paris to belgium

PRS, the easiest/fastest way is definitely by train. The total journey Charles de Gaulle to Brugge will take between 2 hrs 54 mins and 3 hrs 33 mins. There will be 2 to 4 changes involved, so this may well be a fatiguing trip after a transatlantic flight! You are the only one to know if you can handle this or not.
You can easily plan your itinerary by means of the 'international trainplanner' on http://www.ns.nl (Dutch railways, but much more adequate than the website of the French or the Belgian rail). It's very clear and in English! Type "Charles de Gaulle" in the "from" box and "Brugge" in the "to" box. Make sure to have a reservation on the Thalys (can be made online). In case you travel in peak season and/or on rush hour, make this reservation way ahead.
Have a nice trip!

You can't be that much of Dummies if you realize the possibilities of what you're facing. Tjis question can best be answered after you get the details of the trip from CDG.

I'm tyring to "add" a short trip to Belgium as well and am going to add it at the beeginning of my trip. Can anyone tell me the easiest way to get from CDG and then to Brugges and what this involves? We will be staying for a few days and then heading to Paris where we have an apartment rented for the week. (I know if I don't get this in at the beginning we will never go, as that is always what happens once we get to Paris and i'm determined to get at least a little taste of something else this trip!) So, thanks for your "CDG to Brugges Advice for Dummies" information! Oh, one last thing...is this silly to do after just landing from a transatlatic flight or not that big of a deal? Thanks!

We did a day trip to Brugge (north of Brussels) and it was glorious! We had to change trains in Brussels but we only had to wait 20 minutes between trains. We got into brugge before 11. The town center is only a 15/20 min walk from the station. What a beautiful little town. Great beer, great food, REALLY nice people- who almost all spoke perfect english! It was a fun "let's get out of the country for a day" trip. The concierge suggested it instead of Brussels because it is a small town right next to the station and you can get around it in a day just by walking.

Granted, you could spend much more than a day there AND France has SO many wonderful options...but for a fun day out of the country...it was a great ride!

I did a day trip to Brussels from Paris a couple of years ago.

My main problem was that the day I was to go the Thalys was having a one day greve! Luckily I had read about this online before I left the US. So I went immediately to Gare du Nord and was able to exchange the ticket I had purchased online very cheaply a couple of months earlier for a subsequent day. Unfortunately I lost my seat reservation and has to sit on that jump seat going.

But I was able to see quite a bit of the central city in the time I had as well as a nice meal of moules, frites and biere!!!

Doesn't sound too bad, either!
I'm gathering information for Madagascar, for our 30th ( ) wedding anniversary.
Until then, France in June and La Costiera Amalfitana in September.

Hm... sounds wonderful. As for myself, getting ready for Mauritius!

Yes, spring is definitely in the air.
And we just got back from sunny and HOT Egypt, so I'm certainly in the mood for spring ...

Salut, to you too !!

Salut Mym!

I wouldn't mind going to Brussels just for one day from Paris. My problem however is, that I am always sort of ways too busy in Paris itself!

Lovely photo of yours, BTW. Spring is in the air, n'est-ce pas, ma chère amie.

I did not suggest that it would be wise to visit Brussels, I just did not agree on the transit time and waiting that would be time-consuming. You're crossing a border, after all! In pre-Thalys times this journey would have taken at least 4 hours one-way, as it still does when we go by car!
Even if, with the worst case scenario, it would all together be 4 hours, there are still (say, you leave your hotel at 7.30 and eat your breakfast on the train and you return at your hotel at 10pm after the moules frites) more than 10 hours to spend in Brussels!
Furthermore, now that we're splitting hairs, please note that Brussel Centraal is less than a 5 min. walk to the Grand Place ...

MyriamC. OK Let us take your figures: Transit time 1 hr 33 min. one way. Round trip 3 :hrs 06 min. Now the Metro to get to the Gare du Nord from your hotel (You probably will not take a Hotel neare the Gare du Nord, I hope for your sake). let us figure 20 minutes one way. The same returning in the evening, that makes 40 to and from the RR station in Paris. In Bruxelles you do not intend to spend your time near the RR station so let us just figure a 10 minute cab ride each way. So if we add this up, we are at 4 hrs and 12 minutes. Naturally, especially if you bought your tickets and place reservations in advance, you do not want to miss your train in either direction, so you are going to leave a few minutes earlier, in both directions. so we probably are at 4 1/2 hrs. ow you see I was not exagerating when I said 4-5 hrs. Incidentally, if you go to Amsterdam, which I much prefer to Bruxelles (just a personal preference) add some more time. Yes it does sound much less inviting when you add up the times, but we also have to be realistic. There is much to see in both cities, and it would not do them justice if you would compress just the main sights into a fraction of a day. Why not plan to include these places on your next trip, and then give it at least 3-4 days for the two cities.
I myself went the first time to Paris for what I thought a week, ...and ended up staying for seven (7) years. Since than I was back many times, and I still find interesting placesI have not seen or experienced before, althogh they were there.

BP Chuck

I don't quite agree with the "transit time and waiting that will consume most of a day".
Brussels (or Antwerp) is a very easy daytrip: from Paris to the heart of Brussels on Thalys (high speed train) is a relaxed train ride of exactly 1 hour and 33 minutes. If you order your ticket ahead (you need to make a reservation anyway), all you have to do is pick up your ticket at Paris Nord and board the train. Allow 15 min. to look for the right carriage.
There are two Thalys trains every hour on weekdays.

And, Antwerp is also beautiful, with many sites. My wife and I spent two very full days in Antwerp, a day in Brugge and two and a half days in Brussels on one trip and probably could have used more time in each. We then took the train to Paris.

yesyes - my boss spent some time in brugge and brought back some chocolate. fanstastic stuff.
and thanks for your advice - i'm going with no definate plans, so just wanted to know what the options are.

I agree with Chuck, save several days for Belgium, since transit time and waiting will consume most of a day. Better to research what you would want to see in Belgium (Michelin Green Guides or Fodors, among many), choose the things that interest you, and save it for several days to give you time to enjoy what you are seeing. If there's a chocoholic in your family, that country is one to get a good chocolic fix. If you are driving, a leisurely loop through the eastern end of the country, into Luxembourg, and Alsace is very scenic. You really shouldn't try for a repeat of "If its Tuesday, it must be Belgium"

dmc, I think there are so many places to visit in Paris, why not let Bruxelles go unitil a future trip, and take "local" one day and half day trips around Paris. I would suggest Versailles, that you can make actually in half a day, and you can get bus tours for that. I naturally can not seak for you, you gave no information about yourself, however a 1 day trip to buxelles can be quite exhausting, especially if you transfer, when you can maybe make it on a two day trip. Like this you will spend much of your time going to the RR station, waiting for the trains, and riding the trains (4-5) hours, which is a considerable part of your "1 day trip"

BP Chuck

thanks for the info!!


yeah, i'm not sure if i'll want to leave paris, but the novelty of having other countires so close together (it takes 4 hours just to get from one state to another here) i just might need to go. we'll see...

Welcome dmc, My first trip to Paris, I wanted to do the same thing and also to experience the train. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and lots of places were closed but I did enjoy walking about and had lunch at a café to people watch.

Bonjour dmc and Welcome to BP!

Yes, quite do-able, in case you're an early riser.
Lots of trains (Thalys and Intercity leaving from Gare du Nord). Takes some 1.5 hours to Brussels. At least one, if not two trains per hour. To Brussels-Central (that's where you want to go) it looks as all trains require a change at Brussels-Midi though.

However, if you're a first timer in Paris with only a few days, I wouldn't really do it. Too much to see in Paris itself.

BTW, one of the better web pages for international (and national for that matter) timetables you'll find online is the one of the Deutsche Bahn (German railway). Here's the link for the English version:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

hello there-

i've been lurking for a bit, and you all seem like a friendly, knowledgable bunch, so i'd like to ask for your advice. is paris to belgium a do-able day trip? i'll be in paris for a over a week and thought it might be fun to explore beyond the city, and the thought of a trip to brussels strikes my fancy. don't know if the distance makes it a foolish attempt or not...any thoughts?

thanks in advance-
d!