Eurostar Confusion (Brussels Midi to Paris Gard du Nord)

So you told Trainline you wanted to go to CDG. That means it’s only giving you those options to CDG not the other options you see on the Eurostar

Yes, if you take the Eurostar you’re going to have to then take the RER to CDG. And that will be an additional ticket. Think it’s around €13 a person.

Now, my understanding is that on a Eurostar ticket, you can use that ticket to go from Bridges to the train station in Brussels. I’m not sure on the other ticket you’re looking at.

My one question though is how much time are you allowing for all this. Please tell me you’re not planning to get to CDG about two hours before your flight but that you built in a lot of pad.

Oh dear, I recognise this rabbit hole you’ve gone down, usually it’s comparing plane stopovers that gets me!

Firstly, it’s too soon to book for July, and secondly, are you tied into travelling by Eurostar? It does seem to make it much more complicated. For instance, for Friday 17th May (just an example) using Trainline, you would go from Bruges on an SNCF train to Bordeaux St Jean and change there to a OUIGO train vitesse straight to CDG.

I’d would have a look on Trainline and play around with dates for the same day on the week and work out what times would work for you. Generally train companies seem to release booking dates about 2-3 months in advance, so just keep an eye on the website until they’re available.

You caught me Carol! I already posted about my Bruges to CDG trip on another post and I am building in cushion...not just 2 hours ahead of checkin. I'm planing for just over 5 hours. Someone had commented about two connections, which I now understand.

I'll have to do the calculations and figuring, for which approach (full trip through trainline or pieced using Eurostar), but thank you for advising on Trainline/Eurostar.

AmandaR - Darn it! I thought it was 4 months for France, but didn't consider Eurostar...I see now it's 120 days!

I'm not tied into Eurostar. I'm most interested in quickest and most reliable!

I'll wait a bit and see what options Eurostar has!

You solved the riddle!

Oh wait, my maths says 120 days is 4 months....

The Eurostar (ex Thalys) only goes to Paris Nord except for one train a day

But SNCF run direct from Bruxelles Midi to Paris Aéroport Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle (Gare TGV et Ouigo - CDG 2, à 25 km de Paris) [this is the name on SNCF connect] in 1 hour 38 minutes multiple times a day.

Note that on SNCF you can't book through from Bruges. You would have to buy Bruges to Brussels separately, at Bruges on the day.

But on the SNCB INTERNATIONAL site- https://www.b-europe.com/EN you can book through from Brugge [Bruges] to Aéroport Charles de Gaulle TGV (Fr) [the same place]

Comparing the two sites booking locally Bruges to Brussels and on SNCF Brussels to CDG seems to be cheaper, but you may just prefer one ticket, and be happy to pay the apparent premium.

Why Trainline [a 3rd party reseller] doesn't do that is anyone's guess.

PS- Amanda chose the wrong Bruges- the one in France as opposed to the one in Belgium, hence the change in Bordeaux!!

Yes, you do NOT want to go to Bordeaux from Bruges to get to Paris. That would be a loooong way out of the way

But I wouldn't recommend going from Bruges to CDG if this is the day of your international flight. If there is any problem on the train line, you could have a very expensive problem on your hands (since you said you are a party of four).

Good grief, I had no idea there was another Bruges, I just assumed there was another Bordeaux in northern France! 🙄😏

I was able to book Bruges to CDG for Mid May on SCNF. We are spending the night at CDG before our flight. We try not to travel the day of our flights back to the states if at all possible as they are often pretty early. I have the QR code for my TGV train and they are snail mailing my Bruges to Brussels train ticket to me supposedly to arrive in 10 days. We are not leaving until April 20 so will see how that works out. I definitely wanted just one train change with luggage.

isn31c = lifesaver!

Thank you ALL. Honestly, I don't know how I'd manage planning this trip without this forum and every single one of you providing inputs! It's all good! AmandaR - I made that mistake previously and didn't even notice when you made it!

"Good grief, I had no idea there was another Bruges"

There is also a Vienna in France, and München is called Monaco in Italian...

It is good to always use the correct name for a place. That town in Belgium you are going to has not gone by the name of "Bruges" a single day in its existence. So please call my beautiful town of birth "Brugge". And all will be fine :-)

Regarding where to book: One thing Trainline is good for is, that since it is a third party, it does not care which trains it books you on, and will show you the different operators where there are.

So between Brussels and Paris you have indeed Eurostar(ex Thalys) which is a separate operator owned mostly by SNCF, but also by NMBS and some weird investment outfit from Canada if I am not mistaken. However on that route you also have train run by SNCF under its own flag. These are trains that all have destinations beyond Paris. You can go Brussels - Bordeaux, Brussels - Marseilles etc... And these trains go around Paris and call at CDG. (These trains all also call at Lille Europe, and reverse there).

One last thing:

• You can book this on www.b-europe.com, which is the official Belgian Railways international site, and you can book the one-change route from Brugge to CDG there without issue. Do not be put off by the efficient transfer times the planner proposes. It assumes you are interested in the quickest trip, and that you do not like wasting time. Those transfer times are perfectly doable.

But since the ticket for the Brugge - Brussel part is flexible you can always chose to take an earlier train.

ALSO - I'm now interested about the difference (besides being different operators) between TGV and Eurostar? Do they run on the same train tracks? (i.e. if one gets delayed, are both?)

Yes, that's right. One set of tracks. If anything gets stuck for any reason, everything behind gets stuck too, until the obstruction is gone.

Different companies run different brands of trains, and they have different paint job, but overall they are relatively similar - but they are true competitors.

To put it in airport context, the runways are open to all, regardless of brand, but if the runway has to close everybody has a problem no matter what colour of plane. And they all operate - let's say - 737s, but some are older, some newer, some with tight seating, some luxurious (OK, this is getting out of hand!), and different paint on the outside. Make sense?

Even if your flight is in the afternoon, 2 hours (5 hours minus 3 hours international check in) wiggle room is REALLY tight when you are coming a distance with connections with a larger party. Anything could happen (probably won't but could). I think you are brave.

I know someone said it’s too early to buy tickets for July, but if you do decide on the Eurostar option, it is not too early to buy those tickets. Those tickets are on sale and they only go up in price as things sell. It’s not like airlines where pricing fluctuates in my experience

WengenK - thank you for clarifying Brugge as I have been confused and concerned I select the right place! I can’t wait to experience your home town! And yes I was redirected to the Belgian international site (other referenced post has sent me there too), so thanks for confirming that IS the best place.

Nigel - thanks for the added context with the one set of tracks. I checked and my checkout time is 11:00 so we’ll see when our Austrian friends are departing Brugge and go from there. They don’t feel arriving at CDG only 5 hours early is risky since the trains run every hour (sometimes more) to Paris. Our tickets are only to KEF. I am more risk tolerant with travel than others. Brave or ok with a small chance disruption! The idea of travel insurance helps!

The problem with a 'correct' name is that, depending on the website you use different names in different languages.

Like it or not both the British and the French call the city in Belgium 'Bruges'. That is how it appears on both the SNCF and the Eurostar (as in the UK to the Continent trains) websites.

The point was quite laboured above when quoting from the SNCF website.

This is not at all unique to Bruges/Brugge, and it is important that travellers understand the distinctions. If you put Brugge into SNCF Connect you will get some wholly unexpected results, involving a variety of bus stops round France, you may also get momentarily confused with a station in Germany.

The trainline use Brugge and Rail Europe use both in their drop down boxes.