travel between paris and amsterdam

Train, takes under 3½ hours city centre to city centre, faster than flying and a lot more comfortable.

Trains are branded as Thalys. Website here: https://www.thalys.com/
Buy tickets as early as possible for the cheapest fares. For 3 months in advance I see fares at €35.

Info about the trains here: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Paris.htm#Paris-Amsterdam

The high-speed Thalys train. City centre (Paris Gare du Nord) to city centre (Amsterdam Centraal) it takes less than 3,5 hrs and advance-bought (2 months) can be as cheap as EUR 35.

Concurring with Chris and Ton that Thalys is the way to go: efficient, comfortable and reasonably priced if tickets are purchased in advance (we've taken that train on that route).

I love the Thalys.
Be aware that as of today, they are not booking any trips on the weekends of Sept 8-9 and 15-16 due to track maintenance. According to the website, they may start booking tickets by mid July. It all depends on whether the work is completed.

If you can't get an advance Thalys fare, the absolute cheapest way will be by bus, although that is much slower. Try Eurolines, Flixbus, or Ouibus.

Cheapest -- the train: The €35 advanced fare on Thalys if you buy the tickets as soon as they are made available online which is 120 days in advance.

Most efficient -- the train: Same Thalys train. It's a 3 hour trip from Amsterdam Schiphol & 3 hours, 17 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal

I just booked our tickets for two separate Thalys itineraries --

• Schiphol to Paris (direct train)
• Paris to Dortmund (direct train)