 Amsterdam to Brussels by train: A Thalys at Brussels Midi.
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What is Thalys?
Thalys was originally a consortium of the French, Belgian & Dutch national railways formed to run the high-speed trains between Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Schiphol, Amsterdam & Cologne. Thalys merged with Eurostar in 2022 to form Eurostar Group and Thalys trains are being gradually rebranded with the new Eurostar Group star logo.
Thalys is faster than flying - Paris to Brussels in 1h22, Paris to Amsterdam in 3h20, Paris to Cologne in 3h20, city centre to city centre.
Thalys' 3 classes of travel explained
Travel tips: Luggage, WiFi, railpasses, food...
How to check times & buy tickets
Paris Gare du Nord station
guide
Amsterdam Centraal
station guide
Thalys' 3 classes explained
In 2017, Thalys switched from its original two classes Confort 1 (1st class) & Confort 2 (2nd class) to three classes of service: Standard, Comfort & Premium. The trains still physically have two types of seating which I'll call 2nd class & 1st class, but some 1st class cars will be designated Comfort and others Premium. You will choose your class when buying your ticket.
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Standard. 2nd class seating, free WiFi, power socket at seat. Standard fares = changes to your booking can be made for a fee, 50% refundable. Standard Mini fares = no changes, no refunds.
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Comfort. 1st class seating, free WiFi, power socket at seat. But no food or drink included. Changes to your booking can be made for a fee, 50% refundable. You can use the NS Lounge in Amsterdam, Schiphol or Rotterdam, but not the Thalys lounges in Paris or Brussels. Prices are aimed at upmarket leisure travellers.
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Premium: 1st class seating with meal & drink included in the fare & served at your seat, access to Thalys lounges in Paris & Brussels as well as the NS Lounge in Amsterdam, free WiFi, power socket at seat. Prices are aimed at business travellers, tickets are 100% refundable, changes to your booking can be made with no fee. Photos of the food below shows the cold tray meal & wine served in Premium class when travelling between Amsterdam/Cologne & Brussels/Paris, you may get a snack rather than a meal on shorter hops such as Rotterdam-Antwerp.
The 3 classes are correctly & clearly shown when you book at www.thalys.com or www.nsinternational.nl but with other booking systems you may need to look closely at the fare details to see whether the 1st class ticket you're booking is Comfort or Premium!
What are Thalys trains like? Virtual tour
The majority of Thalys trains are still as shown below. However, trains are currently being refurbished with an all-new interior called Thalys Ruby. The new seating includes larger tray tables and the cafe-bar is replaced by an open space with vending machines. The first refurbished train entered service in Autumn 2021.
Tips for travel with Thalys
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Do you need to book in advance?
Yes. Like Eurostar, reservation is compulsory on Thalys and all Thalys tickets automatically include a reserved seat on a specific train. If you want to stop off it means buying two separate tickets.
Thalys fares work like air fares, rising as the cheaper tickets are sold. So Paris to Amsterdam starts at €35 booked several months in advance rising to a whopping €130 for a fully-flexible ticket bought on the day. So book as far ahead as you can. Booking usually opens 4 months before departure, although it can sometimes be less than this. More about when booking opens. How to buy tickets.
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Which class should you choose?
Thalys trains have 1st & 2nd class seating. Thalys call 2nd class Standard and it's perfectly fine for most people, there's absolutely no need to pay for 1st class if you don't want to. But if you don't mind the extra cost, Thalys has two types of 1st class, Comfort & Premium. Both types use the same 1st class seating with seats arranged 2+1 across the car width instead of 2+2 as in 2nd class, so as well as tables for 4 and dual side-by-side seats, in Comfort & Premium you'll find tables for two and solo seats on one side of the aisle. A face-to-face table for two is ideal for couples. Comfort just gets you the extra comfort of 1st class seats, although you can use the NS first class lounge in Amsterdam, Rotterdam & Schiphol. Premium is aimed a business travellers with expensive flexible fares, but a meal & drinks are included in the fare and you can use the Thalys lounges in Paris & Brussels as well as the NS first class lounge in Amsterdam, Rotterdam & Schiphol, see the paragraph about lounges below.
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Seats facing forwards
Thalys trains are double-ended, with a power car & driving cab at both ends. The train could enter service either way round, so it's not possible to specify forward-facing seats on Thalys as the reservation system doesn't know which seats will face which way. But this is not a big deal on a smooth-riding train. Indeed, for a couple or a family, face-to-face seats around a table for 4 or a table for 2 are the best and most convivial option.
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Seat numbering plan
Click here for Thalys seat numbering plan. Each Thalys train has 8 cars sandwiched between power cars, but sometimes two Thalys units run coupled together so cars can be numbered 1-8 in the first unit and 11-18 in the second.
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Luggage
You take your bags with you onto the train and put them on the big racks near the entrance doors, or in the spaces between the seat backs, or on the overhead rack above your seat which will take anything up to backpack-size. All luggage must be labelled with your name.
Unusually, in 2013 Thalys introduced a theoretical baggage limit of two large suitcases up to 32Kg and one smaller bag, or one suitcase up to 32Kg plus one bulky item (bike bag or skis, for example) plus one smaller bag, with prams & child buggies allowed in addition, but as no-one will measure or weigh your bags and as there is free access to the train with no-one to stop you, it's largely unenforceable and you needn't worry unless you're trying to move house by train! Politely remind staff this is a train, not a plane! More information about luggage arrangements on European trains. Left luggage lockers at stations.
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Boarding Thalys
As with most European trains, there's no check-in, you just walk into the station, look at the indicator boards to find your train and get on, any time before it leaves. Doors may be closed a minute or two before departure. However, in Paris since December 2015 there's a simple baggage X-ray, metal detector & passport check at the entrance to the platform. It should only take a couple of minutes, but when joining Thalys in Paris it's best to arrive at least 15-10 minutes before your train. It's largely security theatre to reassure passengers, there are no similar checks at other stations, other than a possible ID check in Brussels which may take a few minutes.
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Cafe-bar (lack of)
All Thalys trains originally had a proper cafe-bar serving drinks and snacks. In the new Thalys Ruby refurbished trains now entering service in 2022 this is being downgraded to a small open area with vending machines selling tea, coffee, snacks sold using contactless bank cards. Useful, but not the same as a real cafe-bar. You may wish to take your own provisions, bought at the station. Between Brussels & Cologne, the competing ICE3 trains have both a bar and full restaurant service.
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Food & drink in Premium class
Premium class fares include complimentary food & wine served at your seat. If you're only travelling between between Brussels & Amsterdam or Brussels & Cologne you'll get a light dish with wine, if you're travelling to or from Paris you'll get a more extensive tray meal.
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WiFi & power sockets
There is WiFi on all Thalys trains, now free of charge in all classes. There are power sockets for laptops & mobiles (2-pin, 220v) at all seats in all classes. 3G or 4G mobile data reception works fine for most of the route.
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Baby changing facilities are available in car 7, 17 or 27. There are special family areas in cars 6 & 7. Children under 12 are no longer allowed to travel alone on Thalys trains.
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Free transfer by local train between Brussels stations
If you have a Thalys ticket to or from Brussels Brussels Midi (= Brussel Zuid or Brussels South, they're all the same place), your Thalys ticket entitles you to connecting train travel to or from other Brussels stations including Brussels Central, Brussels Nord & Brussels Luxembourg on any normal Belgian domestic train. Brussels Central is only 5 minutes walk from the historic Grande Place. Brussels Luxembourg is the station closest to the EU Parliament. Trains run every few minutes.
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Bicycles
Folding bicycles and bikes in zip-up bike bags no bigger than 120cm x 90cm are carried, but not undismantled bikes. There's more detailed information at www.thalys.com. For information on taking bikes by train in Europe, see the bike by train page.
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Dogs & pets
Small dogs & pets in carriers no bigger than 55 x 30 x 30cm travel free, but larger dogs require a special ticket (not bookable online), see www.thalys.com for more details. UK travellers should remember that Eurostar doesn't take dogs, see the Taking your dog by train page for alternatives. Guide dogs go free on both Eurostar & Thalys.
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Wheelchair spaces are provided in car 1, 11 or 21, together with wheelchair-accessible toilets. There's more information for travellers with disabilities at www.thalys.com.
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Interrail & Eurail passholders
If you have an Interrail or Eurail pass you must pay a special fare for Thalys. See the Interrail & Eurail reservations page & select the country where your journey starts to see the cost for passholders and how to make passholder reservation online. Passholder reservations cannot be made at the normal ticket booking websites.
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First class lounges in Amsterdam, Schiphol, Rotterdam & Cologne
Anyone with a 1st class international ticket can use the stylish first class lounges at Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol & Rotterdam Central, with complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks. Beer & wine for sale. Look for signs to the NS International (formerly NS Hispeed) lounge. First class railpass holders can also use these Dutch lounges.
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Thalys first class lounges in Paris & Brussels
If you have a Premium class ticket you can use the Thalys first class lounges at Brussels Midi and Paris Gare du Nord. In Brussels, the lounge is outside the station, walk out of the main exit on the platform 1 side of the station and turn left, it's on the other side of the road almost at the end of that street, the Place Victor Horta. In Paris the Thalys lounge is in the rue de Dunquerque just outside Paris Gare du Nord, walk out of the station main exit and turn right along the station facade and beyond it across the road down the side of the station with the taxi rank in it.
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Meal, coffee or beer before boarding
In Paris, the Brasserie Terminus Nord (www.terminusnord.com) directly across the road from Paris Gare du Nord is a great place for a meal, coffee or beer before boarding a Thalys to Brussels, Cologne or Amsterdam. Click here for two other great dining recommendations near the Gare du Nord.
In Brussels, see Brussels Midi information here.
In Amsterdam for a coffee, beer or meal before boarding the train to Brussels or Paris, try the beautifully retro Grand Cafe 1e Klas on platform 2B - give my regards to the cockatoo on the bar...
How to buy tickets
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I recommend using the official Dutch Railways international website www.nsinternational.nl. There's no booking fee, it sells tickets for all Thalys journeys, and can also book journeys combining Thalys with connecting trains to or from other Belgian or Dutch destinations such as Paris to Bruges, Amsterdam to Bruges or Utrecht to Ghent.
Booking usually opens 4 months ahead, although this can shrink to as few as 60 days ahead for dates after the major timetable change in mid-December, and sometimes for dates after the mid-June timetable change too. You may also find odd dates that open for booking less than 4 month ahead if trackwork delays finalising the timetable. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
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You can also buy tickets at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com, which can also book connecting trains to or from other French cities, or indeed to or from London or Barcelona.
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You can also buy tickets at the Thalys website www.thalys.com, but this only sells tickets for Thalys, not for other journeys combining Thalys with connecting trains. It's a portal which sends you to the French, Belgian or Dutch booking systems depending on where your journey starts.
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You can also buy at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com. This can sell journeys combining Thalys with other connecting trains within France, for example Amsterdam to Cherbourg via Paris.
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You can also book at www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com. These third party retailers charge a small booking fee, but they're easy to use, allow payment in €, £ or $, and have the major advantage that they connect to multiple operators including the French, German, Spanish, Italian, Austrian railways so you can buy tickets across much of western Europe in plain English all in one place.
Route map
Paris to Brussels is 312 km (194 miles). Paris to Amsterdam is 524 km (326 miles).
