Trains in Europe: cheaper if booked in advance?

Paris-Brussels will be aboar the Eurostar...schedules and tickets can be found at http://www.eurostar.com and http://www.voyages-sncf.com (the French national rail system...click on little Union Jack flag at bottom left for english). Munich-Frankfurt can be found at the German national rail site, http://www.bahn.de (look for language selection at top right). Like airlines, these systems offer advance booking deals that may not be available when you arrive in Europe, so purchasing in advance over the Internet may save you a fair bit of cash. But, like airlines, these tickets usually have some strict conditions attached, like limitations on changes or refunds, so check carefully before you buy. These services also require reservations (which you get when you purchase a ticket) and, at busy times of year, certain runs you may want to take may be sold out.

I think Norm meant to say that Paris to Brussels is handled by the Thalys high-speed trains. www.thalys.com

Ooops....yes....thalys.com or sncf.

The cheapest fare on Thalys trains from Paris to Brussels is the Smilys return (roundtrip) fare of 55€ rather than the standard single (one-way) fare. Book an arbitrary return date and throw away the unused portion. Book at www.thalys.com as soon as the 90-day window opens to have any chance of getting a Smilys fare.

Cheaper yet is the PREM'S (discount) fare of 35€ on TGVs that go directly from CDG to Brussels. Book up to three months in advance at www.voyages-sncf.com. Enter Roissy as your departure point. Again, you need to act quickly.

Booked up to three months in advance at www.bahn.de, you can get a Dauer-Spezial fare of 29€ for Munich-Frankfurt.

Tim, do you know if those special fares would also apply going in the opposite direction...Brussels to Paris, and also would they both terminate at CDG? Sorry to butt in, Micah.

Gina/Micah...yes, the Smilys 55 Euro round-trip fare applies Brussels-Paris...if you book thru the sncf website. Again, you have to book a return trip (27.50 Euro each way...throw away the return portion) and you must say NO to travel insurance...then you'll be able to print your ticket out at home. If you select travel insurance, then they will ask for your home address...as soon as they find out you live in the U-S, it will kick you over to the more expensive RailEurope website. The PREMs 35 Euro fare is only available to CDG (Roissy). You could then purchase a ticket on the RER to Gare du Nord for under 9 Euro each....so 44 Euro for the journey in total. I guess the question is whether it's worth 11 Euro not to have to go thru the hassle of changing trains at CDG. Again, check the conditions on each ticket....bargain fares are generally not changeable or refundable.

To further clarify, Thalys trains arrive and depart from Gare du Nord in central Paris.

One more question...
I'm traveling with two friends..one you qualifies for the youth discount and one that does not. Is it safe to buy tickets for both of them with the youth discount or do they usually check id's. I imagine it would only be aboard the train that they check your ticket.
Any experiences with this one?

Thanks again for all of your help!!!

Norm/Tim: Thank you so much for all the info...will put it to use.