I'm trying to get our family of 4 from Lyon Part-Dieu to The Hague in July. What is the best way to book a train? What's the best and least expensive route?
We are Canadian - I think that makes a difference for the rates?

Thanks!

The easiest is TGV to Brussels, Thalys to Rotterdam, local train to Den Haag.
The cheapest is probably Lyon to Paris, change stations in Paris, Thalys to Rotterdam and local train to Den Haag.

Being Canadian shouldn't affect things.
Have a look at www.nshispeed.nl. Clck on ENglish and see what comes up for your dates.
You need to know which station in Den Haag you want - CS or HS.

Lyon Part Dieu dp 10.38 - Geneva airport 12.51/15.15 - Amsterdam Schipol ar 16.50. Air fares start at 66 EUR with 1 piece of checked in luggage

Well yes, flying would be the easiest of all maybe, but OP asked about train travel.
It would be helpful too for them if you specified an airline.

Thanks for your help!
I didn't realize flying would be so inexpensive. The only drawback is we'd miss seeing the countryside by train. Yes, it would be helpful to have an airline tip... just in case. But train is my first preference for now (the kids would enjoy it more I think).

I am sorry to disappoint you, but there is not much countryside to see by train on that route. Yes, you see fields and towns on top of rolling hills in the distance, but that repeats over and over while the train zips by. Because the high speed trains are noisy and require straight runs, they run mostly in the middle of nowhere places. If you want to see gorgeous scenery at the level of Canadian Rockies, you need to go to Switzerland.

Ok, I'll let go of my romantic train notions... but I can't seem to find the type of inexpensive flights that are mentioned by neckervd above.
The best I can do seems to be going by train at about 416 EUR for the 4 of us to from Lyon to Brussels so far...

Probably because we're travelling July 15 - busy time!

Have kiddos ever taken a high-speed train before - one that cruises at around 190 mph and one that has two floors (TGV Duplex - not sure they serve Brussels route though) - quite an experience and yes you see something besides airports and tarmacs.

anyway for lots of great info on European trains check out www.seat61.com (good info on discounted tickets that can make the train to Brussels cheaper - once there just take the cheaper IC trains instead of fooling around with Thalys trains (Byzantine fare structure - often costs much more and marginally faster on that route - can buy the flat-fare ticket once in Brussels - other great sites - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

We are taking the TGV from Paris to Lyon when we arrive in Europe, so yes, they'll get to try that.
I noticed there's a pretty good flight price from Lyon to Brussels on Easyjet. Is that airline reliable? I see they'll ding me for luggage...
So then it would be safe to just wait until we're in Brussels to get a train ticket to The Hague, via Rotterdam?

So then it would be safe to just wait until we're in Brussels to get a train ticket to The Hague, via Rotterdam?>

Yes - but only if you are not taking Thalys trains which you do not have to and should not if just buying a ticket once in Brussels - Thalys trains have a complicated fare structure where walk up folks can pay a lot lot more than if you book weeks in advance - for the exact same seat but the IC trains have a flat fare and no reservations even possible I believe - with a ticket just hop on (cancelling your ticket yourself before boarding I think is still the rule).

There have been some snafus with IC trains but they should be running normally by July.

raileurope.com should have all the itinerary you need to book the right ride.

From Brussels Airport you can get direct trains to Antwerp Centraal station where you change to an IC or IR train to The Hague - again these are flat-fare trains so just buy your ticket once in Brussels - reservations are not possible. Eschew the Thalys that would put you in Den Hague 35 minutes sooner than the IC-IR trains will unless you book way in advance and get one of the limited in number cheapo fares - but to do this you should book 3 months in advance or whenever they come on the system.

The IC from Anwerp or Brussels to The Hague now goes every 2 hours, but it should increase to one every hour soon. As PalenQ says, the Thalys is faster but much more expensive. And if you miss it due to flight delays, you will have to buy a new ticket.

Easyjet is absolutely fine - I use them all the time, as they are much cheaper than Brussels Airlines. Even with the extras (they charge for luggage, and for seat selection). They are strict about size and weight of luggage - so watch that.

Travel with handluggage if you can - there's been some trouble with baggage handlers at Brussels airport, but even if they are working, it takes a while to get your luggage.