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 (For further details see also, Weekend Rates). There are times when cheaper off-season travel costs and hotel bargains coincide.

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 one-day pass allows you to take as many journeys as you like on a single day.

You get a 50 per cent discount on return and round-trip rail fares if you travel between 7pm on Friday and Sunday night. Children under 12 can travel for free. The Go-Pass e-ticket allows under-26s to go anywhere in Belgium for €6 one way. Senior citizens aged over 65 also pay a flat-rate price of €6 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. Parking at metered bays is also available, but only for short stays.

Ask 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 (For further details 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. The Rubenshuis is free on the last Wednesday of every month.

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 hostels offer by far the cheapest accommodation in Belgium – under €20 for a double room. Most offer a mixture of two-, three-, four and six-bedroom dormitories with shared washing facilities, although there’s an increasing trend for upmarket hostels that offer ensuites. Hostels also have lively bars, kitchens for preparing your own meals, and internet facilities – all good for meeting other travellers.