marrsbar

We are flying into CDG and going stright to Belgium via TGV. We are staying at the Hilton Brussels City at Place Rogier 20. Where should we get off the train? Also on the way back from Belgium we are going to the Hilton Paris Arc De Triumph. What stop is closest to our hotel? Are there transfers required for the route above?

pavfec

In Brussels, you'd probably get off at the central train station and have to take a taxi or public transportation to your hotel. Same thing for your return to Paris.

PalenQ

thalys trains, the only ones on the Paris CDG (or non Thalys TGV trains) only stop i believe at Gare du Midi and perhaps Gare du Nord but not Centraal i believe. www.thalys.com

pavfec

In my answer, I meant "centrally located". I'm not familiar with the different train stations in Brussels. The OP's message seemed to imply the the train would stop near the hotel, like a subway.

PalenQ

easy mistake as Centraal Station in Brusells is right in the heart of town, near the Grand' Place and many hotels. But it's a secondary station so the central station in Brussels is Midi, about two miles away and constant shuttle trains from it to Centraal Station. i see the confusion.

tjenneke

I don't know why people post here if they don't know what they are talking about. Hilton Brussels and the place Rogier are next to the Brussels-North station. If your train stops there, you better get of there. If it stops at one of the other Brussels stations, you can take the subway to the place Rogier, or a train to the NOrth station (there is a train every 10 minutes). Enjoy your stay in Brussels

PalenQ

Since all trains from CDG terminate at Midi station then it's easy to hop the shuttle trains as tjenneke says - very simple. www.sncf-voyages.com for best fares and print your own ticket.

Kate_W

There are some direct Thalys trains from CDG to Brussels (that go to Midi), although they might not necessarily match up with your flight. (Otherwise, you can take the train from CDG to Lille and then change at Lille for Brussels). On the way back, you would take the train to Gare du Nord in Paris. To get to your hotel, I think you would have to take the metro line 4 and transfer to the 2. Depending on how thrifty you are, you might want to take a taxi instead since there will be a fair bit of walking to get to the 4 in the first place and then to transfer. (On the other hand, the taxi lines at Gare du Nord are sometimes huge, so the metro might be faster.)

PalenQ

If going round trip it may behoove you to go from CDG to Gare du Nord then Thalys to Brussels and then later back to Paris Nord because you could then get the bargain SMILYS fare where round trips are cheaper than one way fares. Don't think you can mix and match destinations if leave from CDG and return to Nord. Could save a lot if it's a Thalys train which you would have to take back to Paris Nord.

Otherwise Lille routing has the usual fare structure where even on spot ticketing will not vary from online - but Thalys has a Byzantine fare pricing structure where you can pay hundreds of euros more by not booking ahead (hard to do with congruencies of airline arrivals)

pavfec

Are you talking to me, tjenneke? If so, perhaps you should read the original message again:

<b>We are flying into CDG and going straight to Belgium via TGV ... What <u>stop</u> is closest to our hotel?</b>

As far as I know, there aren't any train &quot;stops&quot;, but subway or metro stops. I assumed the OP thought that the train was like a metro and would stop at various places throughout the city.

BTilke

Marrsbar (love that name), is there any chance you can switch your Brussels hotel reservation from the Hilton Brussels City to the Brussels Hilton on Blv. Waterloo? It's a lot more convenient for your travel plans (on a more personal note, I don't particularly like the Rogier area, kind of grubby, and I really don't like the Gare du Nord). The Hilton on Blvd Waterloo is a 3 minute metro ride from the Gare du Midi, plus a short walk up the street (past lots of high end shops) or a quick, inexpensive cab ride.

marrsbar

BTilke
Thanks so much for the suggestion, just looked and we will definitely change to the Hilton on Waterloo. So if I am understanding here is what we will now do: From CDG take the Thalys train to Midi and then take the metro to the Waterloo Hilton (do you know the stop?). Then on the way back we take the same train to Gare du Nord and get a cab to the Hilton.

Kate_W

The only thing to consider now is PalenQ's suggestion that you check the difference in fares between a train trip that has you travelling CDG-Brussels Midi, Brussels Midi-Paris Gare du Nord and one that is a return fare Gare du Nord-Brussels Midi. As PalenQ mentioned, the fare could be considerably higher if you have a different origin and final destination. Also, as I mentioned, the number of direct CDG-Brussels Midi trains is limited in the day and might not line up well with your flight. (If the direct train doesn't work for you, then you have to change at Lille.) Trains to Brussels leave practically every hour from Paris, and you can take the RER B train from CDG to Gare du Nord, so the small hassle might pay off in terms of flexibility regarding your train schedule and trip cost.

Also, I don't know how tight your budget is, but if it stretches a little, consider travelling first class on the train to and from Brussels. My recollection is that you can get tickets that cost about 130 euros return and allow you to change the time once, before the start of your journey. They might be cheaper for a completely inflexible ticket.

BTilke

The Hilton on Blvd. Waterloo is located halfway between the Louise and Porte de Namur metro stops. If you get off at Louise you go up the escalator, then down and up another series of escalators that will put you out by a clutch of designer stores (Gucci, Versace, Dior, Ferragamo), just head up the street to the Hilton, a short walk, easy if you have a roller. If you get off at Porte de Namur, you walk down the Blvd. Waterloo, but that walk is a bit trickier as there's construction going on.
Or simply take a taxi. Shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, should cost less than 10&euro;. It's (almost) a straight shot from the Gare du Midi up through the inner ring to the hotel.

marrsbar

Kate W and BTilke thank you so much for all of your help. I know I sound like a dummy when asking all of these questions but it is so hard to figure all of this out. Okay so I think you are telling me it might be cheaper to take the CDG train to Paris Main Train station (GDN) and then buy a round trip ticket to Midi and back to Paris Main Train (GDN) station. Here is my last question (hopefully) is the metro in Brussels in the Midi station? If not where do we get the metro when getting off at Midi?

Kate_W

The Brussels metro comes into / connects to the Midi train station. I can't tell you exactly the route to follow, but it is well-signed (I've always done this trip with a colleague and followed him from train-metro, metro-train).

Note that in Paris, the Gare du Nord is not the &quot;main&quot; Paris train station. Paris has about half a dozen significant train stations, where trains for different regions depart (e.g. Gare du Nord for long distance trains going to/from the North (e.g. to the UK, Belgium and Amsterdam), Montparnasse for trains going to/from the southwest, etc.)

And there will be lots of &quot;Eurocrats&quot; on the train from Paris to Brussels and in the train station and metros, who very likely speak English (and half a dozen other languages) and can point you in the right direction.

BTilke

In Brussels Midi station, you will come down an escalator to the wing for the fast trains and the lockers/restrooms. After you pass the luggage storage area, you will come into the main part of the station with a round information kiosk (which has a sign proclaiming NO TRAIN INFORMATION, welcome to Brussels ;-) ). Look toward the side where the Relay newstands are. Then look up, you'll see a big M sign--that's the indication for the metro. Follow the M signs, you'll go down a bank of escalators. At that level, you'll find a bunch of ticket machines, and a manned ticket sales booth (note: you can also buy single Brussels metro tickets in the bar car of the Thalys trains, not sure if you can do the same in the French TGV trains).
Buy your tickets, then head over to the entrance to the metro/tram area (just follow the crowd). Please note the little orange boxes, that's where you validate your ticket. On your left hand side is the escalator down to the metro. The metro runs frequently, every three minutes in peak periods, don't stress if you just miss one. You'll exit the train on the right hand side at Louise (and note--you do have to open the doors, they won't open automatically like on the London Tube). Anyway, take the escalators up, then head at a left hand hangle (not a hard left), to the other escalators going down and then up to the Blvd. Waterloo.

marrsbar

Awesome, thanks for the specific directions! Thank you all for your help and suggestions. I searched for places to eat in Brussels and Brugge and found lots of good info so now I am on to the Paris portion of the trip.

MademoiselleFifi

I was about to start a new thread, but since there are so many Brussels-Paris experts on this thread, I hope marrsbar doesn't mind if I ask here. For several weeks now, I've been looking at a Delta itinerary flying into Brussels and out of CDG (intending to take Thalys from Brussels to Paris). Would it be better to get round-trip to CDG and round-trip on Thalys, and why? Is it inconvenient to get from BRU to city center?

hopscotch

For MademoiselleFifi,

There is a train every 20 minutes from BRU that stops in succession at Nord, Centraal, and Midi/Zuid stations.

Also, I wouldn't waste half a day backtracking on the Thalys. Stick to your original plan.

Like PalenQ wrote for marrsbar, the Thalys only stops at Midi/Zuid. But I think that the OP would be better off taking the direct Thalys to Brussels from CDG rather than mess around getting to Paris Nord and then taking another train, especially after a tans-Atlantic flight.

I agree with BTilke. Brussels Nord is in the RLD. And IIRC, the Brussels Metro stations have lighted system maps showing where the trains are and when the next few will arrive at your station. Or is that in Antwerp?