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On the high speed line between Rotterdam and Amsterdam

Paris to Amsterdam by train

How to travel from Paris to Amsterdam by train

Thanks to the high speed Thalys serves which link the French and Dutch capitals taking the train from Paris to Amsterdam is a straightforward journey.

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Routes

From Paris Gare Du Nord/Paris Nord to Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CS

Journey Summary

From
Paris
The street view looking towards the opposite end of Paris Nord to that used by Eurostar
Paris Gare Du Nord/Paris Nord Rail Station Guide
To
Amsterdam
The front of Amsterdam Centraal between the two tram stations
Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CS Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
3hr 18 min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal

All trains also call at: Rotterdam, Schiphol

Note that these trains depart from the Gare Du Nord in Paris.

Mon - Thurs = 10x trains per day
Friday = 11 x trains
Saturday = 7 x trains
Sunday = 9 x trains

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date; usually

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Rail Pass Users:

If you want to travel DIRECT from Paris to Amsterdam there's no alternative to paying the fairly expensive reservation fees, which are payable on these Thalys trains.

If you want to avoid the reservation fees completely you can take this alternative journey option.

OR add a fabulous Belgian destination such as Antwerp or Brugge or Gent to your itinerary (travelling from Paris to Lille via Amiens).

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
NS International from €35

NS International Guide

NS is the Dutch national rail operator and it operates a bespoke website for the booking of international rail journeys from and to The Netherlands.
Therefore it offers tickets for journeys by:

  • Thalys trains to Bruxelles and Paris
  • IC trains to Berlin via Hannover and Bruxelles via Antwerpen
  • Eurostar to London
  • ICE trains to Basel and Frankfurt (Main) via Koln
  • the Nightjet trains to Austria and Germany

NS International also sells tickets to a range of destinations in Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Italy and Switzerland, which involve a change of train in Germany, along with the destinations in France, which can be accessed by making a connection in Bruxelles.

B-Europe from €35

B-Europe Guide

B-Europe is the website provided by Belgium's national railway operator for the sale of international rail journeys from and to Belgium.
Therefore tickets can be booked for the following international train services to/from Belgium

  • Eurostar
  • IC trains to France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands
  • ICE trains to Germany
  • Thalys trains to Germany, The Netherlands and Paris
  • TGV trains to destination in France other than Paris
    B-Europe offers a 'Best Fares' policy for journey by these trains.

It also sells international end-to-end journeys solely by train, with connections outside of Belgium, if you will be heading to popular destinations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes can also book seat reservations on the Eurostar and Thalys services without paying booking fees.

Oui.SNCF from €35

Oui.SNCF Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

Though a legacy of when SNCF sold international tickets under the Rail Europe branding is that OuiSNCF is available in multiple translations with the offerings on the site then tailored to international visitors to France.
However, some of the site's features, including the integration of mobility assistance into the booking path, are only available on the French language version.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF 'My Travel' phone app, so it's therefore often a good idea to book on the OuiSNCF mobile service.

Trainline from €35

Trainline Guide

Saveatrain from €35

Saveatrain Guide

Happyrail from €35

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Travelling On
Exterior of a refurbished Thalys train - note the red doors
Thalys Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

For a stress-free journey it's a good idea to be at the Gare Du Nord at least 20 minutes before departure as all passengers taking the Thalys trains have to pass through security checks.
So being at the back of the queue wondering if you'll be able to board in time is a scenario best avoided.

On the high speed line between Rotterdam and Amsterdam On the high speed line between Rotterdam and Amsterdam

This is a fascinating journey of five distinct phases.

  1. Around seven minutes after departure the train will move on to the high speed line and it will then travel at more than 270 km/h for around 80 minutes until it reaches the suburbs of Bruxelles; this is the fastest part of the trip.
  2. On departure from Bruxelles-Midi the train will cross the city centre in a tunnel and the use a conventional railway until Antwerpen; this section of the route isn't at high speed, but it takes up less than 30 minutes of the journey time.
  3. Between Antwerpen and Rotterdam the train will be travelling at more than 250 k/mh
    It's not a scenically interesting journey, but look out around 15 mins after the train has departed Antwerpen for the dramatic crossing of the location of where the River Rhine meets the North Sea, which can be seen on the left
  4. Between Rotterdam and Schiphol the train is back on the Dutch high speed route, look out for the windmills.
  5. For the final 15 minutes of the journey the train will wind its way through the Amsterdam suburbs on a mainly elevated route.
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