ftdavis

I have suddenly run out of time to plan our trip to Europe! We've had to move it up a year, which means we're leaving on Sept 25! I have tried to search through the posts to find the answer to my question, but so far I haven't had any luck.

My husband and I are going to be traveling from Caen to Brussels on Oct 1. We're planning to go from Caen back to Paris to catch the train to Brussels. We have also purchased a Germany-Benelux select pass (6 days) to use on our trip.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to get from Paris to Brussels--Thalys, TGV, or something else (is there anything else???). We're looking for the cheapest option, as long as it doesn't cost us a lot of time. And I was thinking it could save us some money to use our Germany-Benelux pass for part of the trip but I don't know how to do that. Any ideas? Also, when (once we arrive in Paris or from the US) and where would you recommend we buy the tickets?

Thanks so much for the help!

Tish

Joelle

Thalys TGV train to Brussels is the best way (1h15 mn journey).

ira

Hi ft,

If you go to http://www.voyages-sncf.com, you can buy tickets for Caen to Paris to Brussels for 93E.

You have to change stations in Paris from Gare St. Lazare to Gare du Nord.

Travelnut

We traveled from Amsterdam to Cologne and wanted to use our German pass for part of that journey. We bought a ticket for Amsteram-Emmerich, which covered us to the border w/Germany, then our pass covered us the rest of the way.

I don't think you can do that for Paris-Brussels, b/c there are no stops in between therefore you must pay for the entire leg.

You can order your train tickets online using www.sncf.com (change it to English). You can pay for them in advance and either print on your pc at home or pick up at the train station in Caen (these options depend on the type of fare you get).
Leave the 'country' as 'France' for smoothest operation; you do not need to input any address info, b/c tickets are not mailed to US-if that's where you reside.

ftdavis

Thank you all for the advice! Sounds like there is no way to use our pass to help cover the cost, but at least I know that now. I'll check out the sncf website to order our tickets, which it sounds like we should do from home but pick up in France.

For some reason I got confused by people talking about going from Paris to Lille and Lille to Brussels but that doesn't sound like it is a good option, right?

Thanks again!!

Tish

sandypaws3

Tish,
We took the Thalys from Brussels to Paris and back again. It was a very short train ride.... about an hour and a half. You may want to check raileurope for times.
http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm

Sandy

ira

Hi Tish,

>I got confused by people talking about going from Paris to Lille and Lille to Brussels but that doesn't sound like it is a good option, right?<

They might have been trying to save you a few euro, but for your trip I don't recommend it.

GeoffHamer

Thalys and TGV are basically the same. From Paris to Brussels, they are generally every half hour, so there should not be a need to book in advance. There are no other direct trains from Paris to Brussels. From Caen to Paris, reservations are optional so you just buy a ticket and get on the next train. If you have a rail pass for Belgium, you should show that when you buy the ticket to Brussels and the fare should be slightly lower because you have already paid to travel within Belgium. You can book the journey at the station in Caen or at any other station big enough to have a ticket office.

111op

I've the feeling that Brussels/Paris can be cheaper if you book well ahead, so I would not wait. Perhaps for a one-way ticket it doesn't make much of a difference anyway (because the cheapest ticket will be round-trip).

In any case, I'll defer to the experts on this. I can never seem to get the cheapest fares.

ira

Good idea from 111op.

You can get a RT ticket for only 72E and not use the return.

If you're lucky, you can sell the return ticket to someone else.

111op

Thanks ira, though I think that the poster may be able to get a one-way cheaper than 72 Euros. But selling the return will of course make the round-trip ticket more economical.

I don't know -- I just can never understand the weird pricing of these train tickets.

Anyway, as a rule of thumb, you should probably always look into buying tickets in advance for London/Paris, Paris/Brussels and Eurostar-related trains.

ftdavis

So much help is wonderful! I am feeling much better after reading all of your advice. I'll go ahead with the direct train from Paris to Brussels then, either Thalys or TGV. And I'll probably book ahead since that was recommended by more people and I don't want something unexpected to happen at the last minute! I will be sure to check out the fares, I think using half of a round-trip ticket makes a lot of sense if it is cheaper.

I just did a search and found Euro 68.5 per ticket on Thalys one way, which doesn't seem too bad. But in proceeding with the ticket order I have another question...it says I can either receive it by post free of charge or collect it from an automatic ticket machine or sncf station. Which do you recommend?

Hopefully this will be my last question! Thanks again!

Tish

sandypaws3

We booked ahead, through RailEurope. We noticed that people who hadn't booked ahead found it difficult to find an unoccupied seat.

Sandy

111op

I think that the one-way you buy is likely going to be more flexible than a cheap round-trip in case you need to change the ticket. So that's something to bear in mind when comparing prices. (Check all the restrictions before you buy so you're aware of what you're getting into.)

Regarding picking up tickets from a ticket machine, I don't have personal experience with these specific trains. One (potential) problem is that European machines can have trouble reading American cards. If that happens you may have to use a ticket counter.

That said, I was surprised when I was able that I could pick up my tickets on the London/Paris Eurostar in Waterloo with the machines.

I'd do the pickup option -- but give yourself a little of time. The mail option will allow to skip lines at the station for pickup though, but you're also leaving in three weeks....

Andre

Tish,

If you live in the US, they won't mail the tickets to you, so you only have the option of picking them up.

This is very easy though - any train station or Boutique SNCF in France can issue them, all you need is your confirmation nr. and the card you used to pay.

Forget about using the ticket machines though, they can't deal with foreign cards - you'll need to deal with a human being.

Hope this helps,
Andre

ftdavis

I think I'm finally set, and out of questions Thanks to everyone!!

Tish

Ronda

Great info here. I am doing research for our Paris and Brussels trip for the last of November, first part of December. Should I order my TGV tickets online now and pick them up in France to be sure of a seat or just get them when I am in Paris? We are staying near Rue Cler. Any SNCF office around there? Thank you.

StCirq

The SNCF website has a promotion right now for the Thalys line - you might want to check it out - 30€ roundtrip.

At any rate, these days I like to book online and pick the tickets up when I get to the station, or better yet get a PREM fare so I can just print out the ticket and board the train with no stops at all. I don't know if there are PREM fares available for Thalys, though.

Ronda

Thanks for the info but what are PREM fares? 30 E sounds great! I will check it out.

Ronda

The cheapest fare I found:

49.00€ ? SMILYS MANDATORY ROUND TRIP : Return ticket compulsory. Non exchangeable. No refundable.

So, does that mean that if I purchase a ticket for a specific time, I cannot change it?

This one sounds like I could change the departure time:

75.00€ ? MEZZO PLUS : Return ticket compulsory. Exchangeable (once) and refundable at 50% before outward departure.


The last time I took the train between Brussels and Paris, we purchase a roundtrip ticket there and could take any train back.