If you will be travelling with tickets then taking the train from Paris to Bruxelles/Brussels is simple and the speed of the train gives the journey a wow factor.
However, if you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass the reservation fees for using the passes over this distances are comparatively poor value for money, hence the alternative routes detailed below.
Final Destination: Amsterdam or Bruxelles or Dortmund or Essen or Koln
The Thalys trains are non-stop between Paris and Bruxelles.
The only station in Bruxelles/Brussels that the Thalys trains arrive at is Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid.
During the day (06:00 - 22:00*) there are usually 1 or 2 x departures per hour, but there are typically no departures between 12:25
*On Sundays only there is usually a train leaving at 22:25.
The Alternative journey option:
The TGV-IZY trains are a slower, they have a journey time of 2hr 12min, but cheaper alternative to these Thalys trains
They're slower because:
They usually depart from Paris at:
11:34 - only on Saturdays
13:34 - only on Fridays
13:43 - only on Sundays
13:46 - on Mon-Thurs
19:55 - only on Sundays
20:22 only on Fridays
Monday - Thursday: 20 x trains per day
Friday: 19 x trains
Saturday: 14 x trains
Sunday: 16 x trains
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.
Use the ‘earlier trains’ and ‘later trains’ buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
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 will be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, you will have to pay a comparatively expensive reservation fee prior to the boarding these Thalys trains.
And rail passes can't be used on the alternative 'TGV-IZY' trains.
You can save money by following this routing - if you can book the €10 fee the TGV from Paris to Lille
If you want to avoid paying any reservations at all, you will need to take this routing:
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
B-Europe | from €29 | |
Oui.SNCF | from €29 | |
Trainline | from €29 | |
SaveATrain | from €29 | |
Happyrail | from €29 |
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.
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/ until it reaches the suburbs of Bruxelles.
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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.