I've entered the transportation phase of my pre-trip planning (May trip to Cologne, Haarlem, Brugges, Paris) & have a question for savvy train travellers. For MID-WEEK train travel from Haarlem to Brugges and from Brugges to Paris, will we be OK buying our tickets the night before or the day of our departure? Or, do trains fill up so quickly that we might risk getting only unpopular times (as in, anything before 9 am or after 5 pm)?

I've already purchased my tix from the airport to Cologne and our tix from Cologne to Amsterdam (we'll make our way to Haarlem after hanging out a bit in Amsterdam). I've got prices and schedules from both the Belgian and French train lines...but haven't pressed the "buy" button. I'd prefer flexibility in leaving, but don't want to end up paying through the nose or losing seats. Thanks in advance!

I don't believe train ticket prices increase the closer you get to your departure. I can only speak for my limited train travel in Italy but I always buy tickets after I've arrived in the country.

Hi NT,

It's either Brugge or Bruges.

Check fares at www.voyages-sncf.com for Bruges to Paris.

If you find a PREMS fare, take it now. Otherwise, it won't matter when you buy your tickets.

For local trains in Belgium and the Netherlands, there are no seat reservations and therefore no limit to the number of tickets sold. You could buy as many tickets as you like from Haarlem to Brugge. It's just like buying a ticket for the metro or subway.
From Brugge to Paris, you can get a local train to Brussels then a Thalys (both run every half hour) or local trains to Lille then a TGV (every hour). Reservations are needed for both Thalys and TGVs.
Note that the Belgian city is Brugge in the local language or "Bruges" in French, but never "Brugges".

Thanks Ira and GeoffHamer! I have been spelling Brugge/Bruges three different ways for months now. (One of the ways clearly is incorrect. My sincerest apologies to Belgians worldwide for spelling it "Brugges.&quot I've often wondered: why can't people worldwide just spell the names of cities as they are spelled locally? For example, the English-spelling Florence should be Firenze, Milan should be Milano, etc. Is Milano really that difficult? Just my thoughts for the day...

P.S. Ira - the Prems tix are for June. Guess I missed the boat on that one!

Hi NThea,

Switzerland is terrible for this. One country, four languages. Even the name Switzerland isn't the same. Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera and Svizra all are used for Switzerland. It's amazing how well this country functions in its tower of Babel.