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During school holidays and around the major feast days, flights and Channel crossings are more expensive, but hotel prices fluctuate wildly according to the ebb and flow of business travel, which means that hotel prices may actually be cheaper during the high season (see High and Low Seasons), Weekend Rates). There are times when cheaper off-season travel costs and hotel bargains coincide. Go seek!

A multi-journey public transport pass can save money. This is particularly relevant in Brussels, where you may wish to travel to the museums and sights of Outer Brussels, beyond normal walking distance. A “10-journey” ticket covers 10 individual journeys on different days by bus, tram and Metro. A oneday pass allows you to take as many journeys as you like on a single day.

You get a 40 per cent discount on return and round-trip rail fares if you travel between Friday after 7pm and Sunday night. Children under 6 go free; those aged 6–11 are free after 9am and at weekends. There are discounts of up to 40 per cent for adults under 26, and for day-return tickets. Senior citizens aged over 65 pay a flat-rate price of €2.50 for a return journey anywhere after 9am on weekdays, except on published restricted days.

Car parking is most expensive in city centres, and much cheaper – free, even – on the outskirts. In Bruges, for instance, parking at the station in the south-west of the city is less than half the price of parking in the centre.

Enquire at the tourist office about schemes that allow you to visit several museums for a single price.

Some museums, such as the Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire (see Parc du Cinquantenaire), are free. Others have free days. The Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts and the Musée Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire are free on the afternoon of the first Wednesday of the month. Still others, including the Rubenshuis, are free on Fridays unless they have an exhibition on at the time.

Many restaurants offer set menus at a fixed price for two or three courses. You can also eat well in most cafés and bars, which offer simple dishes like soup, salad, pasta or steak and chips, or traditional snacks such as croque monsieur (ham and cheese on toast).

Belgian chips are a meal in themselves, but a good chip stall (friterie/frietkot ) has a wide range of accompaniments, including sausages, meat balls, fish cakes, and even a stew of beef cooked in beer. Together, they make a delicious, very cheap and very Belgian meal.

Delicatessens, bread shops and pâtisseries offer delicious prepared food – sandwiches, flans, tarts, tubs of salad. Pick up a first-class meal and head for a park.

Youth hotels and hostels offer by far the cheapest accommodation in Belgium – under €20 for a double room. The youth hostels follow the pattern of hostels throughout the world. The youth hotels come closer to normal hotels, with individual rooms – albeit with shared washing facilities. They also have lively bars, eateries, and internet facilities – all good for creating a sense of camaraderie.