sounds like OP has booked tickets but there are other options - such as doing Montepellier to Lyon then change to Lyon-Brussels TGV then regular hourly IC train to Amsterdam - could be quicker, cheaper and no hassle changing in Paris.

Ira -
On the date that I'm travelling (aug 5) it looks like the times I quoted are correct. See
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...mp;_AGENCY=VSC

Am I missing something?

chatenever,

One thing you are missing is TinyURL. Your 141 character long URL is shortened to http://tinyurl.com/2tdvw7 at TinyURL.com. Then it doesn't run off the right side of the screen. Besides, it is empty. Nada, blank.

Direct Paris to Amsterdam is served exclusively by Thalys. There is a train nearly every hour from Gare du Nord. With a Eurailpass you are going to pay €23 extra for a seat reservation.

For an intro to European trains go to http://tinyurl.com/eym5b.

Do not worry about it. Buy your reservation when you get to Gare du Nord. The best way to get there is well discussed by others above, and depends on how much luggage you have. You'll be looking like a tourist so beware of pickpockets in the stations of Paris and Amsterdam.

There is a train nearly every hour from Gare du Nord. With a Eurailpass you are going to pay €23 extra for a seat reservation.

the problem with waiting until Gare du Nord to make this reservation is that many Thalys trains are fully booked, and even more will be soon when the high-speed rails are finished in Holland, making the journey but 3.5 hours and thus attracting folks who currently fly.

Show up and you may not get on that day - but depends what class - first class pass much better - probably but you could wait in line long time to do it. Do the necessary reservation in Montpellier at the station or any other French station - and if can leave more time between trains.

And to economize with a 1st class pass you can go second class and pay a much lower supplement/reservation fee. 1st class costs much more but also includes a fairly nice meal, at least bu judging in my experience - wine and all.

The RER D will indeed get you between the two station in less than 10 minutes for a grand total of 1.40 euros. The RER is extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly with escalators and elevators in every station.

All train stations have excellent signage as well as information desks.

<The RER is extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly with escalators and elevators in every station.>

not RER E and St Lazare - no escalators when i took the link - several small flights of stairs. Station renovations may change this

No part of the public transportation system is "extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly." There are some provisions for luggage in many RER stations (if the luggage is something like a carry-on), and there are some stations with elevators, but that's it.

In general, public transportation in Paris is for people without luggage or mobility problems. The subway system in particular is filled with stairs and turnstiles.

I was talking exclusively about the RER, not metro connections to it. Every RER station has elevators that go all the way to the surface and others that go all the way to the platform. If there is any complaint to be expressed regarding this, it is because the elevators are not always where you would want them to be. In the case of Haussmann-Saint Lazare, for example, the elevators are nowhere near the train station. Gare du Nord, on the other hand, has two different elevator banks inside the train station to connect to the RER.