We want to book a train from from Amsterdam to Montpellier..looks like it goes thru Paris. How much time should we allow between transfers from one station to another in Paris? We are also want to know what is the real difference between the Economy vs Comfort class - it's just a few bucks difference?
Thx for your input!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
If there's a good price on Comfort (1st) class, then go for it. It's a little more elbow room, with three seats plus the aisles, instead of four, and the first leg by Thalys serves a light meal in 1st class. Suggested schedules from DB give you an hour and a half to make the connection, which should be plenty of time. But don't dawdle; get right out to catch either a taxi from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon (probably 10 euros) or the RER Line D (green line).
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
14 posts
Another train question....We're traveling in October from Paris to Amboise, for 3 nights, then on to London ( Paris to Amboise to London thru Paris). Eurostar tickets go on sale 6 months out. Should I buy the Paris to London leg immediately -or- wait until 3 months out for the whole roundtrip/multicity trip to go on sale thru the SNCF site? Is there an advantage to booking the trip through SNCF? Thanks!
Posted by
Green Bay
20070 posts
A bit of playing with the TGV site shows you can travel to London for 74 euro bypassing central Paris going Amboise to St Pierre-des-Corps to Lille-Europe to London. The advantage of this route is that you don't need to do any Metro/Bus transfer in Paris to get to Gare du Nord. Since the cheapest Paris to London tickets in October are 40 GBP, this way purchased through TGV appears to be the best solution.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
14 posts
Thanks Sam! I can only book this 3months in advance, correct?