Related Content
How to take a train journey from Paris to Gent/Ghent
Share this journey with a friend...
Paris to Gent / Ghent / Gand by train
There are two options for taking the train from Paris to Gent/Ghent:
- Making only one connection between trains at Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid station
- A longer, but usually cheaper route via Lille
Routes you can take to go from Paris to Gent / Ghent / Gand
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Via stations: Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid and Bruxelles-Central / Brussel-Centraal
Option 1: the faster and simpler route via Brussels
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
2hr 10min (via Bruxelles)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
**Change trains in: Bruxelles
1 x connection per hour**
This routing via Bruxelles/Brussels is the fastest and easiest option for train journeys between Paris and Brugge/Bruges; compared to the alternative route via Lille.
Though that 2hr 10min journey time is dependent on making a transfer between trains in Bruxelles/Brussels in under 20 mins.
Don't be too concerned about making the connection because your ticket will be valid on any train between Bruxelles/Brussels and Gent/Ghent; and there are 2 - 3 express (IC) trains per hour between the two cities.
Reservations aren't available on the trains between Bruxelles and Gent/Ghent.
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Rail Europe ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option when booking international journeys with connections and for travellers who don't reside in western Europe. Use the easy options on its home page if you will be booking tickets with a railcard: Or purchasing rail pass reservations.
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
Other Ticket Providers
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.
Travel Information
Final Destination: Amsterdam or Bruxelles or Dortmund or Essen or Koln
The Thalys trains are non-stop between Paris and Bruxelles
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Paris Gare Du Nord / Paris Nord and Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel ZuidYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
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.
Around seven minutes after departure the train will move on to the high speed line and it will then travel at more than 270 km/ until it reaches the suburbs of Bruxelles.
Train 2
Between Bruxelles-Central / Brussel-Centraal and Gent Sint-Pieters / Gand Saint-PierreYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you see Gand on the electronic departure information at the station, the train will be heading to Gent.
Final Destination: Oostende or Blankenberge or Brugge or Knokke
There are also other (much) slower trains (R) trains from Bruxelles to Gent, but take care to avoid those, as tickets won't be any more expensive if you take the fast IC trains.
Some of those slower trains terminate at Gent/Gand, so they stand out on the departure screens.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
Though take care if you will be looking up a journey more than six months ahead of the travel date.
For a few weeks after the six month period the discounted ticket prices can also be available, but the non-discounted tickets can be on sale for dates further ahead.
So if you be will looking up a journey more than six months ahead and only see prices of more than €100, refrain from purchasing and return to the booking service a few weeks later.
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.
Seats will automatically be assigned on the Eurostar Thalys train when booking tickets for this journey.
If you'll be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you'll save money if you take the alternative route via Lille.
On the Eurostar train to Bruxelles
The ticket terms are:
*Exchanges
Book to travel in Standard and Eurostar Plus class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour before departure time.
- If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
- If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.
Book to travel in Eurostar Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to 48hrs after departure time (from November 4th 2024).
- If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
- If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.
The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here
Refunds
Book to travel in Standard and Eurostar Plus class:
- Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
- Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.
Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until 48hrs after departure time (from November 4th 2024), tickets can be refunded at no additional cost,
The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here
Child tickets
Children under the age of 12 travel at a flat rate price of €15 in Standard, €20 in Comfort and €30 in Premium Class.
Source = Eurostar
Bike Tickets
Tickets are not-required as non-folding bikes can only be taken on board as hand luggage - as both wheels must be removed and everything must be covered by a non-rigid cover with maximum dimensions of 135 x 85 x 30 cm.
Dog Tickets
Charged at a flat fee rate of €30, but the payment will be taken by the train conductor, as these tickets cannot be booked online.
Route Information
Via stations: Lille Flandres
Option 2: Travelling via Lille can be cheaper, particularly if you will be using a rail pass
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
2hr 37min (via Lille)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
up to 13 x connections per day.
This routing via Lille is longer than travelling from Paris to Gent/Ghent to train via Bruxelles, but it can be around 50% cheaper.
If you will be travelling with a Eurail or an Interrail Pass, you will definitely be saving as the rail pass reservation fees are cheaper on the TGV trains to Lille, than on the Thalys trains to Bruxelles
The connecting time between trains at Lille Flandres station will be usually be around 20 mins.
If the train from Paris arrives too late to make this connection, tickets will be valid on a later train, seats can't be reserved on the trains between Lille and Gent/Ghent,
There is 1 x train per hour between Lille and Gent/Ghent/Gand*
*Gand and not Gent will be shown on the electronic departure information at Lille Flandres station.
At Lille Flandres station look for the train heading to Anvers.
It's a good idea to look up the location of your final destination in Gent/Ghent before booking the alternative routing via Bruxelles.
These trains from Lille to Gent/Gent also call at [Gent-Dampoort station]https://goo.gl/maps/kDJ9ADohRai426VK6) after they have called at Gent-Sint Pieters station.
Gent-Dampoort is closer to the city centre than Gent-Sint Pieters station and the trains from Bruxelles only call at Gent-Sint Pieters.
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on SNCF Connect ticket sales. SNCF Connect doesn't charge booking fees and is the online booking service of the national rail operator in France. It also sells tickets for direct high speed trains between France and Belgium, Germany, Barcelona, London, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
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 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
Other Ticket Providers
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.
Travel Information
Note that these trains depart from the Gare Du Nord in Paris.
Final Destination: Lille
The overwhelming majority of the TGVs between Paris and Lille arrive at Lille Flandres station, which is where the train on to Belgium will depart from.
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Paris Gare Du Nord / Paris Nord and Lille FlandresYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
The train will be travelling at more than 280 km/h from the outskirts of Paris, all the way to Lille.
Train 2
Between Lille Flandres and Gent Sint-Pieters / Gand Saint-PierreYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Good to Know
Final Destination: Anvers (Antwerpen)
Anvers is the French name for Antwerp/Antwerpen, so when looking at the departure board and info screens at Lille Flandres station, you need to look for the trains heading to Anvers.
All trains also call at: Mouscron; and Kortrijk (connect for Ypres/Ieper)
Note that these trains depart from Lille Flandres station and NOT from Lille Europe station.
You may have to change trains at Mouscron, despite joining a train that is apparently heading to Anvers.
These trains call first at Gent St-Pieters station (the main station in Gent) and then at Gent-Dampoort station.
This latter station is to the east of the heart of the city, closer to the city centre than St-Pieters.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
If you will be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, you will have to pay a reservation fee prior to the boarding the TGV to Lille, but it will be cheaper than the rail pass fees for taking the Thalys trains, on the alternative routing via Bruxelles.
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 Gent
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.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
- Austria by train
- Innsbruck
- Salzburg
- Wien / Vienna
- Belgium by train
- Bruxelles / Brussels
- Czechia by train
- Praha / Prague / Prag
- Denmark by train
- København / Copenhagen
- France by train
- Lille
- Lyon
- Marseille
- Paris
- Germany by train
- Berlin
- Frankfurt (Main) / Francfort sur le Main
- Hamburg
- Köln / Cologne / Koeln
- München / Munich
- Great Britain by train
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- London
- Manchester
- Hungary by train
- Budapest
- Italy by train
- Bologna
- Firenze / Florence
- Milano / Milan / Mailand
- Roma / Rome
- Torino / Turin
- Venezia / Venice / Venedig
- Verona
- Netherlands by train
- Amsterdam
- Norway by train
- Oslo
- Poland by train
- Warszawa / Warsaw
- Portugal by train
- Lisboa / Lisbon
- Porto
- Spain by train
- Barcelona
- Madrid
- Sweden by train
- Stockholm
- Switzerland by train
- Basel / Bâle
- Bern
- Genève / Geneva
- Zürich / Zurich
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
TOP