Paris to Bruxelles / Brussels by train

How to take a train journey from Paris to Bruxelles/Brussels by train

If you will be travelling with tickets then taking the train from Paris to Bruxelles/Brussels is simple and the speed of the train gives the journey a wow factor.
However, if you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass the reservation fees for using the passes over this distances are comparatively poor value for money, hence the alternative routes detailed below.

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Routes

From Paris Gare Du Nord/Paris Nord to Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid

Travel Information

Final Destination: Amsterdam or Bruxelles or Dortmund or Essen or Koln

The Thalys trains are non-stop between Paris and Bruxelles.
The only station in Bruxelles/Brussels that the Thalys trains arrive at is Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid.

During the day (06:00 - 22:00) there are usually 1 or 2 x departures per hour, but there are typically no departures between 12:25/12:55 and 14:25.

Monday: 19 x trains
Tuesday - Thursday: 18 x trains per day
Friday: 20 x trains
Saturday: 12 x trains
Sunday: 15 x trains
Additional departures will be available from March 18th.

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 3 months ahead of the travel date

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.

Use the ‘earlier trains’ and ‘later trains’ buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

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.

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 money by following this routing - if you can book the €10 fee the TGV from Paris to Lille

  • Paris to Lille on TGV trains
  • Lille to Kortrijk on IC trains
  • Kortrijk to Bruxelles on IC trains

If you want to avoid paying any reservations at all, you will need to take this routing:

  • Paris to Amiens on TER trains
  • Amiens to Lille on TER trains
  • Lille to Kortrijk on IC trains
  • Kortrijk to Bruxelles on IC trains
Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
B-Europe from €29

B-Europe Guide

B-Europe is the website provided by Belgium's national railway operator for the sale of international rail journeys from and to Belgium.
Therefore tickets can be booked for the following international train services to/from Belgium

  • Eurostar
  • IC trains to France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands
  • ICE trains to Germany
  • Thalys trains to Germany, The Netherlands and Paris
  • TGV trains to destination in France other than Paris
    B-Europe offers a 'Best Fares' policy for journey by these trains.

It also sells international end-to-end journeys solely by train, with connections outside of Belgium, if you will be heading to popular destinations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes can also book seat reservations on the Eurostar and Thalys services without paying booking fees.

SNCF Connect from €29

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

Trainline from €29

Trainline Guide

Save A Train from €29

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail from €29

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

For a stress-free journey it's a good idea to be at the Gare Du Nord at least 20 minutes before departure as all passengers taking the Thalys trains have to pass through security checks.
So being at the back of the queue wondering if you'll be able to board in time is a scenario best avoided.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge
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