I‘ve been on both Between Aachen and Paris, and Aachen and Brussels, and Thalys is definitely overpriced! I would never recommend it to anyone. The interior is old, and the seats aren’t more comfortable, but can cost up to 4 times more then the ICE. Sadly, if you want to go from Aachen to Paris, that’s your only Choice. Although catering is offered on both trains, Thalys only offers overpriced snacks, while DB has a full Restaurant on Bord their ICE trains.
Sounds strange. Last time I travelled to Paris was last summer and I paid less then 100€ both ways, while the ICE costs 80€ for both way to brussels, so only the half way for nearly the same amount of money. Also the Thalys is extremly comfortable, especially the new variant (the ruby). The Thalys is also more reliable, as the ICE gets cancelled very often. Btw, the bord restaurant is equally expansive , you pay 4€ for a coffee in the ICE aswell.
@@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513 The ICE is generally quite cheap every time I take it! ICE tickets start from 12€ no matter the distance, so if you book early enough you can get really great deals. In my experience, Thalys is quite the opposite! I booked 4 months in advances and payed 130€ one-way from Aachen to Paris, and that was not during a busy traveling season. By the way, the ICE trains to Belgium will be replaced in 2024, so there will barely be any cancellations by then. (Also, the coffee prices you talked about range between 2,80 and 4,00 depending on what you order)
Great video! Personally, I always feel more comfortable having a seat reservation, just to be sure. But of course, that's personal preference. Keep up the good work, very informative video :)
Great vid! But there is a mistake: ICE are limited to 250 km/h in Belgium for technical reasons .... (and it’s a shame in my opinion....they ride at 320 km/h in France). Thalys at 300 km/h. And by the way, curiously, all trains don’t go faster than 200 km/h on the new high speed line between Liège and the German border....
@@Thom-TRA no because the speed is 300 km/h in Germany and 320 km/h in France for the the same ICE. It’s because of projections of stones in Belgium (tracks without stones in Germany and trains to France specially protected below the cars, trains to Belgium are not equipped)
Ah I should have checked the DB website. I remember traveling by Interrail and paying 6 for it 3 years ago. Their website still says 6. But DB says 4. Did they change it recently?
@@Thom-TRA They did. It used to be 4,50€ at least since 2016 but due to the German government lowering taxes on rail tickets it is now down to just 4€. Interrail is listing wrong numbers. Confusingly they even change with the language settings. I don’t know why.
is 16 minutes enough to transfer from Eurostar to either ICE or Thalys at the Brussels-midi station and how much time do I need to be comfortable about this type of transfer
I‘ve been on both Between Aachen and Paris, and Aachen and Brussels, and Thalys is definitely overpriced! I would never recommend it to anyone. The interior is old, and the seats aren’t more comfortable, but can cost up to 4 times more then the ICE. Sadly, if you want to go from Aachen to Paris, that’s your only Choice. Although catering is offered on both trains, Thalys only offers overpriced snacks, while DB has a full Restaurant on Bord their ICE trains.
Sounds strange. Last time I travelled to Paris was last summer and I paid less then 100€ both ways, while the ICE costs 80€ for both way to brussels, so only the half way for nearly the same amount of money. Also the Thalys is extremly comfortable, especially the new variant (the ruby). The Thalys is also more reliable, as the ICE gets cancelled very often. Btw, the bord restaurant is equally expansive , you pay 4€ for a coffee in the ICE aswell.
@@greatportlandstreetmodelra6513 The ICE is generally quite cheap every time I take it! ICE tickets start from 12€ no matter the distance, so if you book early enough you can get really great deals. In my experience, Thalys is quite the opposite! I booked 4 months in advances and payed 130€ one-way from Aachen to Paris, and that was not during a busy traveling season.
By the way, the ICE trains to Belgium will be replaced in 2024, so there will barely be any cancellations by then.
(Also, the coffee prices you talked about range between 2,80 and 4,00 depending on what you order)
I just love trains! I'd probably get on either one of those trains. The ICE train is definitely my favorite European train.
I love trains too! I get to ride the Southwest Chief in 3 weeks and I am PUMPED
Great video! Personally, I always feel more comfortable having a seat reservation, just to be sure. But of course, that's personal preference. Keep up the good work, very informative video :)
Great vid! But there is a mistake: ICE are limited to 250 km/h in Belgium for technical reasons .... (and it’s a shame in my opinion....they ride at 320 km/h in France). Thalys at 300 km/h. And by the way, curiously, all trains don’t go faster than 200 km/h on the new high speed line between Liège and the German border....
I wonder if maybe the speed is limited because the ICE has more bogeys…
@@Thom-TRA no because the speed is 300 km/h in Germany and 320 km/h in France for the the same ICE. It’s because of projections of stones in Belgium (tracks without stones in Germany and trains to France specially protected below the cars, trains to Belgium are not equipped)
Nice Video!
Just one thing I would like to add: an ICE reservation is 4€, not 6€^^
Ah I should have checked the DB website. I remember traveling by Interrail and paying 6 for it 3 years ago. Their website still says 6. But DB says 4. Did they change it recently?
@@Thom-TRA They did. It used to be 4,50€ at least since 2016 but due to the German government lowering taxes on rail tickets it is now down to just 4€. Interrail is listing wrong numbers. Confusingly they even change with the language settings. I don’t know why.
First class include reservation at DB
@@Patrick-on2ty Not with Interrail though. There it costs 5,90€
@@raileon thats true
is 16 minutes enough to transfer from Eurostar to either ICE or Thalys at the Brussels-midi station and how much time do I need to be comfortable about this type of transfer
16 minutes might be very tight, depending on delays. I’d give yourself probably closer to an hour.