I'm going to be on a 10 night trip and plan to arrive in and leave via CDG in Paris (due to frequent flyer availability of flights). Any tips to minimize costs on the following train routes? Travel will occur in the first 2 weeks of December 2012. Paris - Brussels Brussels - Cologne Cologne - Paris I've used trains before in Europe although a couple of trips used passes due to the frequency/distance involved in travel. Since this trip involves less train travel I think the pass would not be close to cost efficient. I know the sooner you get the ticket the better but due to a work situation I need to wait a bit longer before committing. I believe there is also a web site that covers train travel. Thanks
Rich
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Paris-Brussels: You will take a high-speed Thalys train. Book ASAP (up to 92 days allowed) at thalys.com to get a discount fare as low as €22.00. Print your own ticket. Brussels-Cologne: Book ASAP (up to 92 days allowed) on the Thalys site to get a discount fare as low as €19.00. You can get the same fare for an ICE train by booking on the German Rail site. Print your own ticket. Cologne-Paris: Book ASAP on the Thalys site to get a discount fare as low as €35.00. Print your own ticket. Note: A semi-annual timetable change will go into effect throughout Europe on 9 December. Until the German Rail site updates its timetables, you can only book up to 8 December. However, as of today you can book on the Thalys site up to 17 December.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
www.seat61.com for lots of train info.
Posted by
Texan in CA
4415 posts
I wholeheartedly second Tim's advice - and get those tickets ASAP. I also believe there's aporox. 86,465 websites covering train travel ;-). Luckily for you, though, the Thalys site is the one for you - their trains are The Ones for traveling b/n Paris and Brussels, and they also do booming business to/from Cologne. You'll see on their website the small area they concentrate on. The trip b/n Paris and Brussels could cost €42,00 in Passholder fees alone, so you're right to look at point-to-point tickets.