Thalys train tickets

Hi,

I will be travelling to France, Belgium %26amp; Germany this Sep. This will be my first time travelling around Europe via Thalys. I’ve reserved and printed my ticket online but there are some questions I am unsure about:

1. After printing my tickets online, do I still have to collect a paper ticket at the train station in Paris, Brussels or Cologne?

2. Do I have to validate my printed tickets at the “yellow machines”?

3. Supposedly my train is at 0755hrs, by what time I should be at the train station?

4. I am able to make payment online for my journey from Paris-Brussels and Cologne-Paris. I had problems making payment for the Brussels-Cologne journey when I select the country of issuing as Belgium but when I select the issuing country as France,I am able to pay for my ticket, does it matter if I choose the issuing country as France instead of Belgium?

thanks!

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1. No your printed tickets sre your tickets.

2. The conductor on the train will check your tickets and they will be for that specific train/seat (unless you have purchased fully flex tickets) so no need for any validation.

3. There is no check in for the Thalys or anything like that. IF you get there 10 minutes before to get yourself settled into your seat you will be fine.

4. Should be OK as long as you are printing the tickets yoursel then t does not matter where the issuing country is. Seems a little strange though that it won%26#39;t allow you to select Belgium as the issuing country since that%26#39;s where the journey starts.

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Thanks so much for your advice!

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I am now in Rio and will be attempting to book multi leg Thalys tickets on line for my sister in law and her boyfriend in a couple of days.

1. I think their plans are sufficiently firm that I will opt for the lower priced non-flexible 30 or 15 day advance sale tickets. There seems to be a pretty large price differential. Any caveats here?

2. Can I use my USA issued credit cards (visa MC or amex) to buy paperless tickets on line for them?

3. They will travel from Paris to Bruges on the first leg of the trip. Within 2/3 days after exiting train in Bruges they will need to fly out of Brussels. Is there some special promotion (%26quot;Any Belgium Station%26quot;) that gives them a one time free passage on the regular trains fromn Bruges to Brussels? If so, how do they get those tickets? In any case I understand it is about a one hour train trip. How frequently do the regular trains run from Bruges to Brussles? (could not buy Bruges to Brussels on the Thalys site). I assume they will need to first train it to Brussels to get to the Brussels airport. What is best way to get from Bruges/Brussles to Brussels airport?

4. They will return by air to Brussels and then take the Thalys train to Amsterdam. What is the best way to go from Brussles airport to Thalys train station (sorry if this question is redundant). They arrive around 11am so I imagine there will be several trains going to Amsterdam later in the afternoon.

5. They will return to Paris from Amsterdam on the train. I didnt see any way to buy an %26quot;open jaw%26quot; ticket routing per this itinerary so I figure I will buy 3 separate tickets. Am I overlooking something?

6. I am not good at buying tickets/stuff on line. Should I call a Belgium or Amsterdam Thalys office to inquire and/or buy the tickets over the phone? Any price differential for so doing?

Thanks in advance.Really.

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Incidentally, we don%26#39;t have yellow %26quot;machines à composter%26quot; which exist in France (and Italy). The only place where you will see such machines in Belgium is in Brussels, for the use of CITY (STIB) transport tickets that can be used on buses, trams, metros and trains within the urban network. These machines are orange (red for plastic chipcards), if you see one, don%26#39;t put your train ticket in it!

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Question regarding Thalys Comfort 1 vs Comfort 2.

From what i gather, you are served a meal in your seal in Comfort 1 - and the ticket prices are considerably more.

Would Comfort 1 be considered %26#39;First Class%26#39; - is it different seating, in a different car, from Comfort 2?

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Comfort 1 is %26#39;first class%26#39;, less seats in the carriage than in economy, and yes, it is a different carriage.

Is it worthy it? If you are on business, want a meal and want to work in peace, yes. If just a tourist taking into account that the trip is only 1.22 hours, then I%26#39;d say no.

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%26lt;%26lt;Would Comfort 1 be considered %26#39;First Class%26#39; - is it different seating, in a different car, from Comfort 2?%26gt;%26gt;

Yes for Comfort 1 read 1st Class. Seating is 2 an 1 so more space than the normal carriage and there are power outlets for your laptop.

eurorailways.com/kb/…thalys_seatplan.pdf

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Is there a preference one would have if traveling with quite a bit of luggage?

does that make any difference?

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Well one would always have a preference for 1st class whether it%26#39;s on a plane, a train or whatever.It%26#39;s more a question of cost really.

The luggage racks are at the end of the carriage and there%26#39;s room overhead for smaller bags.