can paris to brussels train ticket be used to go to bruges

hey guys i am traveling to bruges from paris on 20 dec 2009. however the reservation window for paris to bruges is not active yet. but i do see that i can book paris to brussels right away for just 25 euros.

now from what i have heard - i can go ahead and book paris to brussels but use that same ticket to travel right upto bruges FREE of cost

is it true? also if its true then i would be using an internet ticket (printed at home) so can it be used? if yes do i need to get hard copy tickets from brussels when traveling to bruges

thanks in advance folks

|||

No you can%26#39;t use the Brussels ticket to get you to Brugge. However You can also book all the way to Brugge on the 20th December for the same 25 euro fare. Seems there are only a few seats left though so I%26#39;d book ASAP.

If you have printed your ticket at home then you can use it all the way to Brugge. This section needs no reserved seat.

Otherwise you can pick up your tickets from the SNCF machines in Paris Gare Du Nord. they are very easy to use.

|||

What you have heard is wrong, perhaps someone is confusing Thalys with Eurostar (from London): Eurostar automatically includes onward travel to any Belgian station (ABS) in the price, but with Thalys this has to be paid for, unless of course they run a special offer for a limited period (but then the ticket would have to be for BRUGGE, not Brussels). Therefore if you buy a Paris-Brussels ticket, you will have to pay another €13 or so for a ticket from Brussels to Brugge. On SNCB (Belgian Railways) I believe it isn%26#39;t possible to buy more than 3 months in advance, if this is the %26quot;reservation window%26quot; you mention then purchase for 20 December should have been possible from 20 September.

If you are able to print your own e-ticket at home you don%26#39;t need to exchange this for any other ticket. However, I don%26#39;t know whether this facility is available outside Europe, or even whether you can use non-European credit cards if booking with Thalys directly, rather than one of the agencies like Rail Europe, which can also deliver to other countries.

Note that the ticket is one thing and the train(s) you travel on another, unless you are on the one Thalys a day that continues to Brugge, you would change trains in Brussels to a local train (IC going to Oostende/Knokke/Blankenberge) on which there is no pre-assigned seating, you just take whichever train is convenient for continuing your journey. Even on Thalys, just because there are no tickets available at a certain price does not mean there are no seats left.

|||

I purchased Thalys train tickets from Paris to Brussels ABS, for our upcoming trip. I believe that means you can switch trains in Brussels and take the local train to Bruges. At least, that%26#39;s what I%26#39;m going to do. Hopefully, just showing the Brussels ABS ticket will allow us to get on the Bruges train.