Traveling from Cologne to Brussels via ICE train - then hoping to head on to Brugge straight away.
How long should we give between arriving at Bruxelles-Midi station to be able to make the train to Brugge?
Thanks! I may have more 'train' questions shortly - first time travel overseas, so many train questions!
Domestic train tickets in Belgium are not departure specific, just take the first available train to Bruges. If you miss the train you planned to take, just take the next one.
And in general, www.seat61.com is a great source of information on train travel in Europe (and the rest of the world).
You want to buy the Cologne-Brussels ticket two months at least in advance for a big discount (but non-changeable, non-refundable.) Then, on a regular business day, there are four to six trains to Brugge every hour from any of the three downtown Brussels stations. Unreserved, sometimes crowded, usually no big long-distance luggage racks.
If you can buy a ticket all the way to Brugge it will save a line or fussing with a ticket machine in Brussels.
Skim this material:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips
It's either Brugge (Dutch, the language most spoken in the city) or Bruges (French-speaking). There is no Brugges.
Both Deutsche Bahn, the German national train company, and Thalys, a private train company, run high-speed trains between Koln Hbf ( Cologne) and Brussels Midi-Zuid train Station. For deeply-discounted advance fares on Thalys trains, be sure to check www.Thalys.com where they first go on sale 120 days in advance for as little as €16. Today the tickets at that price are on sale for May 20.
