Ok, I keep trying to buy this ticket from Bruges to Paris... preferably via Any Belgium Station. I've gone to several different recommended sites, lastly SNCF It only lets me look about five days ahead. Is this normal? I want to go ahead and get this lined up! We need our ticket for June 4th and I want to know what time we are going to have to travel, cost, etc. We hope for an approx 6 pm time slot. I want the least expensive site. Thanks for any and all help. Oh, should we go via Antwerp? Is that the shortest route? It would be fun to look around a bit, but we don't have much time.

Try voyages-sncf.com Paris to Lille then change to local trains to Bruges - can be cheaper than via Brussels since you are well within the advance booking period for Thalys. Just as quick as Thalys route and usually cheaper if you cannot score the deep discounted Thalys tickets which may well not be available now. Just a tip for trying alternate route just as quick and more of a flat fare but with some easy to score online discounts to boot. You want Lille-Flandres and not Lille-Europe for this trip.

Coming from Bruges I was wondering if it would be better to come through Antwerp or Brussels. If we can score an hour or so layover is there anything to see of the city around the station?

Thalys.com has direct trains from Brugge to Paris for approximately 52 euros. However, Monday trains depart around 6:00am. If you traveled on a Sunday, there is a 5:01pm train that arrives in Paris 7:35pm.

Coming from Bruges I was wondering if it would be better to come through Antwerp or Brussels>

you mean Antwerp or do you mean Lille - Antwerp is a major detour adding on a few hours to the total Bruges-Paris trip - but via Lille, in northern France, makes sense - same time as via Brussels and you need not deal with the Byzantine fare structure of Thalys with zillions of difference farea and conditions - indeed you could just buy in Bruges at normal fare and would be cheaper than may Brussels to paris Thalys tickets alone.

Now if you are asking is it better to spend a few hours in antwerp or Brussels then that is a different question - which one is the best city to spend a few hours in en route to paris. The least expensive seat you ask for may often be much cheaper via regional train to Lille Flandres then TGV to Paris-Nord - search for cheap tickets on www.voyages-sncf.com for Lille to Paris (Flandres station not Lille Europa, a half mile away).

Check out these IMO great sites for lots of great info on European trains, Thalys trains, Bruges, etc - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com

On http://www.b-europe.com/Travel you can find all trains between Brugge and Paris: Thalys, TGV and ordinary IC trains.
Today I found no problems with choosing trains on June 4th.

Select a fare and click on "details" to know if it's ABS or not and to read the fare conditions.
Trains offered on this website seem to go via Lille or Brussels, not Antwerp.
Layover is always short.

If you want to see Antwerp Central Station, you could buy a seperate ticket from Brugge to Antwerpen, and then on to Paris. Brugge-Antwerpen takes +/- 1h30 min.

I advise not to explore the area around Brussel Zuid/Bruxelles Midi/Brussels South from where the Paris train leaves. It is not interesting at all, among other things.

Brussel Centraal/Bruxelles Central on the contrary is very close to the historic center.

"... you could buy a seperate ticket from Brugge to Antwerpen... "

I mean "separate" of course.

If wanting to look at the best of Brussels then take the train from Bruges to Midi (Zuid) station - stash your bags in a station locker and then hop the frequent trains to Brussels-Centraal station (not a Central Station in any sense but is smack in the town center steps from the Grand' Place, Mannequin Pis, etc.)

Actually I would greatly prefer to spend a few hours in Antwerp, to me one of Belgium's most overlooked and underrated cities by foreign tourists - but again like Emro2 says you would indeed have to buy a ticket from Bruges to Antwerp then use the ABS fare.

Oops - I was thinking about our Amsterdam to Bruges journey when I stuck Antwerp in there. But I do appreciate the help re. Bruges to Paris - I needed help with it, too!