Thalys: The Gem Of Western Europe

Thalys The Gem Of Western Europe

Thalys is a famous train company of Europe. It is owned by French & Belgian companies & it is one of the most popular train companies of Western Europe connecting many famous cities.

My review is based on following routes:

1. Brussels – Amsterdam
2. Cologne – Paris

Cost of Tickets in Thalys

Like all things in Western Europe, the train tickets are expensive as well. When you pay higher fare for tickets, you also get a very quality experience & an amazingly fast journey.

The individual tickets will be expensive so I recommend you to buy a rail pass instead. You can reserve your seats after you get the pass. This way you will save money as well.

Punctuality

Thalys is extremely punctual. Quite close to the Swiss perfection of time. So make sure that you reach the station at least 15 minutes before your train departs. This also means that you can plan your destinations well because it is almost always guaranteed that Thalys will arrive on time.

Comfort

Comfort is usually a bit of a concern but not when it comes to Thalys. Traveling by 1st class makes a lot of sense because you get more comfort & peaceful rest during the journey. In some coaches, they also dim lights like flights & it gets useful in longer journeys. Comfortable seats, lots of leg space, hand rests & head rest are simply unbeatable.

Download & plan your trips with Rail Europe’s My Train Companion app here – iOS | Android

Frequency

Thalys runs between some of the most popular & busy cities of Western Europe like Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne etc. It means that the frequency of Thalys is a lot higher. You can get trains every one hour (sometimes the time between 2 trains is even lesser). You will almost never not fine a Thalys leaving from these cities.

Services

Thalys trains are equipped with café coaches. You can also request a gourmet meal at your seat (yep, you read that right)! You can also use the free WiFi throughout your journey & it is reasonably fast for sure. Newspapers & magazines are also available for passengers. If you arrive early for your train, you can also chill in one of their cool lounges!  

Luggage Space

A lot of space. Yes, Thalys literally has a lot of space for everyone’s bags on board. There are special luggage rack towards the either ends of the coach. There might be some racks in the middle of the coach as well. You can store the small bags in the space given above your head. Some bags can also be stored between 2 seats as well. Overall, even if you are traveling with a lot of luggage, you won’t face any problem while traveling with Thalys.

Book your Thalys tickets from Rail Europe.

Read more train reviews here!

Picture: Bart

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