We plan to depart Brussels May 11 to travel to Paris, France. Should we reserve our seats now on train or wait until mid April and book ourselves. Prior to this unprecedented corona virus situation, I had read that the Brussels to Paris route needed be booked in advance,
Secondly, I read that ticketed rail tickets could not be refunded, no matter what.
Should we or shouldn’t we reserve?
In most cases you have an option to buy a flexible rail ticket when traveling on an express train. Sometimes you can get refundable ticket. Those types of tickets just cost more.
Check out the schedule on the SNCF website. Choose a departure time that appeals to you. Click on the price. (Nearly all of us think second-class is perfectly fine.) For the Thalys train I randomly chose on your travel date, only one option was presented: "Exchangeable/conditions apply". Click on "Exchange and refund terms and conditions" to see the rules applicable to the ticket.