Bisco

I am trying to use the thalys.com and/or voyages-sncf.com sites to book two Smilys for Paris to Brussels (round-trip) in March. Can I do this online from the US???

I was selecting France as "the Country in which the tickets are to be delivered or collected" since this trip will start in Paris. That causes "France" to automatically populate in the address section. I just don't see the US listed anywhere. So I'd hate to buy tickets that I can't use for some silly reason.

I would like to print the tickets, but would also be willing to get them at Paris Nord. Am I forced to use the raileurope site instead? I thought there was another post here with a similar question, but I cannot find it. So I apologize if this is a duplicate thread.

francophile03

I bought tickets from Paris to Brugge via SNCF site and if you got a discounted fare, you have the option of printing the tickets online.

No, you can't put any US address there as the US isn't one of the countries they post tickets too. You don't need to do that anyway if you can print the tickets online.

If you pick up your tickets in person at the SNCF station, I think there's something about the credit card the machine accepts. I'm not clear but somehow I thought read lately that some people's c/c were rejected as the machine accepts only European c/c as they have a special chip or whatnot that's read by the machine. US c/c don't have them. I tried purchasing Smilys tickets at the Belgian rail site, but it wouldn't accept my US c/c. The rep. told me it would accept Amex but the Visa and M/C cards have to be European.

Gavin

I bought tickets from thalys.com for pickup at Gare du Nord. I could not use the machine there to retrieve the tickets but was able to get them from an English-speaking agent without any trouble. The line was short but slow, about 20 minutes. The problem is that our North American credit cards do not have an electronic chip that French (and many other European cards) have. If you can print your own ticket all the better.

ira

Hi B,

Yes you can buy your ticket from the US.

If you get a discount fare you have the option of printing your ticket. You can just board the train and shouw your printout to the conductor.

If you cannot print your tickets, the easiest way is to have them sent to your hotel in Paris.

Bisco

Thank you! That's what I was hoping to hear!

Travelnut

I coached someone last week in buying Smilys fare Paris-Amsterdam, and she said (we were on the phone) that the website did not present the option to print her own, so she chose to pick them up. There are SNCF offices (called 'boutiques') all over Paris, so you aren't limited to only Gare du Nord.