Thalys

Took the train out of Gare du Nord the other day and it was a decent experience.

The departure exercise out of Gare du Nord was slightly chaotic as platforms are merely announced 20 minutes prior to departure. Unlike airports, there are no security checks before boarding the train besides the visual presence of police and security.

The train station is open air, which could be tricky during heatwaves and/or the rain season.

Rode in the 2nd class cabin with assigned seating and baggage had to be manually carried up the stairs onto the train to be placed in the baggage hold or the overhead space above the seating.

Staff were available in case of fellow passengers that wanted to switch seats while on-board. The conductor did come through to check tickets electronically once on board.

There were toilets on board in between coaches which were usable with flushable toilets, soap, and water.

There was a cafe car on board along with some standing room. The menu seemed limited.

Once on board, there was free Wifi that worked for the majority of the trip and worked well.

Seat comfort was adequate on a 3 hour long distance coach with seating configuration at 2+2 in 2nd class. There was also a tray table which was perfect for reading, eating, and/or working.

There were announcements made a couple minutes prior to arrival to the destination.

Horrible horrible experience. Train from Brussels to Amsterdam was an hour delayed, disorganized, car numbers labeled opposite to how station presented them, and most importantly DOUBLE BOOKED. There were no seats for us despite us booking weeks in advance with assigned seats prepared. Stood the whole three hour ride. DO NOT BOOK THALYS.

Our journey to Amsterdam from Paris was super lux in the premium carriage #2. The seat was extra comfy for the 3 hour 20 minute high speed rail ride. You also get to relax in the Thalys lounge before your train adventure. Coffee, juice and croissants available at the premium lounge.

We were served two full meals on the pleasant train ride. Soda, juice, water, beer & wine available at your request.

Our carriage attendant was so courteous and service oriented. Kudos and thanks to Francois for the excellent service! Without any exaggeration, the Thalys is the only way to get to Amsterdam in affordable luxury.

Be careful. We received vouchers and used them to purchase tickets. However when I wanted to exchange the date on the tickets, after actually paying more money to allow them to be exchanged, I lost the value of the vouchers. This company doesn't understand how vouchers work and don't be fooled by them. Eurostar had no issue in allowing me to purchase tickets with their vouchers then change the dates for travel carrying the value of the tickets over to the new ones. Thalys decided that the value of the vouchers was expired even though I used them to purchase new tickets and would not allow me to move the travel dates. Waste of money and time, will be looking hard for another mode of travel if we ever decide to travel to Europe again.

We took Thalys trains twice on our recent trip to Europe - once from Amsterdam to Brussels and back the other way. Overall it was fine. Our trains were on time. They got us from A to B on time. Our longest trip, from Amsterdam to Paris, took more than three hours. I slept the entire trip (we hadn't seen a bed in almost 24 hours at that point) but my husband said the food and beverage service was very good and he enjoyed it. The train cars were OK but maybe a little dated and a little run down. We also had multiple trains canceled due to the ongoing Paris worker strike, and cancellations/rebookings were OK but probably more complicated than they should have been. Because of this, we were forced to book the final leg of our trip on EuroStar and I have to say that comparatively, the trains on EuroStar were much nicer and better maintained. If price is your biggest driver, take Thalys. It'll be fine and get you to where you're going. But if you want the nicest, most comfortable train, I would have to say EuroStar was better (but also more expensive).

Visit Date: March 18, 2015

When we were in Paris Hubby and I decided to take a day trip to Amsterdam to visit his mother's friend who lives in Holland. The train fare was really expensive but I heard it's cheaper if you order it way in advance. The reason I'm giving it four stars is that the website was very confusing. My husband thought he bought two tickets but really he only bought one. So right as our train was taking off we had to run to the train manager and work out buying an extra train ticket on board.

The ride from Paris to Amsterdam was comfortable and as quick as it could be. It was also very comfortable. It was a cross between Amtrak trains and the ACE Amtrak train if you've taken any of those trains before and want to reference the feel.

I would go with thalys although it's expensive to jump between countries if you're visiting Europe.

We missed our train from Paris to Amsterdam by a few seconds and
Thalys let us get on the next train for free. The staffers were super friendly and helpful.

On the flip side, the economy cars are a bit grungy and storage for larger bags is very limited. You're unlikely to get a slot unless you jump into the initial rush, which is miserable.

Superb public transportation!! Get the app, and get on the train! You can get drunk on the train if you like. The internet is kinda like dial up, so you should use your WiFi mobile hot spot. There are charge points so much appreciated. *****If you miss your train you may get on the train if you talk to the railmaster (the guy with the hat)

Traveling from Amsterdam to Paris first class. The seats are comfortable but they didn't even offer a cup of water. There is something wrong with the express rail so we take another rail and they say there will be a 30 minute delay. We start to worry because we need to check in at our AirBnB apartment by 9pm but it will still work out.

Now the delay is 45 minutes. We haven't stopped. Why the train is slowing down, we don't know. We text the apartment manager--there is no way to get in after 9pm.

Now the delay is an hour and twenty minutes and we need to change trains in Brussels. We lose our reserved seats and our family gets split up. At least in this train they offered us water, soda, and un petite chocolate. There is no way we are going to make it to our apartment by 9pm. We'll have to get on their free WiFi and find another place to spend the night. But no, the WiFi does not work at all. All we can do is wait until we get to Paris to figure out where our family will sleep on our very first night in Paris.

Two hours late, the train gets to Paris but they apologized many times for any inconvenience--like not having a place to sleep!!!

The worst part is we are going to have to take train again. Ugh!

I rode the Thalys train from Cologne, Germany to Paris, France on Friday, November 10th, 2017. I booked my ticket in October from Canada, before I left for my trip in Europe. When I booked the ticket, I went for the Thalys first-class equivalent. The website said there was only one ticket left at that price for the noon train. But, by the time I got to the checkout, that one ticket was gone and the price had increased by 30 euros! I opted to buy the cheaper ticket for an earlier train, but still first-class.

One of the reasons I liked the idea of first-class was because they gave you food and it said you could arrange a cab at the Paris train station. The food ended up being average and in quite small amounts. And the cab booking stuff ended up being a website for the cab company itself, which anyone could use. (While I did book a cab via this website, I was never able to find the driver and had to pay more than twice the price to take a cab from the station's cab area.)

Since I didn't see the rest of the train, I have no idea if the seats were the same in the other cars, but my seat was comfortable. However, it was facing backward​, which makes it hard to look out the window to watch the scenery. That was frustrating.

The train itself was super-fast and was on time at all the stops. But, Thalys leaves almost no time at the stations for onboarding and offloading people and luggage. And, they don't help you with your luggage, even in first-class. Because I'm not a pushy person, I was one of the last people in the car and ended up not having a place to put my luggage. The conductor let me put it in a hallway area, but then told me to check on it after each stop to make sure no one stole it! After the first two stops, I was able to move my luggage to the luggage racks, but I still felt I needed to keep an eye on it.

The service was...okay. Nothing spectacular, but also not terrible. Completely and totally average.

Overall, first-class is not worth the cost. There's almost no advantage to being in first-class over the rest of the train. And be prepared to fight your way onboard with your heavy luggage and receive absolutely no help (unless a nice stranger feels sympathetic). The WiFi was okay for most of the trip ​but did cut in and out at one point. But at least it was free. The speed is awesome. I got to Paris from Cologne in about 3 hours. And, if you suffer from motion sickness, watch out for seats that are facing backward​.