Hotels in Brussels that train station

Hi,

I will going to Brussels in April for 2 days vacation with my wife, taking a train from Amsterdam. Is there a reasonably priced (around US$120), clean and comfortable hotel that near the train station?

Thank you

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Take the Intercity Train, not the Thalys (which terminates at the South Station), then you can get off at the central station and three are heaps of nice hotels around there. The most convenient would be the Hotel Méridien, just across the road from the station, but it may not be in your price range except at weekends (when most Brussels hotels drop their prices), otherwise the Ibis Off Grand%26#39; Place or the Novotel Off Grand%26#39; Place, or the Madeleine should suit.

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Thank you. I%26#39;ll be buying the Eurail Benelux France Saverpass. What train should I take?

Thank you.

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I already said which train to take, namely the Intercity, not Thalys (for which you would have to pay a supplement, with a eurail pass)!! IC trains leave at 26 minutes past each hour from Amsterdam Centraal.

I hope you will be travelling extensively by train in the Benelux, because if you are only going from Amsterdam to Brussels, you would have been much better off simply buying a point-to-point ticket.

Incidentally if you are continuing to Paris you have no choice but to go by Thalys from Bruxelles-Midi, there are no IC trains on that line any more. But at least on that line because of the high-speed track there is an advantage in terms of speed, i.e. 1h20 minutes instead of the 3 hours it takes (by either type of train) from Amsterdam.

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My vacation plan is:

2 days in Amsterdam

2 days in Brussels

2 days in Paris

Day 7, back to Amsterdam from Paris

Day 8, fly back to Istanbul

Is it worth-it to by Eurail Benelux France Saverpass?

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I would say almost certainly not! I can%26#39;t tell you the price of the Amsterdam-Brussels ticket because Belgian Railways won%26#39;t give prices for international trains, but it is usually about 80 EUR return. As you would be buying it in Amsterdam (no need to reserve for Interciy trains) you may be able to find the price on the Dutch Railways website, www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite…

For Thalys between Brussels and Paris you can check prices for your dates of travel on www.thalys.com, and if they don%26#39;t deliver tickets to your country you should be able to pick them up at the station (Gare du Midi) in Brussels. Unless you are entitled to youth fares, the cheapest is usually also about 80 EUR return

Add the 2 prices together (+/- 160 EUR?) and I am fairly certain it will come to less than the price of a Benelux-France eurail pass, PLUS the supplement you would have had to pay anyway for the Brussels-Paris train given that this has to be Thalys. Eurail passes are intended for people who will be travelling extensively around the countries covered by the pass. And if by any chance you are using the eurail website, which has nothing to do with any European train operator, they will only sell you the most expensive tickets e.g. Thalys between Amsterdam and Brussels, when other options are available.

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Thanks for your advise. There%26#39;s a local Eurail office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and my wife is there. I%26#39;m now in Istanbul for work.

They had given us the Eurail price fare. Class 2, Adult Benelux-France Pass costs 185Euro. I think that%26#39;s not too bad.

Last question. How many train stations are there in Brussels?

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Hi gaminari,

Thanks for your advise again. I%26#39;ve worked a new plan for my train and I won%26#39;t be buying the Eurail pass:

1. Amsterdam -%26gt; Brussels (Intercity 40EUR/pax one way)

2. Brussels -%26gt; Paris (Thalys 50.50EUR/pax one way)

3. Paris -%26gt; Amsterdam (Thalys 65.50EUR/pax one way)

That works out to be 156EUR/pax comparing to 185EUR/pax for Eurail Benelux-France pass. I can save about 60EUR for 2 person.

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Well done, I was sure you could do better than a eurail pass. It is perhaps worth repeating that Eurail is an agency, not even European, which sells tickets and passes on trains run by national train operators in Europe: there is no single European train operator, although there are some joint ventures between them..

There are dozens of stations in Brussels, but the 3 main ones are all in a row and are Gare du Midi (South Station), Gare centrale (Central Station) and Gare du Nord (North Station). Gare du Midi is the main station and the only one from which high-speed Eurostar (Lille, London) and Thalys (Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne..) trains depart (also the only one at which they arrive). Generally speaking trains going North start at Gare du Midi and trains going South start at Gare du Nord, with the exception of high-speed trains which, as mentioned, only use Gare du Midi.

Trains to Luxembourg and Strasbourg start at Gare du Midi andcall at Gare centrale, Gare du Nord, Schuman and Gare de Luxembourg before leaving Brussels.

Not surprisingly, the most central station in Brussels is - Gare centrale, 5 minutes%26#39; walk from the Grand%26#39; Place.

This is without mentioning the suburban rail network which includes stations like Schaerbeek and Etterbeek, which as a tourist you are unlikely to notice or need.

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Hi,

I would like to provide a little contribution. I just bought Thalys tickets for 2 person in Kuala Lumpur office from Brussels to Paris. It costs 59EUR for a return ticket. This is Smilys ABS ticket. Have to reserve the ticket 14 days in advance and not changeable. This return ticket is even cheaper than the one way single ticket that cost 78EUR.

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I had a wonderful 3 days and 2 nights in Brussels from 3 - 5 April. I was staying in Best Western Premier Carrefour de l%26#39;Europe. We went back to stay at the same hotel again on 7 April before departing to Amsterdam the next day.

The hotel is located right beside Novotel and only a few minutes of walking distance to Grand Place. Great location.

Grand Place is so awsome and so did Belgium chocolates. We love them both.

On the 8 April, Sunday, there was a small market selling sourvenirs, clothes, toys and etc right in front of the hotel where I was staying. We had the real bargains.