Rougemont-le-Château sits at roughly 400 m elevation in the southern Territoire de Belfort, right where the Vosges meet the Belfort basin. Its budget appeal comes less from in-village sights than from cheap, walkable access to forest and farmland, plus a short TER connection into Belfort for citadel and museum anchors.
The smartest cost tradeoffs are timing (May, June, September, and October are noticeably cheaper than July-August), base-area choice (a gîte here is much less than a Belfort hotel), and meal rhythm (picnic on local Comté, jambon cru, and Bresse poultry bought at markets rather than restaurant lunches in tourist areas).
Target May, June, September, and October. July-August and the Belfort Christmas-fair period push gîte and B&B rates up noticeably. Shoulder weeks still allow warm-enough hiking and the local market cycle.
Save by timing
Sleep in Rougemont or nearby Rougemont-le-Château gîtes instead of Belfort proper. Belfort hotels cost more on weekends; village holiday rentals are cheaper per night and include kitchen space to offset eating-out costs.
Gîtes vs city
Take a TER regional train to Belfort, then a connecting bus (Lignes automobiles) or short taxi to Rougemont. A car helps for Vosges trailheads but is not required; avoid last-minute rentals at Belfort station which price higher.
TER + bus
Free: foothill hiking, Plan d'Eau du Malsaucy, the village setting itself. Paid and worth one ticket each: Citadelle de Belfort with the Lion of Belfort, and the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle. Group or combined tickets usually beat buying at the gate.
Mix free + paid
Do breakfast in the gîte, lunch as a picnic of Comté, bread, and Bresse poultry from Belfort markets, and one proper restaurant meal per trip. Skip lunch in the tourist zone around the Citadelle where menus are marked up.
Picnic + 1 dinner
Peak-week gîte pricing, weekend Belfort hotel surcharges, à la carte lunches near the Citadelle, and taxis for short hops that a bus or bike covers. Booking a self-catering rental and confirming TER timetables in advance removes most of these.
Avoid leaks