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Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Paris by train
How to take the rail journey from Cologne/Köln to Paris
These Thalys high speed services are the only direct trains from north-west Germany to the French capital
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Routes
From Köln/Cologne Hbf to Paris Gare Du Nord/Paris Nord
Journey Summary
3hr 20min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the services on this route are operating to a more limited schedule compared to the usual timetable.
Details of the departures which are available can be found on the Thalys website, (change the departure and arrival stations).
Final Destination: Paris Nord
All trains also call at: Bruxelles-Midi
Monday to Friday = 5 x trains per day
Sat/Sun = 4 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 3 months ahead of the travel date
Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding.
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
On the B-Europe booking site look for journeys that are marked 'direct' train and only have a Thalys logo and no other.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, you will have to pay a comparatively expensive reservation fee prior to the boarding these Thalys trains.
You can save (at least €10) and experience a much more scenic journey by following this routing:
(1) Take the train from Koln hbf to Luxembourg, which usually departs at 14:17
(2) Take the TGV from Luxembourg to Paris (will require a €10 reservation fee).
OR avoid paying fees at all by making multiple changes of train.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| B-Europe | from €35 | |
| SNCF Connect | from €35 | |
| Omio | from €35 | |
| Save A Train | from €35 | |
| Happy rail | from €35 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Journey description:
For virtually the entire train journey from Koln to Paris the trains, will either be travelling at up to 290 km/h on purpose built high speed lines, or up to 200km/h on section of railway, that has been re-engineered to allow trains to travel faster.
It is a journey of seven distinct phases:
- Between Koln and Aachen the trains travel at up to 200 km/h on a re-engineered stretch of railway.
- Then for most of the the 25 min journey between Aachen and Liege the train will travel at up to 290 km/h on a high speed line; this is also the most scenic part of the trip.
- Then for around five minutes after departure from Leige, the train will travel fairly slowly on a route which ascends from the city.
- Next up is the HS2 Belgian high speed route as far as Leuven, in theory the ICE and Thalys trains can accelerate back up to around 290 km/h on this part of the trip.
- From Leuven to just north of Brussel-Nord station the maximum speed is 200 km/h.
- For most of the journey between Brussel-Nord and Brussel-Zuid the railway crosses the city centre in a tunnel.
- Between the suburbs of Brussels and the outskirts of Paris the train will race along a high speed at line at speeds of up to 290 km/h
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This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
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