The standard fare is based on the distance, so is the same on all trains. However, the Thalys trains pretty much have a monopoly on this route and they require an expensive (10 to 30 euro) reservation. Look for cheap special fares at www.thalys.com at or at www.tgv.com or the French or Belgian national rail company websites. The links are here: http://www.eurotrip…. If you can’t find a cheap special on a Thalys train then look for a routing via Lille on the French or Belgian rail websites. Those trains involve a connection but only require the 4 or 5 euro TGV reservation and the total time involved is sometimes even less than for the Thalys trains. Pick a European country as your “home” country on any of the above sites to avoid being switched to raileurope.com or some other travel agency website where you’ll pay global fare (30 to 35% higher than standard fare) plus an inflated charge for the reservation.

I am slightly confused while booking on thalys.com, Do i have to be a European citizen to book and buy these tickets?

The fare which i am getting is 35 euros, does it includes reservation also or i need to pay to reserve my seat?

No you don’t have to be a European citizen. However buying from the national rail company websites is a hit or miss thing if you aren’t and some of the websites try to steer Americans to travel agencies. Some of the national rail company websites won’t take non-European credit cards for payment. Others only sell national (within their borders) tickets on-line. You’ll need to choose a train where an e-ticket or picking your ticket up at a ticket window in your departure city is an option (you can’t pick up the ticket in Antwerp when you’re boarding in Paris) and you may need the credit card you used to book it to pick it up.

Where (which website) did you find the 35 euro fare? It will probably include reservation if it’s for a specific train (specific date and time). It won’t include the reservation if it’s just for the route.

I got 35 euro on http://www.thalys.co… …and it is for a specific route and date…. so i believe that it does includes the reservation charges. And since thalys issues eTickets so i believe i should have no issues? What do you suggest?

Thanks for your guidance by the way

I would buy the ticket as soon as you are sure of the date and time as it is probably non-refundable and may have fees (or not allow) any changes. There are a limited number of seats available for the special fares. When those sell out, the price goes up.