my friend and i are going to be travelling in a couple weeks from paris to amsterdamn and read that you need to make reservations for trains in france...we tried to make one but all 2nd class reservations are full for the day we need to leave....my question is can you get on the train without one, because i know in other places its not a problem, just maybe an issue of getting a seat...anyone have expereince with this in france?
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
The only direct train service between Paris and Amsterdam is via the Thalys (www.thalys.com) high speed train service. Advance reservation/tickets are mandatory; if you board the train without a ticket they will throw you off-I've seen it happen. If you find that trains are booked up on your travel dates, try booking a train to Brussels from there you can take the regular inter-city trains into Amsterdam. From Brussels, trains usually run at fifteen minute intervals into Amsterdam; no reservations are required.
Posted by
grand rapids, mi, us
3 posts
Taking the 'slow' train without reservations is still pretty fast. That's what everybody did for years until the Thalys came out. It's still an intercity (meaning it skips the bulk of the stops) and only stops in major cities such as roosendaal, rotterdam, den haag and Amsterdam (i don't know the belgium ones).
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
I took the no reservation thru Brussels to Amsterdam. no problems.