msheiny

We have ten days and are flying from Portland Oregon. Debating between Paris and Barcelona or Paris and Amsterdam. Is there a train between Paris and Amsterdam?

Thanks

PalenQ

Thalys is the name of the train that goes directly between Paris Gare du Nord and Amsterdam - www.thalys.com - book really early for big discounts - just show up and pay perhaps a $100 or so more. Bookings possible up to 4 months in advance I believe - could be three.

and there are now direct TGV trains between Paris and Barcelona, taking a lot longer than the 3.5 hours Paris to Amsterdam train.

for lots of good info on European trains and Thalys, etc check out these IMO fine sites: www.seat61.com (great info on discounted tickets); www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Discounted tickets are non-changeable non-refundable so be sure of your dates and time and don't miss the train!

Gretchen

Ten days from Portland can mean major jet lag for the first day or two.
Two places--close together. You'll thoroughly enjoy yourself that way without a big long trip to Barcelona.

bilboburgler

Can you get the editors to cancel at least one of these triplicate questions??

msheiny

At Bilboburgler, how do you do that?

jamikins

You can use this site to learn about train travel in Europe

http://www.seat61.com

bilboburgler

msheiny, you've managed to do something weird, well done. The Fodors tool seems to have triplicated your one thread. I've tried raising a note to the editors (click on the triangle thing) but that shows an error message. I give up

justineparis

when is this trip.. reason I ask,, it may be cool and rainy in Amsterdam right up to April.. even in Paris.. but Barcelona will be a tad warmer ( but not hot, till June).. Once june hits Barcelona can be TOO hot..

I think Paris and Amsterdam are great picks for a short visit like this.. no need to waste too much time on travel between cities. We paid 39 euros two years ago for tickets between the two cities.. paid well in advance as noted by other poster.

With ten days you could do three places.. fly into London.. 2-3 days.. Take Eurostar to Paris ( bought in advance tickets can be cheap, I am paying 50 euros a head for this summer ) .. 3-4 days Paris, then train to Amsterdam.. then fly home from Amsterdam.

Christina

I think either would be fine, but for the train, only Amsterdam, of course. I did Barcelona and Paris last summer, but I started in Barcelona, then took the train to Perpignan and then flew to Paris. They have a budget airline, Hop, that is a subsidiary of Air France, that flies between many smaller French cities. But I had a couple weeks, not 10 days.

However, Easyjet flies direct from BCN to Paris, also, and I really like that airline. So you can do either pair of cities easily, I think. They probably fly the other direction, also, to CDG. Also, Vueling, a budget Spanish airline flies direct between BCN and Paris Orly, which is even more convenient.

msheiny

We have from September 12-24th.

PalenQ

Two weeks you can easily do all three cities - fly into Amsterdam or Barcelona - go to Paris then the other and fly out or even from Amsterdam go to Brussels to hop the Eurostar to London and return from there though that may be a stretch and you may want to substitute London for Amsterdam.

CarolA

I am going for 10 days in March and I am doing Paris and Barcelona (unless I change my mind) There is now a high speed train between the two cities so be sure to check that out the Seat61 website has details on it.

I am actually flying AirFrance. (I am flying into Paris because I got a GREAT deal so I then fly AirFrance to BCN and back a few days later)

I probably wouldn't do three cities, but I seriously considered spending all 10 days in Paris because I love it so much

Christina

They didn't have that high speed train all the way when I went last summer, but I kind of wanted to visit some place in southern France anyway. I chose Perpignan for a change and I knew they had easy flights to Paris.

I don't think I would have taken the train all the way from BCN to Paris, anyway, as I didn't want to spend a day on a train, high speed or not. I hate the hours I spend flying to/from transatlantic, so another 6.5 hrs or more on transportation for one day wasn't the way I wanted to spend some of my time. BCN is an easy airport, close in, and Perpignan is just a blip so didn't take much time there. I flew into Orly which is preferable to CDG.

PalenQ

One thing about train travel though longer on that route is you actually see the France, beautiful southern France in between Barcelona and Paris - Christina is a veteran traveler who no doubt has see the lay of the land so it is nice for her to fly but if you have not been there and want to see more than just two big tourist cities and airports and tarmcas fly - but even consider breaking up the train trip say in Provence - the Arles/Avignon area - the highlight to many of Provence and their surroundings and which is about half way by train to Paris from Barcelona.

PalenQ

and there has been an overnight Elipsos train between Barcelona and Paris Austerlitz station - not sure if with the new thru TGV service it is still running or may run in summer, etc - but saves more time than an airline and with deep discounts available in some classes of sleeping berths could be cheaper as well, especially since you save on a night in a hotel.