Greetings...
Looking for tips on training from London (Gatwick) to Bruges (probably on the Eurostar), then training to Paris 2 days later. It appears I'll need to get off in Brussels, then board another train to Bruges. Once in Paris, I'm staying in the city for 6 days, so not sure if there's a 'pass' that would cover this or I should just buy tix as I go? Will I need to prepay or is it safe to buy a tix on the Eurostar when I get there? Thanks!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
The trip from Brugge to Paris also routes you through Brussels and involves a switch from Belgian rail (NMBS) to Thalys. Through Thalys, you can buy a ticket that covers both legs of the trip, or you can buy them separately (I don't know which option is cheaper, but Brugge to Brussels on NMBS costs less than 20 euro). The combo ticket from Thalys obliges you to take a specific train from Brussels to Paris, but you can take any train you want from Brussels to Brugge (there's at least one train per hour between the two cities, sometimes even more).
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
When are you taking this trip? What time is your plane scheduled to arrive at Gatwick?
To get a discount fare on the Eurostar to Brussels you'll need to book ASAP (up to 120 days allowed). A discount fare ticket will be non-exchangeable and non-refundable so you'll need to build in lots of connection time between your arrival at Gatwick and your departure from London St. Pancras.
Your Eurostar ticket will include the ABS (any Belgian station) feature which will give you a free ride on any IC train from Brussels-Midi/Zuid to Bruges.
Book your Brussels-Paris Thalys ticket ASAP (up to 90 days in advance). Discount fares sell out fast. As Tom said, you can get a ticket which includes the ABS feature, but with Thalys you'll have to pay a little more for it. It's not free like it is on the Eurostar.
Posted by
Freedonia
16053 posts
I just want to reiterate a portion of Tim's posting because it is important:
The Eurostar ticket to Brussels is good on any additional train to anyplace in Belgium. And that includes Bruges. Do not buy a ticket from Brussels to Bruges. You'll just be wasting money.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Paris travel passes: if you are arriving on Monday or Tuesday it would be worth getting a "forfait hebdomadaire" pass, which costs 17.20 euro for central Paris. However this ONLY runs from Monday to Sunday - you can't have it start any other day of the week. You may need a passport sized photo to get one.
The passes aimed at tourists are "Paris Visite". These are 28.30 for five days and gives discounts on some attractions, but unless you will use a lot of the discounts they aren't good value.
Alternatively you can get a one-day pass for 5.90 euros. Single tickets are 1.60, but if you get ten at a time ("carnet") they go down to the equivalent of 1.16 each and this may be more efficient than day passes if you expect to make less than five one-way journeys a day. Remember that in Paris you can usually make free transfers between Metro/RER lines and between Metro and bus.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
One small correction to Philip's good post. A single ticket is good for transfers between the metro and/or the RER in central Paris. It's good for bus transfers up to 90 minutes after boarding the first bus. However, it is not good for transfers between the metro and the bus.
Of course, if you have a pass, you can hop on and off the metro, RER, and bus at will.
Mobilis is the name of the one day, zone 1-2 pass that costs 5.90 EUR.