026 the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg marks the 40th edition of its City Open Air Cinema — and, for the first time, carries the tradition into the densely populated southern district of Bonnevoie.

The free series opens on the city's central square, Place Guillaume II — known to locals as the Knuedler — with six consecutive nights from Thursday 23 to Tuesday 28 July. It then moves south in August for three further evenings on Place Léon XIII in Bonnevoie, from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 August. Admission is free at both sites, with no reservation required.

A new neighbourhood joins the programme

The expansion to Bonnevoie is the headline change this year, and the organisers have made a point of it. The Cinémathèque belongs to the City of Luxembourg, and in recent summers it has begun taking its screen beyond the historic centre and into the capital's residential quarters.

"After a stop in Pfaffenthal last summer, the Cinémathèque will also come closer to the residents of Bonnevoie. For three convivial evenings, our big screen will take over the charming Place Léon XIII."

It is a deliberate strategy of bringing cinema to where people live rather than expecting them to travel to it. "New this year: the Cinémathèque will also be visiting Bonnevoie," the organisers announced. "The City Open Air Cinema will take over the charming Place Léon XIII for three evenings from 6 to 8 August 2026."

From classics to cult favourites

The line-up mixes restored classics, awards-season favourites and crowd-pleasers, all shown in their original language with French or English subtitles. The Knuedler programme runs as follows:

• 23 July — Romeo + Juliet, Baz Luhrmann's 1996 reinvention with Leonardo DiCaprio
• 24 July — The NeverEnding Story (1984)
• 25 July — Niagara (1953), part of a strand devoted to Marilyn Monroe
• 26 July — The General, Buster Keaton's 1926 silent comedy, screened with live piano accompaniment by Hughes Maréchal
• 27 July — Whiplash (2014)
• 28 July — Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

The Bonnevoie evenings lean towards European and feel-good titles: Sophie Marceau's coming-of-age hit La Boum (1980) on 6 August, the German thriller Run Lola Run (Lola rennt, 1998) on 7 August, and the Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck romance Roman Holiday (1953) on 8 August. The screening of The General with live music is a nod to the medium's silent-era roots, and a reminder that the event is curated by an archive rather than a multiplex.

The organisers framed the selection in characteristically lyrical terms:

"A carefully curated programme with something for everyone, from heartwarming classics to thrilling blockbusters. A journey punctuated by cinematic masterpieces – both old and new – celebrating the art of storytelling under the stars…"

How the evenings work

The format has changed little over the decades, and that consistency is part of its appeal. Audiences are invited to arrive from 20:30 for an "Apéro Time" with drinks and refreshments, before the films begin at sunset — around 21:30 on the Knuedler and roughly 21:15 in Bonnevoie, once the light has faded enough for the screen. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and visitors are welcome to bring their own chairs or picnic blankets.

A short introduction precedes each film, in keeping with the Cinémathèque's mission of presenting cinema in context. And in a detail that locals have learned to trust, the screenings go ahead whatever the weather. The full, detailed programme — including subtitle versions and exact running times — is published at the start of July on the Cinémathèque's website.

Four decades of summer cinema

The City Open Air Cinema dates back to 1986, and over the years its screen has stood in some of the capital's most photogenic settings: the courtyard of the Théâtre des Capucins, the forecourt of the Grand-Ducal Palace, the Glacis drive-in and the Rotondes among them. What began as a novelty has become an institution — a free, open-to-all rite of the Luxembourg summer that needs no marketing beyond word of mouth and a clear evening sky.

That longevity is what makes the 40th edition more than a round number. By moving into Bonnevoie — a working district far from the postcard squares of the Ville Haute — the Cinémathèque is signalling that the next four decades may look less like a single grand venue and more like a travelling screen, pitching up in one neighbourhood after another. For a city whose population is among the most international in Europe, a free seat under the stars remains one of the simplest ways to share a summer night.