First Class on Thalys: Is it Worth It?

We love traveling by train in Europe, especially in France, but is it really worth going first class? For the past twenty years, we may have taken a first class train in Europe three or four times at most. This past weekend, we tried the Thalys first class train only because dinner was included in the price. The dinner was served promptly. It was actually a cold supper featuring cold fish and an assortment of fresh vegetables - also cold and fresh fruit for dessert. An excellent meal for the health conscious soul. However, pity the person who turns down the coffee or tea after dinner because, surprisingly the bar car was dismantled BEFORE we reached our destination at 9 pm.

Any of you who may be former Amtrak clients (particularly the lines running from the Big Apple) would find it hard to believe that a bar car might close up service after the dinner hour. In fact, the Amtrak bar car (in my humble opinion) was the saving grace for a train service that left much to be desired.

But all I can say to railway enthusiasts who plan on using Thalys, bring your own bottle of water - because once the bar service closes its window, there's not even a drop of water to be found.

Another 'advantage' of traveling first-class is being able to have a taxi called in advance by the train manager (however that only applies to the final city destination!) - a minor detail that might catch you by surprise.

The seats are slightly larger in first-class and they're slightly more adjustable, but not noticeably more comfortable. Other than that, second class and first class arrive in the station at approximately the same time.

If you're traveling second class on the Thalys line, bring your bottle of water - and also your breakfast. We waited in line for half an hour for two croissants. That has to be some sort of world record. While waiting in line I remembered way back when on the Spanish trains (in the seventies) everyone shared food and cigarettes in second class. There was no 'bar car'.

Still, there's no better way to travel than by train. Train fan forever!