European Rail Travel - Brussels Transpo to Paris & London

Snagged the $250 RT tix (thanks flyer talk!) NYC to Brussels, now hunting for the best low cost transpo from there. Would like to see Paris & London, maybe even Amsterdam. Heard buses can be too slow over there. Recommendations on train vs. high speed train and/or cheap UK air deals?

sorry to be offtopic but you got roundtrip airline tickets from new york to brussels for 250?

sorry to be offtopic but you got roundtrip airline tickets from new york to brussels for 250?

Look at the MR forum.

Recommendations on train vs. high speed train and/or cheap UK air deals?
Eurostar connects London with Brussels and Paris.

Thalys connects Brussels with Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne.

SNCF TGV services also offer connections from Brussels.

Book early. No reason to fly, too cumbersome and not worth the €€/££.

http://www.thalys.com/be/en/

http://www.eurostar.com

http://www.b-europe.com/Voyager

Don't bother with the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam. Double the price of a normal train and it only shaves 1hr off.

Snagged the $250 RT tix (thanks flyer talk!) NYC to Brussels, now hunting for the best low cost transpo from there. Would like to see Paris & London, maybe even Amsterdam. Heard buses can be too slow over there. Recommendations on train vs. high speed train and/or cheap UK air deals?

I picked up same deal. Did you book any railway yet? My thought was to take bus to Amsterdam, come back to BRU and take railway to Cologne.

I picked up same deal. Did you book any railway yet? My thought was to take bus to Amsterdam, come back to BRU and take railway to Cologne.

How did you get that deal?? I am actually planning to travel to Europe this summer.

Friend told me he found deal on the MR Deals forum, and told me to book immediately that day.

Can you send me the link please???

Can you send me the link please???

Your posts are off-topic here. Take a look at the MR Discussion forum.

http://www.thalys.com/be/en/

http://www.eurostar.com

http://www.b-europe.com/Voyager

Don't bother with the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam. Double the price of a normal train and it only shaves 1hr off.

I disagree, Thalys is way more comfortable than the old trains that currently run on the line (the so-called "Beneluxtrein"). Ofcourse the old trains should've been replaced already but due to technical issues with the new Fyra trains (made by Italian company AnsaldoBreda) this has not happened yet. They were originally intended to enter service in 2007, but are currently planned to enter service in December 2012. They are the Boeing 787 of trains, if you will :D.
For Paris and London, I recommend looking at Thalys or TGV and Eurostar respectively.
Be sure to check different sites as well (eg: Thalys site, TGV site, NMBS Europe site, SNCF site, Eurostar site and NS Hispeed site) because fares can vary greatly beteen sites. I was once given a quote of €79 for Gent-Sint-Pieters to Rotterdam CS on the NMBS site, but only €29 for the same journey on the Thalys site.

I disagree, Thalys is way more comfortable than the old trains that currently run on the line (the so-called "Beneluxtrein").

Sorry, I'm with bankops on this one. I still prefer the old trains. They are cheaper, not a lot slower, and I can choose where I sit (so I can look for a quiet spot). On Thalys I have to sit where (and next to whom) they tell me to sit. I hope those Fyra trains never come in service.

Sorry, I'm with bankops on this one. I still prefer the old trains. They are cheaper, not a lot slower, and I can choose where I sit (so I can look for a quiet spot). On Thalys I have to sit where (and next to whom) they tell me to sit. I hope those Fyra trains never come in service.

If you can sit at all, every time I took that train, I had to stand all the way from Antwerp to Amsterdam. I find paying €36 a bit steep for having to stand for 3 hours (includes the Gent-Antwerp segment).

Edit: I was in Brussel-Zuid (Bruxelles-Midi, Brussels-South) today and couldn't help noticing the Benelux train only had 5 (that's right, 5!) carriages. The conspiracy theorist in me says this is to push more people onto the Thalys, but it's probably just a lack of carriages and a reluctance to get more for a train which is getting cancelled at the end of the year anyway.

PS: OP, if you need info on what to visit in Brussels (or the rest of Belgium), feel free to PM me.

Comparing is the trick and besides that between certain cities you don't even have the choice between classic and highspeed trains. Also concider a railcard please.