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Amsterdam to Paris on Thalys question.

Posted by (Salt Lake City, UT) on

We have Thalys tickets booked from Amsterdam to Bussels-Midi and then a later train from Bussels-Midi to Paris. I am reading much about how Thalys tickets include travel between Brussels stations.

It is our intention to drop our luggage and head straight for the Grand Place. So would we be best off to lock up luggage at Midi and then get back on a train to head north, or can we/should we just get off the train at Centraal, lock our luggage there and then either catch 'our' Thalys train there (I realize we may not have our reserved seats until our booked station) or grab any train to Midi for our booked reservation?

Thoughts? Advise? Other more simple ideas? (Obviously we are cost conscious)

Posted by
3691 posts

Have you posted this in the Belgium forum? I ask because my answer is based on travel from four years ago and maybe things have changed. You can use your Thalys ticket to get from Midi to Centraal and vice versa by train (not bus, tram or metro). I'd just exit the train at Midi and store my luggage there and then catch a local train using the Thalys ticket from Midi to Centraal and walk 5 minutes from there to Grand Place.
I just checked my notes from my trip and edited my initial post because I realized that Thalys does not stop at Centraal.

Posted by
20081 posts

I don't believe the Thalys stops anywhere in Brussels other than Midi. So to do a stopover in Brussels, you will need to get off there, store your bags, go to Grand Place by public transportation by whatever means (could be local train to Centraal), then return to Midi, get back bags, and catch the Thalys to Paris. I believe you will need local transport tickets for this, unless someone knows better.

Posted by
4684 posts

Yes, the Thalys only stops at Brussels Midi. From Midi, the easiest way to reach the Grand Place is to take the Metro from Midi to Bourse, which is in easy walking distance. You will need to get new tickets for the Metro.

Posted by
4684 posts

I said "Metro" to avoid confusing the OP as the signs say Metro. The line from Midi to Bourse is trams running in Metro-style underground tunnels.

Posted by
103 posts

Thanks for the help, this clarifies it for me.

Also, I didn't post in the Belgium forum because I knew I would find the answer here and that forum is not quite as busy as this so questions can go unanswered.

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