Train travel from Brussels to Paris

Steven, One further point to add. If arriving at Gare du Nord, the tour information will have details on the best ways to get from there to your tour Hotel? It will be the same method as if arriving at CDG and taking the RER into Paris. I normally use the Metro. I assume you'll be staying at a Hotel in the Rue Cler area? Which of the France tours are you taking?

The Thalys high-speed train will get you from Brussels-Midi station to Paris Nord station in 1 hour 15 minutes with departures every hour. Thalys has one direct train per day from the Brussels Airport to Paris at 9:46am, otherwise you will have to take the shuttle train from the Airport to Midi...every 15 minutes or so. You can save a lot of money by purchasing tickets in advance (90 days allowed) at http://www.thalys.com, if you purchase at the station, you will pay the highest fare...the savings are considerable. But you will locked into a specific departure, so it might be worth it to explore Brussels for the day, and take an evening train to Paris. This way if your flight is late, your tickets won't be worthless.

The standard 2nd class fare for Brussels-Paris on Thalys trains is €90.00. If you book well in advance, as Michael suggests, you can get a Smoove discount fare as low as €25.00. You also can book a ticket that includes the ABS (Any Belgian Station) add-on that will cover your ride on IC trains from the airport to Brussels. You must choose "Paper ticket" if you book the ABS add-on. It's not available for "Ticketless" booking. As Michael says, give yourselves a few hours at least between your scheduled arrival at the airport and your scheduled departure on the Thalys train to Paris. Your ticket will be good on any IC train so just jump on and spend as much time in Brussels as your scheduled departure time to Paris allows.

Thanks all. Very helpful info. We fly into Brussels on July 6. We join Ricks "Best of Europe" tour on July 9 in Paris. So far the plan is to stay the night then take the train to Paris for a few pre tour days on our own.

Steven, As this is your first trip to Europe, a few "caveats". Be sure to wear your Money Belts (will be provided with your Tour package), and be especially careful in both Brussels and Paris prior to the tour. You might find it helpful to read some of the information on "Scams" on the Graffiti Wall (or other sites). Be especially vigilant in rail stations in Brussels, with heightened vigilance if there are any "distractions" (ie: a "helpful individual" approaches you holding his nose as if there's a bad odour coming from your luggage - while he's helping you clean the mess, his accomplices will disappear with whatever parts of your luggage they can lay their hands on!). In Paris, you'll have to be wary of the "Gold Ring" or "Bracelet" scams (there are others). I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time on the tour, and if you're like most of us you'll be starting to plan the next one as soon as you return. Do you know yet who your Guide will be? Cheers!

ABS add-on tickets are good for the day before your departure on Thalys trains as well as on the day. So you can use it to get from the airport to Brussels even though you won't leave for Paris until the next day,