Has anyone driven from Paris to Brussels (or vica versa)? I am thinking about making it a day trip but not certain how many hours drive time it will be (I'll be bringing my 8 year old) or if the fastest route is also the most scenic. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED. THANK YOU!

Paris to Brussels, it's about 3 hours

The distance is slightly less than 200 miles, all on major highway. There's a French toll of about 15 Euros. You'll find the route heavily congested with commercial traffic. Three hours is an optimistic estimate; I'd add half an hour to 45 minutes to that figure. The route is hardly scenic. About the only thing to delight an 8 year old is the occasional high speed train zooming along to the west of the highway.

Must you drive? From the Gare du Nord, Paris, frequent trains will whip you in comfort and safety to Brussels without delays. If this is to be a day trip, the train takes most of the hassle out of your junket. There's precious little scenic about this route -- flat, grimy industrial burgs, some pretty river scenes, but it could be Indiana for all you could tell.

I would also suggest the Thalys fast train ride. It brings you in 1h25 from Paris Gare du Nord to Brussels' Gare du Midi. Both stations are located downtown and have the metro, bus, tram or taxi connections to everywhere you want. Your 8-year old son will certainly enjoy the 300 km/h ride.<BR><BR>Driving is at least 3 hours from Paris Porte de la Chapelle, where the freeway heading north starts, to Brussels Drogenbos Ring exit. The European number for the freeway is E19, but it is also labelled A1 in the French road numbering system. Both endpoints are on the circular freeway around each cities, so you should add at least an additional hour for driving from/to the city centre + parking. The E19 freeway is very busy, lots of lorries, and either crosses agricultural land or passes around industrial towns.