Train from Paris to Amsterdam

It might be worth reserving in advance, I think sometime if you buy on the day of travel it can be more expensive on certain routes. (We paid a lot on the Brussels-Paris route a few years back that way; on that route I seem to recall someone saying there is one company that has a monopoly or something.) You could try through Rail Europe (comes with a markup) but might get a better deal through a travel agent. We have occasionally booked long-haul tickets, such as for overnight trains, that way. It seemed to work o.k.

You can easily arrange it the day before. However, there can be good discounts if purchased well in advance from the US but that locks you into a schedule and if you miss the train or want to change the ticket is gone.

Buy it in advance - your ticket can be €39,00 instead of €130,00. But you can do it there. Just not for anything near €39,00. About 3 months before your trip, go to http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/. In the 'order box', choose "Great Britain" as your 'Ticket Collection Country'. Then, a box will pop up - choose the second one that mentions "tgv-europe" (I believe) and NOT the first one that mentions "Rail Europe"!

I just booked the same trip about a month ago. I did it through SNCF and even if you know a little french you can probably book it. It was worth booking it in advance for us. The prices varied quite a bit for a June travel date. We booked a Thalys train 1st class with lunch for only a little more than 2nd class, all because we were able to review all the train departure times and pick a later, less expensive time. We were given an online code which we take to the ticket office in the station.

You can usually purchase Thalys tickets a day ahead of departure, but you will be paying the highest fare....the earlier you book the cheaper it will be. If you purchase 92 days in advance it can be as low as 40 euros, last minute 150-200 euros. Book tickets at thalys.com, tell the website you live in the UK so it will be in english.

look for the "smoove" fare on thalys, it goes on sale 90 days prior to the travel date. We paid 33 euro each person.

look for the "smoove" fare on thalys, it goes on sale 90 days prior to the travel date. We paid 33 euro each person.