Stations between Belgium and France
 

Hello!

I have a pass that covers Belgium but not France and I must travel from Brugge to Paris.

Do you know what is the best and cheapest way to travel. I was considering to use the pass from Brugge to Lille (I think is a border station and contamplates the two countries) and then to purchase a ticket form Lille to Paris.

Thanks to all the replies!!!!!

Your plan makes sense. We purchased a one-way point-to-point ticket from Paris to Amsterdam via Brussels last summer, and it was reasonably priced.

Tourcoing is 13 kilometers from Lille, and Tournai is 25. Can you perhaps buy in Brussels or elsewhere a ticket for this short stretch ?

Ben Haines, London
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I, too, agree with your plan. Lille-Paris by TGV takes one hour. You can book tickets on the French national rail site, www.sncf.com, up to 90 days in advance. The regular 2nd class price is E36.30; but PREM'S (discount) tickets, if available, are as low as E20.00. The key to getting one is to book as soon as the 90-day window opens. You print PREM'S yourself and you're done.

Do a price comparison between the cheapest fare you could get from Lille to Paris and the cheapest fare you can get from Brussels to Paris on the Thalys.
For example, you may find that a Smilys fare on Thalys from Brussels OR Brugge (it may be a RT fare but you can toss the return portion) could cost less than the fare available to you from Lille. If it's cheaper from Brussels, you can, of course, use your pass to get to the Gare du Midi in Brussels.
I believe that if you are on a Belgian train to Lille (don't be confused if the train board says you are going to "Lille Flandres"--you'll be in France, not BE), the conductor will sell you a ticket for the last bit--the non Belgian portion of the ride.

And with thalys fares you can buy for a few euros and ABS All Belgian Station fare that gives you a free (or few euro) trip from any Belgian station to Brussels within 48 hours of the Thalys train.
If going the Lille route note you must change once usually - at Kortrijk - very few or no direct Lille Flandres-Brugge trains i think - no big deal from one platform to another.
Smilys fares are often impossible to book in my experience.

Hi! Thanks to all the replies...

And a former question is: Is Lille a border station??, so, can I use my pass for the Brugge-Lille segment and buy a tcket from Lille to Paris?? I saw the prem's price in snfc web page of eu 20 and it's interesting.

Lille is not right on the border. BTilke pointed out that the conductor will sell you the border to Lille portion of the ticket.

Ok, so I have to buy two tickets, one from the french-belgium border to Lille, and in www.snfc.com from Lille to Paris

Is that right???

I entered to the Thalys web and compared the tickets. I will try to book the ticket from Lille to Paris (PREMS 20 eu) cause the promotion from Brussels or Brugge to Paris is about eu 40.

Hernán.-