Planning a trip to Belgium

Getting There

By Plane

Brussels National Airport (BRU), 11 km (7 miles) northeast of the center city, is Belgium's main, and very nearly only, international airport. It has direct rail connection to Brussels and from there to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and other Belgian cities; to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague; and to Luxembourg City. It is the hub for Brussels Airlines, and is served by many international carriers. Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), 46km (29 miles) south of Brussels, is served by budget airline Ryanair. Antwerp International Airport (ANR), just outside Antwerp to the east, is served primarily by the small Flemish carrier VLM, which operates a handful of European routes.

By Boat

P&O Ferries (tel. 0871/664-5645 in Britain, 02/710-64-44 in Belgium; www.poferries.com) has daily car-ferry service between Hull in northeast England and Zebrugge. The overnight travel time is 12 3/4 hours. Buses shuttle between the ferry terminal and Bruges Station, from where there are frequent trains to Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp.

Norfolkline (tel. 0844/847-5042 in Britain; www.norfolkline.com) was due to begin car-ferry service three times a week between Rosyth, across the Forth River from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Zeebrugge, in May 2009. The overnight travel time is 18 hours. No further details were available at the time of writing.

Transeuropa Ferries (tel. 01843/595522 in Britain, 059/34-02-60 in Belgium; www.transeuropaferries.com), has three car-ferry sailings daily, from Ramsgate in southern England to Ostend; the travel time is 4 hours. This service transports only cars and other noncommercial vehicles along with their drivers and passengers; foot passengers aren't accepted.

By Train

Rail service to the Benelux countries from major European cities is frequent, fast, and generally inexpensive compared to air travel.

Britain is connected to the Continent (or, as the Brits might say, the Continent is connected to Britain) through the Channel Tunnel. On the Eurostar high-speed train, with a top speed of 300kmph (186 mph), travel times between London St. Pancras station and Brussels Midi station are 2 hours and 40 minutes. Departures are approximately every 2 hours. For Eurostar reservations, call tel. 08705/186186 in Britain, or 02/528-28-28 in Belgium. Or book online at www.eurostar.com. Tickets also are available from main rail stations and travel agents.

The Thalys high-speed train, with a top speed of 300kmph (186 mph) connecting Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Cologne, has cut travel times from Paris-Nord station to Brussels Midi station to 1 hour and 25 minutes. Departures are approximately every hour. For Thalys information and reservations in France, call tel. 3635; in Belgium, tel. 020/528-28-28; in Germany, tel. 11861; and in Holland, tel. 0900/9296. Or book online at www.thalys.com. Tickets also are available from main rail stations and travel agents.

Further high-speed train connections are the TGV, which arrives in Brussels from France (excluding Paris), and the ICE trains that speed in from Frankfurt, Germany.

By Bus

Eurolines has the most comprehensive bus network in Europe. For reservations, call tel. 08717/818-081 in Britain, tel. 02/274-13-50 in Belgium, or tel. 020/560-8788 in the Netherlands. Or book online at www.eurolines.com.

Eurolines has bus service (through the Channel Tunnel) between London Victoria bus station and Brussels's Gare du Nord bus station, with up to four departures daily. Travel time is 8 hours.

By Car

The Benelux countries are crisscrossed by a dense network of major highways connecting them with other European countries. Distances are relatively short. Road conditions are excellent throughout all three Benelux countries, service stations are plentiful, and highways have good signs. Traffic congestion in both Brussels and Amsterdam, however, can cause monumental tie-ups -- in these two cities, it's best to park your car at your hotel garage and use local transportation or walk (the best way, incidentally, to see either city).

Via the Channel Tunnel from Britain -- The fast and efficient Eurotunnel (tel. 08705/353535 in Britain; www.eurotunnel.com) auto-transporter trains transport your car through the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone, England, to Calais, France (a 35-min. trip). Departures are every 15 minutes at peak times, every 30 minutes at times of average demand, and every hour at night.

To drive in the Benelux lands, drivers need only produce a valid driver's license from their home country. The countries are crisscrossed by a network of major international highways coming from Germany and France. Traffic is often heavy -- but distances between destinations are relatively short, road conditions are generally excellent, service stations are plentiful, and highways are plainly signposted.

The best way to experience most European cities is to drive to the city, park your car, and never touch it again until you leave. In virtually all Benelux cities, and in particular in congested places like Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp, it's smart not to even bring a car.

Entry Requirements & Customs

Passports

Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand need only a valid passport for a visit of less than 3 months to Belgium. If you're a citizen of another country, be sure to check the travel regulations before you leave.

The websites listed below provide downloadable passport applications as well as the current fees for processing applications. For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the "International Travel" tab of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov.

For Residents of Australia -- You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of Canada -- Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca). Note: Canadian children who travel must have their own passport. However, if you hold a valid Canadian passport issued before December 11, 2001, that bears the name of your child, the passport remains valid for you and your child until it expires.

For Residents of Ireland -- You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply for a 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 21/494-4700), or at most main post offices.

For Residents of New Zealand -- You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office, or download it from their website. Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.

For Residents of the United Kingdom -- To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children under 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410 or search its website at www.ukpa.gov.uk.

For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov. To find your regional passport office, check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel. 877/487-2778) for automated information.

Visas

Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand need only a valid passport for a visit to a Benelux country of less than 3 months. If you're a citizen of another country, be sure to check the travel regulations before you leave. You can get these in English from: www.diplomatie.be.

Medical Requirements

No health and vaccination certificates are required. You don't need any shots before your trip, but if you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure.

Customs

Duty-free shopping has been abolished in all European Union countries, so standard allowances do not apply to goods bought in one EU country and brought into another. In this case, there are no import limitations for most goods for personal use, but the following guideline limits may apply (above these limits you could be asked to prove the goods are for personal use): 3,200 cigarettes, 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars, and 3 kilograms of tobacco; 10 liters of liquor, 20 liters of aperitifs (port and so on), 90 liters of wine (of which 60 liters may be sparkling wine), and 110 liters of beer.

What You Can Bring In -- Travelers 17 and older residing in a country outside the EU can bring in, free of duty, 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco; 1 liter of liquor or 2 liters of sparkling or fortified wine; 2 liters of wine; 50 milliliters/grams of perfume; and 250 milliliters of eau de toilette. Import of most other goods is unlimited, so long as import duty is paid -- the duty must not exceed a value of 100€.

Forbidden products include firearms, counterfeit goods, banned narcotic substances, and protected animals and plants and products made from these.

For more information, contact Belgian Customs (tel. 02/753-48-50, 32-2/753-48-50 from outside Belgium).

What You Can Take Home -- Note that the rules from the information sources referred to below also apply to legal residents of the countries concerned, whether they are citizens or not.

U.S. Citizens: For specifics on what you can bring back and the corresponding fees, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov. (Click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure.") Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667) and request the pamphlet.

Canadian Citizens: For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).

U.K. Citizens: For information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

Irish Citizens: For information, contact the Irish Revenue's Customs Division at tel. 01/877-6400, or www.revenue.ie.

Australian Citizens: A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

New Zealand Citizens: Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

Money

Admittedly, the three Benelux countries are by no means inexpensive. Clearly, whether you agree with this statement will depend on how much you can bring to bear -- or bear to bring -- in the way of financial resources. If you're used to the prices in New York and London, those in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Luxembourg City likely won't seem too out of whack. But opportunities for scoring genuine bargains run a thin gamut from few and far between to nonexistent. In your favor is that the natives themselves display a reluctance to part unnecessarily with a euro. A sound rule of thumb is that if you lodge, dine, and entertain yourself in the same places where "ordinary" locals do, you can limit the financial damage.

Currency

The euro (€) is the currency in Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. There are 100 euro cents to each euro. Eight euro coins are in circulation: 0.01€, 0.02€, 0.05€, 0.10€, 0.20€, 0.50€ (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 euro cents, respectively), 1€, and 2€. The seven euro notes are: 5€, 10€, 20€, 50€, 100€, 200€, and 500€ -- the last two notes listed won't be of much practical use unless you're into money laundering or some other nefarious activity.

Currency Exchange

The currency-exchange offices at the main rail stations in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg City offer fair rates for cash and traveler's checks, as do banks, offices of Travelex in Belgium and Luxembourg; GWK Travelex in Holland; and VVV tourist information offices in Holland. Exchange rates at currency-exchange offices at each country's national airport are lousy. Other currency-exchange offices throughout the Benelux countries, which are open regular hours plus evenings and weekends, may charge a low commission, or none at all, but give a low rate of exchange. Hotels should be avoided as a currency-exchange resource unless there's no alternative.

The Travelex and GWK Travelex offices can arrange money transfers through Western Union.

ATMs

ATMs are widespread in Benelux cities and towns, and you can even find them in some villages. They accept bank cards and credit cards linked to the Cirrus (tel. 800/424-7787; www.mastercard.com) and PLUS (tel. 800/843-7587; www.visa.com) networks. Use the ATMs at Brussels, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg City airports to avoid the bad deals from the airport's currency-exchange offices.

Be sure you know your personal identification number (PIN) and daily withdrawal limit before you depart. If you have a five- or six-digit PIN, also be sure to obtain a four-digit number from your bank to use in the Benelux. Some cards with five- or six-digit PINs might work, but it depends on what bank you use. The best advice is to get a four-digit number from your bank.

Note: Remember that many banks impose a fee every time you use a card at another bank's ATM, and that fee can be higher for international transactions (up to $5 or more) than for domestic ones (where they're rarely more than $2). In addition, the bank from which you withdraw cash may charge its own fee. For international withdrawal fees, ask your bank.

Credit Cards

Visa and MasterCard (also known as EuroCard in Europe) are the most widely used cards in the Benelux lands. American Express is often accepted, mostly in the middle- and upper-bracket category. Diners Club is not as commonly accepted as American Express. Credit cards are not as commonly accepted as they are in the United States and Britain. Many restaurants and stores, and some hotels, don't accept them at all, and others add a 5% charge for card payment. They are almost universally accepted by gas stations, and for travel by plane, train, and even taxi (not all taxis). The smaller the business, the less likely it is to accept credit cards.

Traveler's Checks

These days, traveler's checks are less necessary because the Benelux countries have plenty of 24-hour ATMs. However, you will be charged an ATM withdrawal fee if the bank is not your own, so if you're going to withdraw money every day, you might be better off with traveler's checks, which will be replaced if lost or stolen. You can get traveler's checks at almost any bank, and from American Express, Thomas Cook, Visa, and MasterCard.

Euro traveler's checks are accepted at locations where dollar and pound traveler's checks may not be, but you'll have to convert any unused ones or keep them for a future trip to a euro-zone country.

You can buy traveler's checks at most banks. They are offered in denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500, and sometimes $1,000. Generally, you'll pay a service charge ranging from 1% to 4%.

The most popular traveler's checks are offered by American Express (tel. 800/807-6233, or 800/221-7282 for card holders -- this number accepts collect calls, offers service in several foreign languages, and exempts Amex gold and platinum cardholders from the 1% fee); Visa (tel. 800/732-1322 -- AAA members can obtain Visa checks at a $9.95 fee for sums up to $1,500 at most AAA offices or by calling tel. 866/339-3378); and MasterCard (tel. 800/223-9920).

American Express, Thomas Cook, Visa, and MasterCard offer foreign currency traveler's checks, which are useful if you're traveling to one country, or to the euro zone; they're accepted at locations where dollar checks may not be.

Tips for Single Travelers

Amsterdam is Europe's ideal singles city: Countless singles from around the world come there to have a great time. The other major Benelux cities, not so much (Antwerp and Rotterdam could be the big exceptions). Amsterdam is not that difficult of a place to get to and get to grips with for a person traveling alone. There are lots of hotels and restaurants in all price bands, and it's easy to meet other people around the bars and clubs, on canal-boat tours and bicycle tours, and in other ways.

I don't know if anybody ever went to Brussels, Bruges, or Ghent for a no-holds-barred wild-party vacation -- and for sure not to the Hague, Liège, or Luxembourg City. I don't mean to say there are no decent bars and dance clubs amid the fine dining, art galleries, history museums, and other sober-sided goings-on in these places, but that's not really where their heart and soul are.

Companies that specialize in solo travel to the Benelux lands are thin on the ground. The Singles Travel Company, 56 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030 (tel. 888/286-8687, or 408/354-3871; www.singlestravelcompany.com), takes in Amsterdam as a part of its European tour.

Calendar of Events

Belgium is big on festivals. You could arrive in a town or village to find that the populace has turned out, some of them in costume, to honor with all due solemnity (followed by some fun and games) the local cheese. The country has a lively and colorful Carnival tradition, which includes, in the otherwise unremarkable town of Binche, one that's among the most spectacular in Europe.

The Festival of Flanders is a program of cultural events that runs at venues throughout Flanders from September to June. Contact Festival van Vlaanderen (tel. 012/23-57-19; www.festival.be).

The Festival of Wallonia is a program of classical music that runs at venues throughout Wallonia from September to June. Contact Festival de Wallonie (tel. 081/73-37-81; www.festivaldewallonie.be).

For more information about what's on and where, visit www.agenda.be.

January

Bommelsfeesten (Festival of Fools), Ronse. The main action of this traditional festival in the East Flanders town, with its masked characters called Bommels, has been moved from Zotte Maandag (Crazy Monday) to the preceding Saturday. Contact Dienst Toerisme Ronse (tel. 055/23-28-16; www.ronse.be). Weekend (Sat-Mon) closest to the Epiphany (Jan 6).

Antiques and Fine Arts Fair, Brussels. The top Belgian antiques dealers and selected dealers from abroad get together to show off their wares in the Tour & Taxis exhibition area at the city's old port. Contact Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique (tel. 02/513-48-31; www.brafa.be). Last 10 days of January.

February

Carnival, Eupen. Five days of pre-Lenten revelry in the capital town of Belgium's German-speaking district. Highlight is the Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) Procession. Contact Verkehrsamt Eupen (tel. 087/55-34-50; www.eupen-info.be). Thursday to Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday).

Carnival, Malmédy. The pre-Lenten festival brings good-natured mayhem to the streets of this otherwise sober town. Sunday is the day of the big parade, when costumed characters called Banes Courants chase people through the streets and others called Haguètes snare passersby with long wooden pincers. Contact Maison du Tourisme de Malmédy (tel. 080/33-02-50; www.eastbelgium.com). Saturday to Shrove Tuesday.

Carnival, Aalst. Three days of pre-Lenten festivities, including the Giants' Parade with the horse Bayard, onion throwing from the roofs of the Grote Markt, and the parade of Vuil Jeannetten -- men dressed as women. Contact Dienst Toerisme Aalst (tel. 053/73-22-70; www.aalst.be). Sunday to Shrove Tuesday.

Carnival, Binche. One of Europe's most colorful street carnivals, led on Shrove Tuesday by the sumptuously costumed Gilles de Binche, modeled, or so it is believed, on Inca nobles. Contact Office du Tourisme de Binche (tel. 064/33-67-27; www.binche.be). Sunday to Shrove Tuesday.

March

Bal du Rat Mort (Dead Rat's Ball), Ostend. This outrageous fancy-dress event takes its grisly name from a chic Paris cafe. Proceeds go to charity. Contact Toerisme Oostende (tel. 059/70-11-99; www.toerisme-oostende.be). First Saturday in March.

Carnival, Stavelot. The Blancs Moussis, characters with long red noses and hooded white costumes, are the stars of the town's Laetere procession. Contact Office du Tourisme de Stavelot (tel. 080/86-27-06; http://tourisme.stavelot.be). Sunday (3 weeks before Easter).

Carnival, Fosses-la-Ville. Costumed characters called Chinels parade through the streets. Contact Syndicat d'Initiative Fosses-la-Ville (tel. 071/71-46-24; www.fosses-la-ville.be). Saturday and Sunday (3 weeks before Easter).

April

Sablon Spring Baroque Music Festival, Brussels. Open-air concerts on place du Grand Sablon. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). April/May.

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Science fiction and fantasy films are screened at several movie theaters around the city. Contact Peymey Diffusion (tel. 02/201-17-13; www.bifff.org). April 9 to 21, 2009; similar dates in 2010.

Meieavondviering (May Day's Eve Festival), Hasselt. Celebrants plant a May Tree on the Grote Markt and burn dummies representing winter, while participants costumed as witches dance on the square. Contact VVV Hasselt (tel. 011/23-95-40; www.hasselt.be). April 30.

May

Queen Elisabeth Contest, Brussels. For promising young musicians, featuring a different instrument each year. Generally at Bozar (Palais des Beaux-Arts), and a few other venues. Contact Concours Reine Elisabeth (tel. 02/213-40-50; www.concours-reine-elisabeth.be). Throughout May.

Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels. Arts festival famed across the cultural universe for its irritatingly scrunched-up name, which means -- brilliantly original, this -- Arts Festival, in both Dutch and French. It spotlights stage events, putting an emphasis on opera, theater, and dance, but finds space for cinema, music concerts, and fine-arts exhibits. Various auditoriums and venues around town. Contact Kunstenfestivaldesarts (tel. 02/219-07-07; www.kfda.be). Three weeks in May.

Kattenstoet (Cat Parade), Ypres (Ieper). During the traditional Festival of the Cats, toy cats (it used to be live ones!) are thrown from the town hall belfry. Contact Toerisme Ieper (tel. 057/23-92-20; www.ieper.be). Every third year on the second Sunday in May. May 10, 2009.

Heilig-Bloedprocessie (Procession of the Holy Blood), Bruges. The bishop of Bruges carries a relic of the Holy Blood through the streets, while costumed characters act out biblical scenes. Contact Toerisme Brugge (tel. 050/44-46-46; www.brugge.be). Ascension Day (fifth Thurs after Easter).

Ducasse de Mons (Chariot of Gold Procession). Religious procession of guilds and the reliquary of St. Waudru, followed by a folkloric performance on the streets of Mons, the "Lumeçon," in which St. George slays the dragon. Contact Maison du Tourisme du Pays de Mons (tel. 065/33-55-80; www.monsregion.be). Holy Trinity Sunday (first Sun after Pentecost).

Brussels Jazz Marathon. Enjoy a long weekend of jazz, all kinds, at a slew of concerts on the Grand-Place, place du Grand Sablon, and place Ste-Catherine; at other open-air venues around town; and in jazz clubs, cafes, and hotel bars. Contact Jazztronaut (tel. 02/456-04-82; www.brusselsjazzmarathon.be). Third week in May.

June

Day of the Four Processions, Tournai. The annual parade features flower-decked floats, a military band, and the highlight, a procession of giants representing historical characters, including King Chílderic of the Franks and France's King Louis XIV. Contact Office du Tourisme de Tournai (tel. 069/22-20-45; www.tournai.be). Second Sunday in June.

International Cartoon Festival, Knokke-Heist. Belgium is a big producer and consumer of cartoons and comic strips for both adults and children. Here it celebrates the national fascination with the "Ninth Art," as comic-strip art is dubbed by its practitioners and aficionados. Contact Toerisme Knokke-Heist (tel. 050/63-08-30; www.knokke-heist.info). Mid-June to early September.

Carillon Concerts, Mechelen. Home to Belgium's Royal Carillon School, Mechelen is one of the world's centers of carillon music, in which a classically trained musician employs a keyboard to play music on clusters of bells hanging in belfries -- in this case, the tower of St. Rombold's Cathedral. Contact In&Uit Mechelen (tel. 070/22-28-00). Saturday to Monday evenings, mid-June to August.

Couleur Café Festival, Brussels. Three days of Afro, Caribbean, and Latin music and dance, ably supported by heaps of soul food, at the Tour & Taxis cultural complex, in a former warehouse zone next to the Willebroeck Canal dock. Contact Couleur Café (www.couleurcafe.be). June 26 to 28, 2009; similar dates (Fri-Sun) 2010.

Brussels Film Festival. A 9-day feast of European films, primarily of first or second features, and by independent directors, screened at the Flagey cultural center. Contact Festival du Film Européen de Bruxelles (tel. 050/63-08-30; www.fffb.be). June 27 to July 5, 2009; similar dates in 2010.

July

Entertainment, Grand-Place, Brussels. Concerts, theater, dance, exhibits, and other forms of entertainment "animate" the Grand-Place. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). Entire month.

Ommegang, Brussels. A dramatic annual historical pageant that dates from the 13th century and represents the city guilds, magistrates, and nobles honoring the Virgin Mary. Participants wearing period costume from the time of the "joyous entry" of Emperor Charles V into Brussels in 1549, escorted by a mounted cavalcade and waving medieval banners, go in procession from place du Grand Sablon to the Grand-Place. Contact Ommegang-Brussels Events (tel. 02/512-19-61; www.ommegang.be). First Tuesday and Thursday in July.

Brosella Folk and Jazz Festival, Brussels. A small-scale specialized music fest that takes place over a weekend at the Théâtre de Verdure in Parc d'Osseghem. Contact Les Amis de Brosella (tel. 02/270-98-56; www.brosella.be). Mid-July.

Cactus Festival, Bruges. A prickly summer rock festival unfolds over 3 days and attracts big names to the city. Contact Cactus Muziekcentrum (tel. 050/33-20-14; www.cactusfestival.be). Mid-July.

Belgian National Day, Brussels. Marked throughout Belgium but celebrated most in Brussels, with a military procession and music at the Royal Palace. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). July 21.

Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festivities). Free street entertainment of music, dance, theater, puppet shows, and general fun and games marks the annual Ghent Festivities. Contact Dienst Feestelijkheeden (tel. 09/269-46-00; www.gentsefeesten.be). July 18 to 27, 2009; similar dates in 2010.

August

Visiting the Royal Palace, Brussels. Exceptionally, the Royal Palace on place des Palais is open to free guided tours. King Albert and Queen Paola won't be there, however. Contact Palais Royal (www.monarchie.be). Throughout August (dates vary year by year but generally include the last week or so of July and the first week or so of Sept).

Planting of the Meyboom (May Pole), Brussels. Despite the name, this does happen in August, on the eve of the Feast of St. Lawrence, at the corner of rue des Sables and rue du Marais, and celebrates Brussels's victory over Leuven in 1311 (nowadays it's more a celebration of summer). Contact Société Royale des Compagnons de Saint-Laurent (tel. 02/217-39-43). August 9.

Tapis des Fleurs (Carpet of Flowers), Grand-Place, Brussels. The historic square is carpeted with two-thirds of a million begonias arranged in a kind of tapestry. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). Mid-August in even-numbered years.

Marktrock, Leuven. Three days of rock and jazz on the square in front of Leuven's beautiful Stadhuis (Town Hall). Contact Dienst Toerisme Leuven (tel. 016/20-30-20; www.leuven.be) or visit www.marktrock.be. Mid-August.

Outremeuse Festival, Liège. Music, dance, and theater performances go along with appearances by the city's two favorite folklore characters, Tchantchès and Nanesse. Contact Office du Tourisme de Liège (tel. 04/221-92-21; www.liege.be). August 15.

September

Liberation Parade, Brussels. The Manneken-Pis statue is dressed in a Welsh Guard's uniform in honor of the city's liberation in 1944. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). September 3.

Grande Procession, Tournai. Commemorates a religious procession that first took place in 1092 to thank Our Lady for warding off the plague. Contact Office du Tourisme de Tournai (tel. 069/22-20-45; www.tournai.be). Second or third Sunday in September.

Brussels Heritage Days. Taking a different theme each year, this program allows you to visit some of the finest buildings in town that are usually closed to visitors. Contact or visit the Centre d'Information, Les Halles de St-Géry, place St-Géry (tel. 0800/40-400; Métro: Bourse), open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Third weekend of September.

October

Filmfestival Gent, Ghent. Belgium's top international film festival, and an event that has grown in stature over the past 3 decades to become one of Europe's movie showcases. As many as 150 full-length movies and 100 shorts are screened each year. Contact Filmfestival Gent (tel. 09/242-80-60; www.filmfestival.be). During 11 days, midmonth.

November

Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival, Bruges. Cool works of art with a too-short shelf life can be viewed on Stationsplein in front of the rail station. Contact Snow & Ice (tel. 050/20-04-62; www.ijssculptuur.be). For 2 weeks anytime from the third week of November to mid-January.

December

Christmas Market, Brussels. Stands selling seasonal trinkets, traditional craft items, and food and drink are set up on place Ste-Catherine. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). Throughout the month, daily from 11am to 10pm.

Christmas Market, Bruges. Stands selling seasonal trinkets, craft items, and food and drink, alongside an ice-skating rink, are set up on the Markt. A second market is on Simon Stevinplein, daily from 11am to 7pm. Contact Toerisme Brugge (tel. 050/44-46-46; www.brugge.be). Throughout the month, daily from 11am to 10pm.

Christmas Market, Ghent. Stands selling seasonal trinkets, craft items, and food and drink are set up on Sint-Baafsplein. Contact Dienst Toerisme Gent (tel. 09/266-52-32; www.gent.be). Throughout the month, daily from 11am to 10pm.

Nativity Scene and Christmas Tree, Grand-Place, Brussels. The crib on display at this Christmas nativity scene has real animals. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be). Throughout the month.

Winter Fun, Brussels. An ice-skating rink and a big wheel are set up on Marché aux Poissons; on neighboring place Ste-Catherine there's a baroque carousel. Contact Brussels International Tourism (tel. 02/513-89-40; www.brusselsinternational.be) or visit www.plaisirsdhiver.be. Throughout the month.

Regions in Brief

Modest little Belgium has never been known to boast of its charms, yet its variety of language, culture, history, and cuisine would do credit to a country many times its size. Belgium's diversity stems from its location at the cultural crossroads of Europe. The boundary between the Continent's Germanic north and Latin south cuts clear across the nation's middle, leaving Belgium divided into two major ethnic regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia.

Although international attention is focused on Brussels as the "capital of Europe," there's another Belgium of Gothic cathedrals, medieval castles, cobblestone streets, and tranquil canals waiting in the wings. In a country the size of Maryland and two-fifths the size of Scotland, the timeless beauty of Bruges and Ghent are accessible, even to the most hurried visitor, and to get away from it all, there's no better place than the unhurried Ardennes.

Brussels

In a sense, Brussels has a split personality. One is the brash new "capital of Europe," increasingly aware of its power and carrying a padded expense account in its elegant leather pocketbook. The other is the old Belgian city -- once a seat of emperors, but lately more than a little provincial, tenaciously hanging onto its heritage against the wave of Euroconstruction that has swept over it.

These two cities intersect, of course, generally in a popular bar or restaurant, though they may sit together uneasily. Most foreigners who live here long enough, or who stay on an extended vacation, find they need to choose between the two. As an outsider, it's easy enough to live in the Eurocity. Getting below the surface to the real Brussels is more difficult, but worth the effort.

Bruges

From its 13th-century origins as a cloth-manufacturing town to its current incarnation as a tourism mecca, the main town of West Flanders province seems to have changed little. As in a fairy tale, swans glide down the winding canals, and the stone houses look as if they're made of gingerbread. Even though glass-fronted stores have taken over the ground floors of ancient buildings, and swans scatter before tour boats chugging along the canals, Bruges has made the transition from medieval to modern with remarkable grace. The town seems revitalized rather than crushed by the tremendous influx of tourists.

Ghent & Antwerp

The old town at the confluence of the Scheldt and Leie rivers has been spruced up, and Ghent has never looked so good. Although this former seat of the powerful counts of Flanders is larger and more citified than Bruges, it has enough cobblestone streets, meandering canals, and antique Flemish architecture to make it nearly as magical as its more famous sister.

Antwerp is a port city, with all the liveliness, sophistication, and occasional seediness you'd expect from the world's fifth-largest port. The city is the acknowledged "Diamond Center of the World," the leading market for cut diamonds and second only to London as an outlet for raw and industrial diamonds. It boasts a magnificent cathedral, a fine-arts museum full of Flemish masterpieces, a maze of medieval streets in the town center, and a vibrant cultural life.

The Belgian Coast & Ypres

At the center of the seacoast is Ostend, the "Queen of the Coast." It retains a little of the cachet and some of the ambience of its great days as a 19th-century beach resort. It's complemented by more modern resorts such as Knokke-Heist and De Panne.

Having suffered through centuries of intermittent warfare and almost total destruction during World War I, Ypres (Ieper) has picked itself up in the years since, its indomitable spirit intact -- a spirit that shines in the perseverance underlying its 20th-century rebuilding of 13th-century buildings.

Liège, the Meuse River & Hainaut

The rugged Meuse River valley, the heartland of French-speaking Wallonia, is speckled with resort towns in which fine cuisine is a way of life. A visit to Liège, Namur, Huy, and Dinant after being to Brussels and the Flemish art cities of Bruges and Ghent adds another dimension to Belgium.

Tucked into an area south of Brussels that stretches to the French border, Hainaut, Belgium's "Green Province," can seem isolated from the mainstream of Belgian life, yet possesses prime assets in the historic towns of Mons and Tournai.

The Ardennes

Belgium's wildest, most heavily forested region is its least populated, part of the rugged Ardennes-Eifel Massif, which stretches across into Germany, Luxembourg, and France. French is the most common language, but in the northeast, in the area called the Ostkantone (East Cantons), you most often hear German spoken, a residue from the years before 1919 when this part of the Ardennes belonged to Germany.

Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

Contact the gay and lesbian community centers in Brussels Tels Quels, rue du Marché-au-Charbon 81 (tel. 02/512-45-87; www.telsquels.be), open Saturday to Thursday from 5pm to 2am, and Friday from 8am to 4am; and Maison Arc-en-Ciel, av. Winston Churchill 175 (tel. 02/347-67-56; www.rainbowhouse.be). For Flanders, try the Holebifederatie, Kammerstraat 22 (tel. 09/223-69-29; www.holebifederatie.be), in Ghent.

Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism

The Dutch take the environment seriously. Living in a small country that's so heavily populated that they need to recover land from the sea, they must. More than 60% of household waste is sorted, collected, and recycled. As a visitor, you are expected to play your part and not to just toss stuff without first checking if it's recyclable or reusable. In 2007, a wind farm in the North Sea began generating 108 megawatts of power from 36 wind turbines, enough to supply 100,000 homes. A 120-megawatt offshore wind farm is under construction. By 2010 Holland aims to produce 9% of its electricity from renewable resources.

All those bicycles you see in the Benelux take plenty of cars off the street. Anyone who's not riding a bike is likely to be walking, or getting around by tram. Visitors are encouraged to do likewise. There are many places where you can rent bikes, and the city's public transportation is both easy to use and efficient. This commitment to going by bicycle applies absolutely everywhere in Holland, and to all age groups.

Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region comes close to sharing the Dutch commitment to getting around by bike, particularly in areas close to the Dutch border and along the coast. In much of francophone Belgium and in Luxembourg, the hilly terrain makes the bicycle not an ideal mode of transportation, though it is used enthusiastically for sport and fitness.

Green living extends to what people eat. Restaurants in Amsterdam such as Bolhoed, Golden Temple, and De Kas; Shanti in Brussels; and Lotus in Bruges use "bio" and vegan products and ingredients in the meals they serve. Many hotels have signed up to the sustainable operations agreements, which provide for becoming more energy efficient in all areas of operation, conserving water, decreasing the amount of unsorted waste, and more.

Fast Facts

Business Hours -- Banks are usually open Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 4:30pm, and some branches are open on Saturday morning. Stores generally are open from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and some are also open on Sunday. Most department stores have late hours on Friday, remaining open until 8 or 9pm.

Drinking & Drug Laws -- Belgium has rigid prohibitions against the possession and use of controlled narcotic drugs, and a strict enforcement policy that virtually guarantees stiff fines and/or jail sentences for offenders. This can be especially important if you are traveling from neighboring Holland, where the rules are more tolerant and enforcement (for soft drugs) is generally lax. The minimum age for drinking beer and wine in bars and for legally purchasing beer and wine is 16; for drinking hard liquor in bars and for legally purchasing hard liquor, the minimum age is 18.

Electricity -- Like in most of Europe, Belgium uses 230 (220-240) volts AC (50 cycles), compared to 110 to 120 volts AC (60 cycles) in the United States and Canada. Converters that change 110-120 volts to 220-240 volts are difficult to find in Belgium, so bring one with you.

Bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests.

Embassies & Consulates -- All the following embassies are located in the Belgian capital, Brussels. U.S.: bd. du Régent 25-27 (tel. 02/508-21-11; www.usembassy.be; Métro: Arts-Loi), open for visa applications Monday to Friday from 9am to noon, and for assistance to U.S. citizens from 1:30 to 4:30pm. Canada: av. de Tervuren 2 (tel. 02/741-06-11; Métro: Merode), open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9am to noon and 2 to 4pm, Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to noon. U.K.: rue Arlon 85 (tel. 02/287-62-11; Métro: Maalbeek), open for visa applications Monday to Friday from 9:30am to noon, and for other matters from 9:30am to 12:30pm and 2:30 to 4:30pm. Australia: rue Guimard 6-8 (tel. 02/286-05-00; Métro: Arts-Loi), open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12:30pm and 2 to 4pm. New Zealand: Square de Meeûs 1 (tel. 02/512-10-40; Métro: Trone), open Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 3:30pm. Ireland: rue Wiertz 50 (tel. 02/235-66-76; Métro: Schuman), open Monday to Friday from 10am to 1pm.

Emergencies -- For police assistance, call tel. 101. For an ambulance or the fire department, call tel. 100.

Gasoline (Petrol) -- A gas (petrol) station is a station-service in French, and a benzinestation, a pompstation, or a tankstation in Dutch. Gasoline in Belgium is lead-free and sold in two varieties: eurosuper 95 or eurosuper 98 (for its octane number). Diesel is sold in all stations; LPG (liquid petroleum gas), is sold in many. The first hydrogen-fuel pump was installed in 2008. Taxes are already included in the printed price. One U.S. gallon equals 3.8 liters, and 1 imperial gallon equals 4.4 liters.

Internet Access -- The number of "cybercafes" has been declining, but most towns still have some.

Language -- Belgians speak either French or Dutch (you may hear it called Flemish), and a tiny minority in the east speaks German. Many Belgians speak two or all three of the national tongues but, since language is a sensitive subject in the land, they might not be willing to prove this by actually doing so in practice. English is in effect the second language, and it is taught in the schools from the early grades, with the result that many Belgians speak fluently. You may speak English in Belgium almost as freely as you do at home, particularly to anyone in the business of providing tourist services, whether cab driver, hotel receptionist, waitperson, or store assistant.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. The American Express emergency number in Belgium is tel. 02/676-21-21. For Diners Club, call tel. 02/626-50-04. MasterCard holders should call tel. 0800/1-5096. Visa's emergency number is tel. 0800/1-4379.

If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks in Belgium are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 1-800/325-6000 in the U.S.; www.westernunion.com).

Mail -- Most offices of La Poste are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Postage for a postcard or an ordinary letter up to 50 grams (1 3/4 oz.) to the U.K., Ireland, and other European countries is 0.80€ ($1.30); to the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the world, it's 0.90€ ($1.45).

Newspapers & Magazines -- The main British and Irish daily newspapers, and the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal Europe, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report, Business Week, Fortune, The Economist, and more are available from news vendors at major railway stations, and from other outlets in the main towns and cities.

Pharmacies -- For both prescription and nonprescription medicines, go to a pharmacy (pharmacie in French; apotheek in Dutch). Regular pharmacy hours are Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm (some close earlier on Sat). Each pharmacy posts a list of late-night and weekend pharmacies on the door; or contact tel. 0900/105-00; www.apotheek.be.

Police -- For emergency police assistance, call tel. 101.

Smoking -- Smoking is officially forbidden in most restaurants and bars. Exceptions are small bars and small restaurants serving light meals. Trams, buses, and Metro trains are smoke-free. Note: This being Belgium -- where thumbing one's nose at the awesome number of local rules and regulations is a national sport -- don't be surprised if nobody takes a blind bit of notice of the smoking ban anyway.

Taxes -- On top of a 16% service charge, there's a value-added tax (TVA/BTW) of 6% on hotel bills, 12% on some other goods and services, and a whopping 21% on restaurant bills. The higher rate is charged on purchased goods, too. If you spend over 125€ ($200) in some stores and you are not a resident of the European Union, you can recover it by having the official receipt stamped by Belgian Customs on departure and returning the stamped receipt to the store. Your refund should arrive by check or be credited to your credit card within a few weeks. Not all stores participate in this scheme so it pays to ask first, particularly for major purchases.

Time -- Belgium is on Western European Time (WET), which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), plus 1 hour. Clocks are moved ahead 1 hour for daylight-saving Western European Summer Time (WEST) between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. For example, when it's 6pm in Brussels, it's 9am in Los Angeles (PST), 7am in Honolulu (HST), 10am in Denver (MST), 11am in Chicago (CST), noon in New York City (EST), 5pm in London (GMT), and 2am the next day in Sydney.

For the exact local time from the local "speaking clock," dial tel. 0900/8002.

Tipping -- The prices on most restaurant menus already include a service charge of 16%, so it's unnecessary to tip. However, if the service is good, it's customary to show appreciation with a tip. It's enough to round up the bill to the nearest convenient amount, if you wish, rather than leave a full-fledged tip. Otherwise, 10% is adequate, and more than most Belgians would leave. Service charge is included in your hotel bill as well. Taxis include the tip in the meter reading. You can round up the fare if you like, but you need not add a tip unless you have received extra service like help with luggage. Here's a general guide to tipping for other services: Give 20% of the bill to hairdressers (leave it with the cashier when you pay up), and 2€ ($3.20) per piece of luggage to porters.

Toilets -- In primarily French-speaking Brussels and in Wallonia, these likely will display an H or HOMMES for men, and an F or FEMMES for women; in Dutch-speaking Flanders, it'll be an H or HEREN for men, and a D or DAMES for women (or there'll be a graphic that should leave no doubt either way). Be sure to pay the person who sits at the entrance to a toilette. He or she has a saucer where you put your money, usually around 0.50€ (80¢).

Water -- The water from the faucet in Belgium is safe to drink. Many people drink bottled mineral water, though, generally Belgian brands like Spa and Bru.

Tips on Accommodations

Traditional European hotels tend to be simpler than American ones and emphasize cleanliness and friendliness over amenities. For example, even in the cheapest American chain motel, free cable is as standard as indoor plumbing. In Europe, few hotels below the moderate level have in-room TVs.

Unless otherwise noted, all hotel rooms here have private en suite bathrooms. However, the standard European hotel bathroom might not look like what you're used to. For example, one European concept of a shower is a nozzle stuck in the bathroom wall and a drain in the floor. Shower curtains are optional. In some cramped private bathrooms, you have to relocate the toilet paper outside the bathroom before turning on the shower and drenching the whole room. Another interesting fixture is the "half tub," in which there's only room to sit, rather than lie down. Hot water may be available only once a day and not on demand -- this is especially true with shared bathrooms. Heating water is costly, and many smaller hotels do so only once daily, in the morning.

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg established the Benelux Hotel Classification System back in 1978 and updated the standards in 1994. Each establishment that accepts guests must publicly display a sign indicating its classification (from "1" for those with minimum amenities to "5" for deluxe, full-service hotels). The national tourist boards do an excellent job of providing full accommodations listings and advance booking for visitors. The Belgian and the Netherlands tourist offices, and the Netherlands Reservations Center (NRC), Nieuwe Gouw 1, 1442 LE Purmerend, Netherlands (tel. 0299/689-144 or 0299/689-154; www.hotelres.nl), will reserve accommodations for you at no charge before you leave home. The Luxembourg Tourist Office can furnish a complete list of accommodations in the Grand Duchy.

Should the idea of vacationing on a working farm, or in a château, an old-fashioned country home, or even in an old school converted to a character-filled lodging, hold some charms for you, Belgium has two organizations that can smooth your path to the front door. In Wallonia, contact Maison des Gîtes de Wallonie, av. Prince de Liège 1/21, 5100 Jambes-Namur (tel. 081/31-18-00; fax 081/31-02-00; www.gitesdewallonie.net). For Flanders, contact Plattelandstoerisme in Vlaanderen, Diestsevest 40, 3000 Leuven (tel. 016/28-60-35; fax 016/28-60-39; www.hoevetoerisme.be).

In all three countries, you can choose among luxury hotels in city or rural locations; smaller urban hotels with moderate rates and somewhat limited facilities; and charming, family-run country inns. No matter what end of the price scale it's on, each lodging will be spotlessly clean and will feature a staff dedicated to personal attention and excellent service. The rates quoted include the service charge (usually 15%), tax and, in most cases, breakfast.

Be sure to inquire about discounts when you book your room. Many hotels have a variety of room rates. It's sometimes possible to pay less if you settle for a shower instead of full bathroom facilities. Also, weekend or midweek rates are often available.

Visitor Information

The official tourist agency for each country maintains overseas branches that provide excellent in-depth information on a vast array of subjects, including special interests.

U.S. -- Belgian Tourist Office, 220 E. 42nd St., Suite 3402, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212/758-8130; fax 212/355-7675; www.visitbelgium.com).

Canada -- Residents of Canada call tel. 514/457-2888 to be switched through to the Belgian Tourist Office in New York. For information concerning Brussels and French-speaking Wallonia (not Flanders), francophone Canadians should contact the Office de Promotion du Tourisme Wallonie-Bruxelles, 43 rue de Buade, Bureau 525, Quebec Ville, Quebec, G1R 4A2 (tel. 418/692-4939; fax 418/692-4974; www.belgique-tourisme.qc.ca).

U.K. & Ireland -- Brussels and French-speaking Wallonia (and its German-speaking district): Belgian Tourist Office Brussels & Wallonia, 217 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FJ (tel. 020/7537 1132, brochure line tel. 0800/954 5245; fax 020/7531-0393; www.belgiumtheplaceto.be).

Brussels and Dutch-speaking Flanders: Tourism Flanders-Brussels, 1A Cavendish Sq., London W1G 0LD (tel. 020/7307-7738; www.visitflanders.co.uk).

In Belgium, for Brussels and the French-speaking Wallonia region (and its mainly German-speaking Ostkantone district), contact the Office de Promotion du Tourisme de Wallonie et Bruxelles, rue Saint-Bernard 30, 1060 Bruxelles (tel. 070/221-021, brochure line; Belgium only line 02/509-24-00; fax 02/513-04-75; www.opt.be). This is an administrative office only, and is not open for personal visits.

For Brussels and the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, contact Toerisme Vlaanderen, rue du Marché aux Herbes/Grasmarkt 61-63, 1000 Bruxelles (tel. 02/504-03-90; fax 02/513-04-48; www.visitflanders.com; Métro: Gare Centrale). The office is open for personal visits April to June and September Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and Sunday from 10am to 5pm; July to August hours are daily from 9am to 7pm; and October to March, it's open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

Tourist offices in French-speaking areas are generally called the Office du Tourisme, and in small places the Syndicat d'Initiative. In Dutch-speaking areas, they're called Toerisme "whatever" -- for instance, Toerisme Brugge, for Bruges -- or VVV followed by the place name. In German-speaking areas, offices are called Verkehrsamt.

The Euro -- Belgium's currency is the euro.

Useful Websites

In addition to official tourist organization websites -- such as www.visitbelgium.com, www.opt.be, www.wallonie-tourisme.be, www.brusselsinternational.be, www.visitflanders.com -- there are many other useful sources of online information.

Tips for Women Travelers

In Amsterdam, it's safe for groups of women to go around in the city's famed (or notorious) Red Light District -- always supposing they can stomach seeing other women serving purely as sex objects -- but a young woman on her own, particularly after dark, could be subject to at least verbal harassment, and misrepresentation as a "working girl." All other red light zones in Benelux cities -- and especially those in Brussels and Antwerp -- are best avoided by women.

Public transportation in most Benelux towns and cities is usually busy even late at night, so you generally won't have to worry about being alone in a bus, tram, or Metro train. If you feel nervous, sit close to the driver whenever possible.

Holland has long enjoyed a relaxed attitude to exposing nontrivial amounts of the undraped female form -- a recent government DVD, part of a now-mandatory "education" for would-be migrants, portrays going topless at the beach as an integral part of Dutch culture. Far fewer women are actually going without at the beach or in the park these days, and those who do are less likely to be younger women and teens. Catholic Belgium and Luxembourg always were less relaxed about this, and remain so.

Tips for Travelers with Disabilities

Many hotels and restaurants in Benelux now provide easy access for people with disabilities, and some display the international wheelchair symbol in their brochures and advertising. It's always a good idea to call ahead to find out what the situation is before you book. Both Brussels National Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol have services to help travelers with disabilities through the airport. There's also comprehensive assistance for travelers with disabilities throughout the railway systems of all three countries. Inquire also at the national tourist board offices in each country for specific details on the available resources.

Not all trams in Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and other cities are easily accessible for travelers in wheelchairs, but the new trams being introduced on some routes have low central doors that are accessible. The Metro system is fully accessible, but that's not as good as it sounds, because few Metro stations are near places where visitors want to go. Taxis are also difficult, but new minivan taxis are an improvement. There's comprehensive assistance for travelers on Netherlands Railways (tel. 030/235-5555) trains and in stations. If you give them a day's notice of your journey by visiting a station or calling ahead, they can arrange for assistance along the way.

A good source of information in the Netherlands is ANWB Disabled Department (tel. 070/314-1420). In Luxembourg, contact Info Handicap, av. De la Gare 65, 1611 Luxembourg-Ville (tel. 352/366-466; www.info-handicap.lu).

Tips for Senior Travelers

Mention the fact that you're a senior when you make your travel reservations. By far the best way to get around in the Benelux lands is by public transportation -- metro trains, trams, and buses for short journeys, and trains for longer journeys. All three countries offer discounts for seniors on public transportation. For train travel, these discounts begin at age 65 in Belgium, and at age 60 in Holland and Luxembourg. Bus companies may have different starting ages for discounted tickets and passes. Many sightseeing attractions and tour companies offer senior discounts, but these might apply only to local residents when they produce an appropriate ID. Be sure to ask when you buy your ticket.

Staying Connected

Telephones

The country code for Belgium is 32. When calling Belgium from abroad, you do not use the initial 0 in the area code. For example, if you're calling a Brussels number (area code 02) from outside Belgium, you dial the international access code (which is 011 when calling from North America, and 00 from elsewhere in Europe) and then 32-2, followed by the subscriber number.

You only dial the initial 0 of the area code if you're calling within Belgium (and this includes if you're calling another number in the same area-code zone). When you call someone in Belgium, you always need to use the area code even if you're calling from inside the same area. There are two main formats for Belgian phone numbers. In the main cities, a two-digit area code followed by a seven-digit number; and for other places, a three-digit area code followed by a six-digit number. For instance, Brussels's tourist information number is 02/513-89-40; Ypres's is 057/23-92-00.

For information in English, both domestic and international, dial tel. 1405.

To make international calls from Belgium, first dial 00 and then the country code. To call the United States or Canada, dial 00 (the international access code) + 1 (the country code) + the area code + the number. For example, if you want to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., dial 00-1-202-588-7800. Other country codes are: United Kingdom, 44; Ireland, 353; Australia, 61; New Zealand, 64. International calls, per minute, cost: U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland: 0.35€ (55¢); Australia, New Zealand: 1€ ($1.60).

You can use most pay phones in booths all around town with a Belgacom telecard (phone card), selling for 5€ ($8), 10€ ($16), and 20€ ($32) from post offices, train ticket counters, and newsstands. Some pay phones take coins, of 0.10€, 0.20€, 0.50€, 1€, and 2€. Both local and long-distance calls from a pay phone are 0.30€ (50¢) a minute at peak time (Mon-Fri 8am-7pm) and the same amount for 2 minutes at other times. Calls dialed direct from hotel room phones are usually more than twice the standard rate.

To charge a call to your calling card, contact: AT&T (tel. 0800/100-10), MCI (tel. 0800/100-12), Sprint (tel. 0800/100-14), Australia Direct (tel. 0800/100-61), Canada Direct (tel. 0800/100-19), British Telecom (tel. 0800/100-24), and Telecom New Zealand (tel. 0800/100-64).

Cellphones

If your phone has GSM (Global System for Mobiles) capability and you have a world-compatible phone, you should be able to make and receive calls from the Benelux countries. Only certain phones have this capability, though, and you should check with your service operator first. Call charges can be high. Alternatively, you can rent a phone through Cellhire (www.cellhire.com, www.cellhire.co.uk, or www.cellhire.com.au). After a simple online registration, they will ship a phone (usually with a U.K. number) to your home or office. Usage charges can be astronomical, so read the fine print.

U.K. mobiles work in the Benelux countries; call your service provider before departing your home country to ensure that the international call bar has been switched off and to check call charges, which can be extremely high. Also remember that you are charged for calls you receive on a U.K. mobile used abroad.

To rent a GSM mobile phone in Belgium, go to Locaphone (tel. 02/652-14-14; www.locaphone.be), in the Arrivals hall at Brussels Airport.

Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

If you have Web access while traveling, consider a broadband-based telephone service (in technical terms, Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) such as Skype (www.skype.com) or Vonage (www.vonage.com), which allow you to make free international calls from your laptop or in a cybercafe. Neither service requires the people you're calling to also have that service (though there are fees if they do not). Check the websites for details.

Internet & E-Mail

With Your Own Computer -- More and more hotels, hostels, bars, coffeehouses, and cafes have terminals and/or Wi-Fi hotspots with Internet access. To find public Wi-Fi hotspots in the Benelux lands, go to www.jiwire.com; its Hotspot Finder holds the world's largest directory of public wireless hotspots.

Without Your Own Computer -- The number of dedicated Internet cafes is declining in all three Benelux lands. You'll still find them, just not so many, due to the fact that many hotels, hostels, bars, coffeehouses, and cafes have terminals and/or Wi-Fi hotspots with Internet access.

Online Traveler's Toolbox

Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and use.

Getting Around

By Train

One of the best rail systems in the world operates in and between these small countries. There is virtually no spot so remote that it cannot easily be reached by trains that are fast, clean, and almost always on time. Furthermore, rail travel is a marvelous way to meet the locals, because the people of the Benelux countries spend as much time riding public transportation as they do behind the wheel of an automobile. Schedules are exact -- if a departure is set for 12:01pm, that means 12:01pm precisely, not 12:03pm -- and station stops are sometimes as short as 3 or 4 minutes, which means you must be fleet of foot in getting on and off.

Rail Passes -- An important consideration for anyone planning to travel a lot by train is an appropriate pass allowing reduced-rate travel. In addition to those referred to below, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have discount rail passes for travel within their own country's borders. In each country there are many lower-cost options, including cheaper weekend and day returns, reductions for multiple journeys, and reductions for more than one passenger (not all options are available in each country). You should always ask about lower-cost options before buying. You'll find more details in the planning chapters of each country.

Eurail Passes -- The Eurailpass (www.eurail.com) allows Americans unlimited first-class travel throughout the rail systems of many European countries, including the Benelux countries, at a cost of $588 for 10 days and $762 for 15 days. The Eurail Youth Pass gives you the same deal at discount rates and in second class; and there are other variations. These passes should be purchased before you leave the United States (they're more expensive if you buy them in Europe) and are available from Rail Europe (tel. 800/438-7245; www.raileurope.com) and from travel agents.

Benelux Pass -- If all or most of your travel within Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg will be by train -- and provided you plan to travel by train a lot -- a good investment may be the Benelux Tourrail Pass, available through Rail Europe (tel. 800/438-7245; www.raileurope.com), and through travel agents. It gives you unlimited travel in all three countries on any 5 days in a 1-month period. The pass costs $228 for first class, $163 for second class. But if you're not traveling far, or often, don't bother with this pass. It's hard to make it pay off because most trips in these three countries are so short and relatively cheap. Even if you cram in Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, the Hague, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels, you'll still spend on point-to-point tickets significantly less than what you'd pay for a Benelux Tourrail Pass.

By Car

Drivers need only produce a valid driver's license from your home country. While getting around by train is relaxing and fast, and touring by bicycle is healthier and more human in pace, traveling by car still gives you the most freedom to ramble at your own speed, either on or off the beaten path. You'll find information on specific requirements, rules of the road, gasoline prices, maps, automobile clubs, and other driving assistance resources in the appropriate chapters for each country.

There is a major proviso to this, however. The Benelux countries have a high density of population in relation to their size, so roads are busy. In addition, many drivers in the region have high-density road aggression, so driving can degenerate into a struggle for survival. The major roads are often busiest precisely at the most popular vacation times, and accidents are not uncommon.

Virtually all major car-rental companies have offices in the three capital cities and some other large cities, though arranging a rental outside a metropolitan area can present problems. Names and locations of rental companies are listed in the appropriate chapters for each country.

By Bus

Intercity bus service ranges from poor to nonexistent throughout the Benelux countries. This is not as bad as it sounds, because the rail network is among the best in the world, and fast, comfortable intercity trains do most of the work. If you really want to, you can travel intercity by bus, but the buses stop a lot en route, so trip times are long, and you often have to change at an intermediate town -- for example, a trip from Brussels to Liège is two journeys: Brussels to Leuven and Leuven to Liège. Tourist offices and bus stations can furnish schedule and fare information.

The exception to the avoid-the-bus rule is in sparsely populated places where there is little or no rail service, such as Zeeland in Holland and the Ardennes in Belgium. In such areas there are more regional bus services, though the buses still may be few and far between. In general, unless you have a specific reason for wanting to go by bus, you'll always find it better to go by train.

All cities have excellent bus and/or tram (and in two cases, electric trolley bus) service. Some have metro (subway) service, which means you can easily leave your car at the hotel and avoid city driving woes.

By Plane

The Benelux cities are so close together that air travel is really not worth the added expense unless time is a vital factor (and even then you might still get to your destination quicker by train). Air service among the three countries is provided by KLM Cityhopper, KLM Exel, and Brussels Airlines. The KLM associates fly frequent scheduled services between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Groningen, and Enschede in Holland; to Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium; and to Luxembourg City. Brussels Airlines flies from Brussels to Amsterdam. For current schedules, fares, and reservations, contact KLM (tel. 020/474-7747; www.klm.com) in Holland; and Brussels Airlines (tel. 070/35-13-13; www.flysn.com) in Belgium.

By Bicycle

Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg are all ideal biking countries. In Holland, especially, and in parts of Flanders, there are often special bicycle tracks in towns and cities, and well-signed long-distance routes. You can also take your bike on a train. Rental bikes are usually available at major rail stations and often at smaller ones, and some even allow you to pick up and return bikes at stations at either end of a particular route. All three national tourist boards can help you plan an itinerary best suited to your physical condition and time restraints. Holland's excellent Cycling in Holland publication is especially useful. Organized bicycle tours can be arranged through International Bike Tours, P.O. Box 754, Essex, CT 06426 (tel. 860/767-7005; fax 860/767-3090); and Cycletours, Keizersgracht 181, 1016 DR Amsterdam (tel. 20/627-4098; fax 20/627-9032).

By Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is permitted (not encouraged) in Belgium and Luxembourg, though prohibited on highways (you can, however, stand on the approach road). It's officially forbidden in Holland, but many a blind eye is turned by officialdom to those standing in a safe spot to hitchhike.

Tips for Vegetarian Travelers

In addition to an increasing number of pure vegetarian and vegan restaurants in all of the main towns and cities of the Benelux, the growing popularity of eating vegetarian means that many "carnivorous" restaurants have vegetarian options on their menus -- in these cases, though, watch out for nonlegit ingredients that might be employed simply through carelessness or lack of knowledge.

Outside of restaurants, street markets and specialized "bio" markets, and the organic-products shelves in supermarkets are common places to pick up vegetarian goods. Even if you don't have the means to cook vegetables, slicing and dicing for a meal or snack of raw vegetables should not present any problems.

Escorted & Package Tours

Packages for the Independent Traveler

The Benelux is best known for its cities. Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges, in that order, are the best places for packaged short city breaks -- something like a long weekend, 5 days, or a week would be ideal. Local airlines KLM (www.klm.com) and Brussels Airlines (www.brusselsairlines.com) offer packages, as do many other international airlines. From Britain and Ireland, it's easy to do the shorter kind of city break, by plane or by bus, and there are many companies that offer such breaks.

Escorted General-Interest Tours

With a good escorted group tour, you'll know ahead of time what your trip will cost, and you won't have to worry about transportation, luggage, hotel reservations, communicating in foreign languages, and other basics -- an experienced guide will take care of all that and lead you through all the sightseeing. The downside of a guided tour is that you trade much of the freedom and personal free time independent travel grants you and often see only the canned postcard-ready side of Europe through the tinted windows of a giant bus. You get to see Europe, but rarely do you get the chance to really know it. Consult a good travel agent for the latest offerings and advice.

Virgin Vacations (www.virgin-vacations.com) organizes great custom escorted tours of Amsterdam alone, with bus, bike, and boat options; and of Belgium and Holland together, taking in Amsterdam, Delft, Brussels, Bruges, and Antwerp.

The Amsterdam company Artifex (tel. 020/620-8112; www.artifex-travel.nl), offers everything from architecture walks to painting classes on canal boats. Its tailor-made tours aren't exactly cheap (the price depends on what you want to do), but its multilingual guides -- trained art historians -- can get you into private collections, the Royal Palace even when it's closed to the public, the Amsterdam School's Scheepvaarthuis (never open to the public), and plenty more places. Some clients wind up spending half their day in a cozy brown cafe.

With more than 450 different beers being produced in a nation of just 10 million inhabitants, you can easily see that beer is a big deal in Belgium. Some of these are run-of-the-mill pilsener beers but many are lovingly crafted specialty beers with their own distinct bottle and glass. Getting to grips with a bottle of Belgium's best is made easier on an escorted beer tour run by BeerTrips.com, PO Box 7892, Missoula, Montana 59807 (tel. 406/531-9109; http://beertrips.com/index.html).

Tiny Luxembourg is more likely to be included in a more general escorted tour than to be a destination in its own right. An example is the Imperial Capitals Tour offered by Cosmos Tours (tel. 800/942-3301; www.escortedcosmostours.com), which covers Belgium and Luxembourg in addition to other European countries.

When to Go

"In season" in Belgium means from mid-April to mid-October. The peak of the tourist season is July and August, when the weather is at its finest, but you'll find Belgium every bit as attractive during other months. Not only are airlines, hotels, and restaurants cheaper and less crowded during this time (with more relaxed service, which means you get more personal attention), but some very appealing events are going on. For example, Brussels swings into its rich music season in April, and Tournai turns out for the colorful thousand-year-old Procession of the Plague the second Sunday in September.

Climate

Although there is a world of difference between the seacoast on a summer's day and the high moorland of the Hautes Fagnes in the Ardennes in the dead of winter, Belgium's climate is generally moderate, with few extremes in temperature either in summer or winter. It does rain a lot, though there are more showers than downpours. (It's a good idea to pack a raincoat.) Temperatures are lowest in December and January, when they average 42°F (6°C), and highest in July and August, when they average 73°F (23°C).

In the springtime, when the parks are coming up flowers, the first sidewalk tables put in a tentative appearance, but the weather can be variable. July and August are the best months for soaking up rays at a sidewalk cafe, dining at an outdoors restaurant in the evening, and swimming and sunbathing at the seacoast. September usually has a few weeks of fine late-summer weather; and there are even sunny spells in winter, when brilliant, crisp weather alternates with clouded skies.

In the hilly, forested Ardennes, autumn's falling leaves bring out visitors searching for the finest fall colors. It's not quite New England, but it's spectacular enough, and any shortcomings on the color spectrum are compensated for by the culinary feasts on the menus of the many great restaurants here, during the hunting season for wild game.

Winters at the coast, moderated a touch by the North Sea, most often are rainy. Inland, it's a different story. Some years, though not very often, the temperature falls low enough for canals (in places like Bruges and Ghent) and lakes to freeze sufficiently and become playgrounds for ice skaters. In the hilly, forested Ardennes, snow brings out cross-country skiers, and even downhill skiers to the region's handful of ski lifts and short runs. Expect lots of gray skies in Brussels -- Eurocrats from sunny Mediterranean lands confess to going stir-crazy for the sight of blue skies and sun during winter in the capital.

You're well advised to pack a fold-up umbrella at any time of year. Likewise, carry a raincoat (with a wool liner for winter). Second, pack a sweater or two (even in July) and be prepared to layer your clothing at any time of year. Don't worry: In the summer, you can leave some space for T-shirts, skimpy tops, and sneakers.

For local weather forecasts, go to www.meteo.be.

Holidays

National holidays are January 1 (New Year's Day), Easter Sunday and Monday, May 1 (Labor Day), Ascension Thursday, Pentecost Sunday and Monday, July 21 (Independence Day), August 15 (Assumption), November 1 (All Saints), November 11 (World War I Armistice Day), and December 25 (Christmas Day). In Flanders only, July 11 is Flemish Community Day, the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. In Wallonia only, September 27 is French Community Day, recalling liberation from Dutch rule in 1830.

Special-Interest Vacations

Academic Trips & Language Classes

If you want to get fluent and have fun doing it, take a language course in Belgium or Holland. There are countless language schools; you can explore your options at www.language-directory.com, www.languageschoolsguide.com, or find an online partner to practice your new skills with at www.mylanguageexchange.com.

About half of Belgians are native French speakers, even if there might be a few differences between Belgian French and that of la belle France -- for instance, septante and nonante instead of soixante-dix and quatre-vingts-dix, for "seventy" and "ninety," respectively -- so no big deal. A good if pricey school where you can learn French, Dutch, German, and other languages, is CERAN (tel. 087/79-11-22; www.ceran.com). You lodge at a château outside Spa in the Belgian Ardennes. They do courses for adults and for children ages 10 to 18.

Adventure Trips

The terrain in Belgium doesn't lend itself greatly to adventure -- but it does lend itself wonderfully to bicycling, and for some that will be adventure enough. If you want an active, typically Dutch vacation, VBT Bicycling Vacations, P.O. Box 711, Bristol, VT 05443 (tel. 800/245-3868; www.vbt.com), has a 7-day "Holland: Bike and Barge" tour. You get 3 days on a barge visiting historic towns along the IJsselmeer Lake shore, followed by 4 days of bicycling in the Hoge Veluwe National Park and around nearby Arnhem. Ask about VBT's "Air Package Plus," which includes round-trip airfare to Amsterdam and pre- and post-tour accommodations. The aptly named Tulip Tours (tel. 033/246-0040; www.tulipcycling.com) does a range of great cycling vacations through this bike-crazy country.

In addition to covering Holland, Pure Adventures (tel. 800/960-2221 in the U.S.; www.pure-adventures.com), takes in the Flemish part of Belgium, with the cities of Bruges and Ghent.

Food & Wine Trips

Belgium boasts one of the Continent's great culinary traditions, even if it is a largely unsung one compared with France, Italy, and Spain. Going with Gordon's Guide Culinary Tours (http://culinary-vacations.gordonsguide.com) is a good way to get to the heart of the matter.

Volunteer & Working Trips

Here's a list of companies offering educational and volunteer opportunities in Benelux:

Staying Healthy

There are no particular health concerns in the Benelux -- if you don't count the "risk" in Amsterdam and other Dutch towns of occasionally breathing in a whiff of someone else's legally tolerated hashish smoke (and of course they'd likely argue that it's perfectly healthy). You will encounter few other health problems when traveling. The tap water is safe to drink, the milk is pasteurized, and healthcare is excellent.

No health and vaccination certificates are required. You don't need any shots before your trip, but if you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure. Pack prescription medications in your carry-on luggage, and carry them in their original containers, with pharmacy labels -- otherwise they won't make it through airport security. (Also, in light of recent events, travelers might want to visit www.tsa.com for up-to-date regulations on what is and isn't permissible to pack in carry-on baggage.) Carry the generic name of prescription medicines, in case a local pharmacist is unfamiliar with the brand name. Don't forget an extra pair of contact lenses or prescription eyeglasses.

Contact the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT; tel. 716/754-4883 or, in Canada, 416/652-0137; www.iamat.org) for tips on travel and health concerns in the countries you're visiting, and for lists of local, English-speaking doctors.

General Availability of Healthcare

The state-owned healthcare systems in the Benelux lands are among the world's best, even if they have begun to show signs of the strain of universal healthcare for all. It's easy to get over-the-counter medicines for minor ailments, and both local brands and generic equivalents of most common prescription drugs are available. Many doctors speak English (though the words they use might be a little disturbing, like the doctor who told me he knew what "disease" I had when I reported a minor ailment).

What to Do If You Get Sick Away from Home

If a medical emergency arises, your hotel staff can usually put you in touch with a reliable doctor. Most hospitals have walk-in clinics for emergency cases that are not lifethreatening; you may not get immediate attention, but you won't pay the high price of an emergency room visit. Embassies in Brussels and the Hague can provide a list of area doctors who speak English (meaning just about any doctor).

Staying Safe

Belgium is generally safe -- even the big cities are low-crime areas. However, Belgium has experienced a creeping spread of drug-related crime, and crimes committed by some poorly integrated members of immigrant communities. In Brussels, the Métro has been plagued by muggers, and though increased police presence and video surveillance have brought this under control, it's still better not to venture alone into deserted Métro access corridors after dark; when other people are around, it's generally safe.

Both Brussels and Antwerp have well-defined red-light zones, in which more than a little caution is in order. Don't confuse these places with the Red Light District up the road in Amsterdam, which is a pretty big tourist attraction in its own right, and mostly safe for casual visitors. Brussels's red-light zone in particular is a creepy, low-life zone, and though Antwerp's is not quite so bad it's still not really a place to go for sightseeing. Bruges and Ghent have only minimal facilities of this kind, so this is not a factor there.

Dealing with Discrimination

The election in 2008 of Barack Obama to replace George W. Bush as U.S. president seems likely to change the status of American visitors to "Old Europe" from one of guests who are not entirely respectable in such delicate company, to that of repentant sinners who finally heeded the advice of their moral guardians and improved themselves. How individual Americans feel about this transformation in their standing will be a matter of personal taste.

Meanwhile, both Holland and Belgium are showing an increase in votes for right-wing political parties opposed, to one degree or another, to immigration, or even to the continued presence of immigrant communities. This applies in particular to those migrants "who do not share European values." Rising levels of muggings, break-ins, pickpocketing, bag snatching, auto theft, and other crimes, attributed, rightly or wrongly, to legal and illegal immigrants and to some ethnic minorities, appear to be fueling the trend. This attitude could translate into discrimination against nonwhite visitors, though the majority of Dutch and Belgians would have nothing to do with this.

Antwerp has both an Orthodox Jewish community and a significant minority of people of North African (Arab) origin. Tensions caused by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict have led to some anti-Jewish attacks. Jewish visitors who dress in a way that clearly identifies them as Jewish should be aware of this, even though the chances of being a victim of such an attack are very small.

Note: Listing some of the possible dangers together like this can give a false impression of the threat from crime or discrimination in the Benelux lands. None of these dangers is statistically significant, and by no stretch of the imagination can any Benelux city be described as dangerous. The overwhelming probability is that you will not notice any of these problems, far less encounter one of them. But it can't hurt to be aware of them.

Tips for Families

Some of the more expensive hotels in this region offer kids' suites, and you might even find that a suite is cheaper than booking two rooms. Many hotels allow children up to a certain age to sleep free or for a reduced rate in their parent's room, and may provide an extra bed. Arrange ahead of time for such necessities as a crib, bottle warmer, and car seat (small children are not allowed to ride in the front seat).

As for keeping the children amused, what child wouldn't be happy exploring the castles that are scattered across the Benelux landscapes? Give your youngsters a head start with a short rundown on the people who constructed these fascinating structures and what happened within their walls, and you'll soon find their imaginations running wild. In the cities, small towns, and villages, the colorful pageantry of past centuries as depicted in numerous festivals will surely delight the younger set. In Belgium, Brussels's Manneken-Pis statue, a famous national monument of a little boy urinating, is usually a winner. And look for wildlife centers in all three countries. Virtually every sightseeing attraction admits children at half price, and many offer family-ticket discounts.

Tips for Student Travelers

Check out the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC; www.istc.org) website for comprehensive travel services information and details on how to get an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), which qualifies students for substantial savings on rail passes, plane tickets, entrance fees, and more. It also provides students with basic health and life insurance and a 24-hour help line. The card is valid for a maximum of 18 months. You can apply for the card online or in person at STA Travel (tel. 800/781-4040 in North America, 132 782 in Australia, or 0871 2 300 040 in the U.K.; www.statravel.com), the biggest student travel agency in the world; check out the website to locate STA Travel offices worldwide. If you're no longer a student but are still under 26, you can get an International Youth Travel Card (IYTC) from the same people, which entitles you to some discounts. Travel CUTS (tel. 800/592-2887; www.travelcuts.com) offers similar services for both Canadians and U.S. residents. Irish students may prefer to turn to USIT (tel. 01/602-1904; www.usit.ie), an Ireland-based specialist in student, youth, and independent travel.