Three of us will be taking the Eurostar from London to Brussels on 4/13 to join a RS tour in Ghent. The Eurostar ticket says "Any Belgian Station". It appears that that means we do not buy a second ticket to take the local train from Brussels to Ghent. Our question is do we need to book seats ahead of time? And, if so, how? Although trains on that line run frequently, we will be short on time to make the start of the tour so want to be sure to understand what to expect. Duration of the Brussels to Ghent leg varies from 31 minutes to over an hour.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
No, you don't book seats on the remaining Belgian trains. Hop on any train toward Ghent (within 24 hours of your Brussels arrival), find an open seat, and simply show the same Eurostar ticket to the conductor, if one comes around to your seat.
Posted by
OP
Irvine, CA
5 posts
Thanks Laura
Posted by
Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
10 posts
I had the same question - we're going from London to Bruges on 4/18 and I bought the Eurostar ticket on their website and they said we just needed to show our Eurostar ticket on the train from Brussels to Belgiium. My concern was whether we would get a seat if we didn't reserve ahead?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33834 posts
The trains between Brussels and Gent and Brugge don't have reserved seating except for the very few Thalys services.
You find the train and get on. If the seats are full you stand.