metro

Brussels's métro is cheap, reliable and quick. The trains and stations are clean (though some are starting to look a little tatty). Brussels has its share of urban problems, but its métro is basically safe.

Because this is a small city there are only three lines and the map is simple and easy to negotiate. As in Paris, lines are defined by the names of the destination and starting-point stations. It’s probably easiest to buy a single ticket (trajet) with ten trips loaded on to it (ask for “dix voyages”). Buy the ticket from a machine or the kiosk (guichet). Insert it into the machine upon entry (tickets are very occasionally checked on departure).

The frequency of trains slows down markedly after 8pm, when you could face a long wait.