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Anyone taken the Thalys trains from Amsterdam to Paris?

Anyone taken the Thalys trains from Amsterdam to Paris?

Old Feb 1st, 2009, 09:55 AM
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Anyone taken the Thalys trains from Amsterdam to Paris?

Hi! I'll be taking an early morning train from Amsterdam to Paris in early April. I got the least expensive tickets in 2nd class for 25 euro. The trip would take 4 hours it seems.

How was your experience riding Thalys? Any trouble with luggage? Food? Finding your train? If my train leaves at 8:30 am how early should I go to Centraal Station? I'm a bit worried cause I'll be traveling alone in Europe for the 1st time and just want to know what to expect. Thanks!
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 10:18 AM
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The food is terrible, so plan to get something at the train station in Amsterdam. The trip is as easy as can be.

Personally I would plan to arrive at least by 8 AM, just to be safe. Although the train leaves at 8:30 AM, it will start boarding a few minutes before.
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 10:19 AM
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You won't have any problems. 2 years ago it took 4 and a half hours but the Dutch/Belgian tracks may have been improved since then.

Half an hour before departure at Amsterdam Centraal is ample... an information desk will be able to tell you the track.

Trouble with luggage? Not unless you have a couple of old fashioned steamer trunks! You can put small luggage on a rack above you... larger bags stay on racks near the doors.

The cars are clearly marked and so are seats so you won't have trouble finding where you need to be. This link has diagrams of Thalys cars:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/cfcsq7

You'll also find more details re luggage on the site.

You might want to take some drinks and snacks with you as the ones on the train aren't much and aren't cheap.

Have fun!

Rob
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 10:40 AM
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Hi m_anne17 --

We are currently living in Amsterdam and our DD (20) is living in Paris - we all ride the Thalys train fairly frequently back and forth between the two cities. In fact we just got back to Amsterdam from a visit to Washington DC this morning and DD took the Thalys train to Paris this afternoon.

There is room for luggage on an overhead shelf above your seat. However if you have a very large suitcase you may need to leave it in the luggage area next to the entrance to your car - comprised of several large shelves for suitcases. I'm always paranoid about leaving luggage there in case somebody were to grab it at one of the intermediate stops (Brussels say), but DD has left very large suitcases in that area several times and had no problem. Of course she always has such heavy suitcases a thief would break his back trying to run off with one. ;->

Food/drink is available on board, although as I recall is sort of expensive for sandwiches, etc. There are tons of food purveyors in Centraal Station, so we usually just get any food/drink we want to bring with us in the station before we board.

Centraal Station is large and often extremely crowded - although 8:30 AM should be a little better than some times - so allow plenty of time to get to the station and find the right track and get up to it. The trains are listed on Departure boards, but for someone new to the station even those boards may take a few minutes to locate. The information booths often have long lines. And then finding your way to the track takes a few minutes too. Since you are a newcomer, I would suggest you aim to get to the station by at least 8:00 AM - which would allow you plenty of time to find your track, buy any food you want, etc. This is erring on the side of you having to stand around for ten or fifteen minutes, but I think is better than giving yourself an ulcer worrying about making the train.

IMPORTANT: In our experience the trains leave ON TIME - sometimes with very little warning. I have seen the doors shut in the face of more than one person as they are just about to board and just leave them standing there! So my advice would be to make sure you're on the TRACK itself (not just the station) at least ten minutes ahead of time. (Today the train only got to the station less than ten minutes before it left.)

Also the trains are sometimes long and depending on what car you are in, you may have quite a walk along the train to get to the right car - another reason to be there as soon as the train gets there. Today (for the first time in our experience) there was an agent on the track before the train came in telling people which part of the track to stand on, based on which car their ticket was for - in other words he was telling them where their car would be "parked". But if the train is about to leave my advice is: get on ANY car - you can then walk through the train to reach the correct one. Not ideal obviously, but I have seen the train leave people that are running along the outside trying to get to the correct car to board. Better to drag your suitcase through five cars than miss the train.

Anyway, all this verbosity may make it seem like there are lots of problems. There really aren't - it's just the Mom in me to go on and on with advice. ;->

I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 12:08 PM
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My friends and I did this trip a few years ago. We had a bike chain and chained our 3 suitcases together (someone on this forum suggested it) cause we had to leave them by the door. We brought our own snacks and were lucky to have one of the sets of seats that had a table in the middle. Nice trip but boring.
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 12:16 PM
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The Thalys from Amsterdam Centraal to Paris only makes 6 intermediate stops. If you're so paranoid about the luggage, just stand by your luggage during those stops. All are brief, except for the one at Brussels-Midi, which can be a little bit longer.
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 12:45 PM
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"The food is terrible, so plan to get something at the train station in Amsterdam. The trip is as easy as can be."


agree!
Took it solo last July.
danon is online now  
Old Feb 1st, 2009, 01:39 PM
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Bookmarking, Doing this late May 2009
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 05:21 PM
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Anne, a friend and I took the Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris 10 years ago, first class. When we arrived at the impressive 19th century train station in Amsterdam, we were confused and went to the local platform rather than the Thalys platform. Finally figured it out!

One thing I remember clearly - when we arrived in Paris (obviously female tourists of a certain age) we were besieged with offers of car services and taxis to our destination. I was a bit overwhelmed because it was only my second trip to Europe. Be prepared and enjoy yourself!
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 09:32 PM
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Yes, that's a good point about the unlicensed taxi touts at Gare du Nord. Just go and stand in the official taxi lineup. It won't take long.
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Old Feb 1st, 2009, 10:28 PM
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I was also approached by unlicensed taxis at Gare du Nord.

The rule I always follow at any train station or airport is to use only the official taxi queue. The queue may be long, but I have yet been hit by outrageous taxi charges.
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