remjr38

we will be in Amsterdam in mid November. we are interested in going to ww1 sites, particularly meuse- Argonne near Verdun. is rail travel the best option? thanks for your help and insight.

ribeirasacra

Here are your travel options to get between the 2 cities.
https://www.rome2rio.com/es/s/Amsterdam/Reims

PalenQ

for those sights you will be much better off with a car even though trains will take to Verdun the battfields are widespread and lots in the area only accessible by car.

By train you go to Paris itself on the Thalys train to Gare du Nord then walk over to Gare de l'Est for trains to Reims or take a train from Brussels to CDG Airport in Paris and connect with less frequent trains to Reims from there - the latter would be best if schedules were conducive - there may be long gaps between trains to Reims from CDG whereas from Gare de l'est they go hourly or so.

For lots on trains in general check www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. www.thalys.com is the official site of Thalys trains and early early booking could get a 39 euro or so fare Amsterdam to Paris - Paris to Reims check www.voyages-sncf.com.

kerouac

The best option is to drive, not to take the train. However, you would want to rent the car in either Belgium or France and then return it in the same country, so you can look into getting an easy train from Amsterdam to an appropriate location for picking up a car.

Of course, if you have enough time, there is nothing wrong with driving from and back to Amsterdam to see the sites.

tom_mn

American WW1 sites start in Chateau-Thierry not that far east of CDG Paris airport (Belleau Wood) and are west (Argonne) and south (St-Mihiel) of Verdun proper which is primarily a French/German battlefield. So you need to get out of Verdun is what I am saying, with a car or tour.

Maybe flying to CDG and renting a car makes sense.

The largest American cemetery in France is the one in the Argonne area, and the largest WW2 American cemetery is east of Verdun near St-Avold. I assume this is because those Americans who died in Germany were "repatriated" to allied soil for burial.

tom_mn

Also Luxembourg City is about the same distance from Argonne as Reims if that helps.

PalenQ

Maybe flying to CDG and renting a car makes sense.>

Trains would be about as quick all in all - Thalys to Brussels then TGV train to CDG but you may want to go to a station in northern France near Belgium to rent a car - like Amiens TGV station - an easy drive to the Reims area from there.

PalenQ

Haute Picardie-TGV station is the name of the TGV/Thalys station the closest to Belgium - take the Thalys there if possible and rent a car and head east.

PalenQ

I think to get a train that stops at Haute Picardie you'd have to change off the Thalys train in Lille and take a domestic TGV train to Haute Picardie - but Lille would be a good place to rent a car in France come to think of it.

ribeirasacra

So far the best options are train flight and car if not a one way rental. Anyone for a bus ride?

hetismij2

I think we need to know things like how long you have for the trip in total, and for the trip to France, whether or not you are returning to Amsterdam, how many of you there are before you can get useful advice.

Ribeirasacra, there is always Eurolines or Big Bus .

PalenQ

Eurolines are great for hyoung backpackers on the cheap but if older the train will be infinitely more comfy and if booked in advance far enough not that much more than a crowded cramped bus with infrequent departures vs train.

hetismij2

It was a joke Pal,in reply to ribeirasacra's comment.

ribeirasacra

My comment was a joke too as the OP has not been back to clarify anything.
Maybe if we charged them 4 %? (another joke from another thread)

remjr38

I'm back!! I have been away from the net this week. thank you all for the info and the suggested options. more detail is as follows . my wife and I are completing one of those infamous river cruises from Basel to Amsterdam. my thought was to travel to Paris and then take a day trip to a ww1 site in the meuse-argonne area. however, I just finished reading about the belleau woods/chateau thierry sites and I wonder, would this will be more practical? chateau Thierry is closer to Paris. thank you all again for all your advice and help.