Hi!

I have read that I can buy tickets to either Brugge or Lille from Paris. We're traveling on a budget so I'd like to find the least expensive way to get there. Some threads indicate that it can be cheaper (if I can get a Smily) to go through Lille. Do we take another train from there? Can we purchase the ticket there or does it need to be in advance, & what is the approximate cost of the ticket. There is a Flanders or Europe option for Lille, which one do I choose?

We're flying in and out of Paris and will be there for 10 days starting March 8th (this is our second trip). We don't want to go directly to Brugge once we arrive because we're flying from the West Coast and I think we'll be exhausted. We'd like to stay overnight in Brugge but it seems like a hassle to drag our luggage (just a carry on) and to have to check in and out of our hotel in Paris just for one or two nights.

If we decide just to go for the day, what day would be the best to avoid crowds (if any)? If we stay, would 2 nights be too long?

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
Mariana

Go Paris Nord to Lille Flanders. I think that all trains are TGV. From Lille Flanders go north and change at Kortrijk to Brugge.

You can go into any train station or travel agency after arriving in Paris to buy the tickets.

The cheap Smilys fares are with the Thalys, I believe, not the regular French TGVs. So you would be training to Brugge via Brussels. If you don't want to visit Lille, I prefer this route to the TGV/Lille route because with the TGV to Lille then on to Brugge you generally have more train changes. Whereas if you take the Thalys to Brussels Midi, you only have to change trains there; from Brussels, there are two direct trains to Brugge per hour (no changes, one stop in Ghent).
The cheap TGV tickets are called Prems, I believe.

If you opt to go to Brugge for just one day, I usually recommend Thursday as the best day. All the museums are open and you don't have the week-end day trippers.

Whether you change trains in Lille or Brussels, the trains on to Brugge are local trains with no seat reservations and no need to buy tickets in advance: you just buy a ticket and get on the next train.
From Paris to Lille, trains arrive at either Lille Flandres or Lille Europe. Local trains to Belgium go from Lille Flandres, but the two stations in Lille are less than a mile apart - it's a short, signposted walk or one stop on the metro.
Check schedules on www.bahn.de. For fares and schedules, see www.voyages-sncf.fr and www.b-rail.be.

Hi mv,

www.voyages-sncf.com defaults to the Paris/Lille Flandres/Bruges option.

www.bahn.de gives you both the Brussels and the LF routes.

You can buy your tickets from Paris to Bruges online or when you get to Paris.
However, PREMS fare of 34E is available online.

Geoff makes a good point about changing stations in Lille. In Brussels, you would not have to change stations...the Thalys generally arrives on tracks 3 to 6 and the trains to Brugge generally leave on tracks 11 to 15.

A piece of cake. We went via Gare du Nord, Paris, to Brussels, made the transfer within the same station, and were in Brugge in about 2.5 to 3.5 hours, as I recall. Very easy on the Thalys, then on a local train from Brussels.

Did anybody do a time/price check of Paris/Lille/Brugge vs. Paris/Brussels/Brugge?

bookmark

Thanks everyone.

Using the SNFC site: 54 € for 1 RT Prem ticket Paris- Brussels for March 13th. The prices were 54, 85, & 156 € for second class. I couldn't pull up prices for BRU-Brugge/Lille-Brugge. If someone can tell me how, that would be great.

Paris to Lille (1 ticket/RT/2nd class): 40 € to Lille Europe, Smilys fare & 100.20 € regular fare. Lille Flanders: 46 € for a Prem ticket & 72.60 € regular fare.

Thalys site (March 10th): 1 RT ticket, Paris-Brugge, 57 €. I'm assuming this is a direct train.

At this point, I'm cosidering skipping Brugge and going to Amsterdam for 3/4 days since we spent a week in Paris last year. RT tickets are 69 € each