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I’m looking for trains Paris Lyon - Milano Porta Garibaldi and Paris Gare du Nord - Brussels Midi. Price of ticket for first route in august is 29€ on SNCF page, while seat reservation for my interrail pass costs 31€. Same situation for second route. On Thalys page ticket for this train costs 29€, while seat reservation in app costs 25€. Is there any way to bypass such big fees?

If you book early, this can happen, certainly when French railways are involved, with their expensive reservations for international trains.

Paris - Brussels can be done cheaper but takes more time, e.g. via Lille (TGV Paris - Lille has 10€ reservations if you're in time).

Also see this page on avoiding trains with reservations.


The very best way is to CHANGE plans and not use those expensive hi-speed trains. THis pass is not really meant to just tick off a few big cities by sitting in the most expensive trains-but rather to explore the many smaller lines and byways to discover real EURope.


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