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Amsterdam to Marseille by train
How to make the journey from Amsterdam to Marseille on a combination of high speed trains
There are no direct trains from Amsterdam to Marseille so when looking up the journey what may not be obvious is that the simplest routing is to make the connection between trains at Midi/Zuid station in Bruxelles.
On arrival at that station, you'll usually need to descend into the international departures area and pass through security to board the TGV train to Marseille.
The more frequent and usually cheaper option is to travel via Paris, but this involves having to make a transfer across the city centre from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare De Lyon.
Connect in Marseille for Toulon, Cannes, Antibes and Nice
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Routes
Option 1: making a connection in Bruxelles
Journey Summary
7hr 48min - 8hr 29min (via Bruxelles)
Daily
Travel Information
The big plus of THIS journey option is that it avoids the need to make the transfer between stations across Paris.
It tends to be more expensive than travelling via Paris, but the comparatively easy connection in Bruxelles means it can be a price worth paying.
Take the Thalys train that is usually scheduled to depart from Amsterdaam at 09:17 and you will have 23 mins at Bruxelles-Midi station, to make the connection on to Marseille.
Book this connection and IF the Thalys arrives too late in Bruxelles/Brussels, tickets can be transferred to a subsequent TGV on to Marseille, which will depart around 2 hours later.
Or book the connection that usually departs Amsterdam at around 08:17 and you will have more than an hour to change trains; so you can almost guarantee a stress-free journey, which will showcase the best of European high speed train travel.
It's a long way from Amsterdam to Marseille, but you'll be travelling on high speed lines for virtually the entire trip.
On this route via Bruxelles there are usually 2 x connections per day
Change trains in: Bruxelles/Brussels**
Tickets
Book in advance and save: YES
Online bookings usually open: 3 months ahead of the travel date.
Look for the journey options that depart Amsterdam at 08: 17 and 09:17.
The 08:17 has the slower overall journey time because it allows more time to make the connection between trains in Bruxelles/Brussels, but is the departure S<TYJ recommends taking, for that reason.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| B-Europe | * | |
| NS International | * |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Being at Amsterdam Centraal station at least 20 minutes before departure is recommended, the Thalys trains usually depart from the far side of the station to the main entrance and passengers also have to pass through a security check point.
Taking these Thalys trains:
Final Destination: Paris Nord or Marne La Vallé or Brussel-Zuid
All trains also call at: Schiphol; Rotterdam; Antwerpen
These trains use the high speed line between Amsterdam and Antwerpen, but are not high speed between Antwerpen and Bruxelles/Brussels, because between those cities they have to use conventional tracks, though engineering works are ongoing to speed up this part of the route.
It's not a scenically interesting journey, but look out around 15 mins before the train is due to arrive in Antwerpen, for the dramatic crossing of the location of where the River Rhine meets the North Sea.
The best of these views are on the left.
And, as can be seen, you can see windmills between Schiphol and Rotterdam.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Yo can avoid having to make the transfer across Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare De Lyon by taking these direct trains from Bruxelles to Marseille
Final Destination: Marseille
All trains also call at: Aeroport CDG; Marne La Valléé; Lyon; Avignon TGV
Step on board for one of longest European train journeys, on which you will be travelling at more than 275 km/h on high speed lines, for virtually the entire train trip!
The train will move on to a high speed line around 10 mins after it has departed and won't leave it until around 5 mins before the train arrives in Marseille.
This video was captured north of Lyon;
And it is the speed which gives this journey its only wow factor, though if you can stay awake, the views from the window become more scenic the further the train travels south.
Option 2: making a connection in Paris
Journey Summary
8hr 37min - 8hr 40min]
Daily
Travel Information
Choose to travel from Amsterdam to Marseille by train via Paris and the negative of this routing is that you will have to make the transfer between stations across Paris.
The Thalys train from Amsterdam will arrive at the Gare Du Nord and the TGV on Marseille will depart from the Gare De Lyon.
But it can be worth making that cross Paris transfer, as a big plus of taking this route is that it tends to be cheaper than making the connections between trains in Bruxelles/Brussels or Lille
The other big plus of taking this route is the wider choice of departure/arrival times.
The combination of trains sold by the ticket agents should allow at least an hour to make the transfer between stations in Paris.
So these connections are more generously timed than those between trains in Bruxelles.
6 x connections per day
Change trains in: Paris
Tickets
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| B-Europe | * | |
| NS International | * |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Paris Nord
All trains also call at: Schiphol; Rotterdam; Antwerpen Centraal; Bruxelles-Midi
Aide from two fairly short stretches of the route (between Amsterdam and Schiphol and between Antwerpen and Bruxelles) you'll be travelling at high speed for the entire train ride!
It's not a scenically interesting journey, but look out around 15 mins before the train is due to arrive in Antwerpen - for the dramatic crossing of the location of where the River Rhine meets the North Sea.
And, as can be seen, you can view windmills between Schiphol and Rotterdam.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that these trains to Marseille depart from the Gare de Lyon in Paris.
Final Destination: Marseille or Nice or Menton
Most trains also call at: Avignon TGV and Aix-en-Provence TGV
Alternative Ouigo trains:
The low-cost, but more basic, Ouigo trains, now provide a direct alternative to these InOui trains for a journey from Paris to Marseille.
That's because there are now 3 x Ouigo trains per day from Paris Gare De Lyon to Marseille.
In terms of distance travelled this is one of the longest non-stop European journeys by high speed trains and you should be travelling at more than 270 km/h for more than 90% of this trip.
The train will head on to the high speed line around 10 mins into the journey and won't leave it until it reaches the outskirts of Marseille.
The route becomes more scenic on the final 30 - 40mis of the ride, when the train will be travelling across Provence.
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