We are planning a trip next year and wanted to take a train from Amsterdam to Paris. I know that it’s only about 4 hours long, but I was interested in knowing if this is worth doing or not. Is this a scenic ride or will we just be riding inside some kind of tunnel?

Thanks,

Lena.

Hi L,

520 km would be one heck of a tunnel.

From Brussels to Paris, you are on one of the high-speed THALYS trains.

Quite pleasant.

Yes quite pleasant

first the low fields of Holland - skirting the flower belt and with the signature Dutch windmills and drawbridges along the way

then thru Brussels (look on the left side just before Gare du Nord there for a bird's eye view of a classic redlight district along the tracks)

and then bucolic Flanders and the quintessential French countryside - church steeple dotted villages, etc. and along a busy canal with romantic peniches (barges)

a very pleasant ride at speeds of up to 186 mph

high-speed tracks in Holland will be in use by next year, cutting time about an hour from now.

Reserve your tickets ahead of time as you can pay moocho bucks more by just buying once there. SMILYS fares are sold only in very limited numbers and must be reserve weeks in advance often to get - they are round-trip tickets yet are cheaper than any one-way fare - you just throw or give the return ticket away.

Best prices are often online from:
www.thalys.com
www.voyages-sncf.com (French railways site - but perhaps to pick up ticket in Amsterdam you'd have to go thru www.thalys.com site

In U.S. Raileurope markets these tickets and at times can be very competitive - each summer they seem to have a 50% off full fare sale but again very limited tickets so book early. In the U.S. for any RailEurope product i always recommend one of their agents - BETS (www.budgeteuropetravel.com; 800-441-2387) for their great customer service, expertise IME and lack of RE's $18 mailing fee. But check european online sources and U.S. pricing always to see which is best. But in any case reserve early - up to 4 months in advance i think (could be 3). Thalys has special fares for seniors 60+.youths under 26 and kids.

I always use the www.sncf.com site - if I'm departing from Paris (to Amsterdam) then I leave the country as "France". If I'm departing from Amsterdam (to Paris) then I leave the country as "Netherlands" (Pays Bas). From there, I complete the booking and have hopefully bought discounted fares which offer me the choice to "print my own" tickets. Otherwise, I opt to pick up at a station or agent upon arrival. (actually, twice I've opted to mail to my home address in the US, but this is very risky and not advised).

Note that you cannot book more than 90 days in advance. Isn't the high-speed track open now b/t Ams-Brussels? If so, your entire trip will now be closer to 3.25 hours.

It is open but currently think Thalys is not running over it or if so running at slower speeds.

I really not up to speed on it but have not heard that high-speed running is in effect A'dam-Paris.

Should be soon if it isn't - perhaps when summer schedules change in late Sep?

maybe someone knows for sure.

You might want to check schedules Amsterdam to Brussels and then Brussels to Paris. I found more options that way. Also, I booked my ticket from Amsterdam to Paris on a regular train 24 hours in advance, and the train from Brussels to Paris on the Thalys far in advance at a good price. Mostly because I was debating whether I wanted to stop in Brugge for a couple of hours, which I did not do. On the Thalys I needed a reservation--no reservation needed for the regular train. With the regular train to Brussels I found myself a ways from the main train terminal and was glad I allowed lots of time between trains. Once I figured out where I needed to go, it was only about a ten minute walk, all enclosed.

That may not make sense, but I hope you can use some of this information.

Here is the link to my journal and photos from my trip to Amsterdam and Paris this past spring.

http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...7Holland1.html

I took this route last week (opposite direction), and the Brussels to Amsterdam leg is not high speed yet. I didn't think it was as scenic as other trains I've taken in France. No tunnels to speak of.

Stu Dudley

Stu - the new high-speed Dutch route does not go thru Den Hague but straight up and it is supposed to tunnel under Antwerp to serve the previously dead-end Antwerp Central station.

curious to know if Thalys is now taking the new avoiding Den Hague route and if under Antwerp?

thanks

still curious as to which route the Thalys is currently taking - old or new?

thanks

We took it in March from Amsterdam to Paris. Got our tickets ahead of time from BETS and had a table with 4 seats around it. We had snacks, took a little snooze, watched the countryside and generally enjoyed ourselves.

@ PalenQ
The new tracks between Antwerpen and Amsterdam are not yet in use. They should have been but it's always postponed. Latest news is '2008' without more precisions. Don't count on that being early 2008!

I, too, find the ride not at all scenic. Rather boring I might say, at least the Antwerpen-Paris part.

PS You should see the new Antwerpen Centraal train station, though. The renovation works that have been going on forever have almost been finished and our station is WOW!

I think the train from Amsterdam passes through Antwerp and Brussels on the way to Paris.

I would take it and stop in Antwerp for a night or two. It's such a beautiful city with superb shopping and amazing architecture.

That's right. The Thalys from Amsterdam stops in Antwerpen-Berchem and in Brussel-Zuid (Bruxelles Midi) on its way to Paris.

And it's also right that Antwerpen is one of Europe's most overlooked cities by tourists - well worth a stop of a few hours or a few days.

If doing Thalys just buy Amsterdam-Antwerpen ticket locally and do not take the Thalys between them - cheaper and nearly as quick at least currently

Regular shuttle trains rumble between suburban Berchem station and Antwerp Centraal station, which like Myrian says is a wonderful place - one of the very most awesome train stations in Europe - it's Art Nouveau circa-1900 looks shines even more after recent renovations.

<i>With the regular train to Brussels I found myself a ways from the main train terminal and was glad I allowed lots of time between trains. </i>

luvtotravel, It looks like you got off at the first Brussels train station, Nord, right in the heart of the ho district. All of the &quot;regular&quot; trains, actually International Express trains, also stop at Centrale/Centraal.

I must say that I am jealous of your photos. That is beautiful work. What camera do you use?

I have lived in Haarlem. Next time give it a shot.