Getting There
We went to Brussels on a day trip from Paris via the Thalys high speed train. We bought our tickets before leaving for Europe to guarantee our seats through their Thalys website which was fairly easy to use. We monitored their website for specials and found one which was the Thalys Day, 1 day trips with significant discounts.
These discounted tickets leave Paris very early in the morning (we left at 6:00 AM) and leave Brussels late in the evening on the same day. The downside was not seeing the countryside and scenery but with our kids, it was a great opportunity to catch some sleep. They also had specials if traveling with children.
Tickets cannot be mailed to US addresses. You could print out your tickets in a size A4 type paper but we opted to pick them up when we got to Paris. Tickets could be picked up at any RER office in Paris. We picked ours up at an RER office on Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle airport near the kiosks for train tickets to Paris. It was very important that the credit card used to buy the tickets must be presented at the time of pickup.
Trains traveling to other countries from Paris all seemed to arrive and depart at the Gare du Nord station. From the subway stop, the Thalys trains were all the way to the top with signs clearly posted. Travel time was about an hour and 20 minutes.
We were seated in their family compartment between 2 train cars with 2 seats facing each other and a table in between separated from the rest by glass partition. We traveled on their Comfort 2 (end class) and found the assigned seats comfortable and clean overall.
Getting Around
We got off at the Brussels Midi Station from the Thalys. The Midi was their equivalent to Grand Central Station and was the hub of many subway lines. Brussels had an easy to use subway system. There were automated ticket machines at the station but we opted for the kiosks where the attendant sold us one that suited us most with the biggest savings.
Children under 6 years old travel for free. The subways were crowded at certain times but it wasn’t that bad as we were able to get seats most of the time. It was cleaner than other major metropolitan subways (i.e. Paris & Rome).
Brussels was a very easy city to walk around. There were also buses and trams around but we didn’t use them. The surrounding area around the Grand Place was very compact and easily walkable. It was a city that needed to be explored by foot and would be the best way to spot those wonderful Brussels cartoon murals.
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