Dinant · Backpacking

Dinant is the end of the line from Namur, about half an hour, with connections from Brussels via Namur. SNCB's weekend fares take 30% off adult tickets on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and 40% if you are under 26 or over 65.

A 140-pitch campsite on 11 hectares at Ferme de Pont-à-Lesse 31 in Anseremme, in the Natura 2000 land inside the Lesse meander, with wooden pods if you have no tent and a bistro on site. Open April to mid-October only.

The quays, the bulb-spired collegiate church from outside, the saxophone benches and the Rocher Bayard — the split rock the road runs through at the southern end of town — cost nothing. Add the Maison de Monsieur Sax, free every day 09:00–19:00, and you have a decent half-day for zero.

A Lesse descent is €31–44 per person depending on the boat and whether you take the shuttle, and it is the single biggest line in most Dinant budgets. Descents run daily from early April to the end of October; the 12 km takes 2.5 hours, the 21 km around 5.

The citadel with its HistoPad tablet tour is €15 adult and €13 for 4–12s; the 45-minute Meuse cruise is €13 and €10; a 12 km kayak is €31–44. Do all three and you are at roughly €60 a head before you have eaten. Pick one and the day costs about €15.