While Paris is certainly more common as a European city base, we are big fans of Brussels. And not because they have the best french fries in the universe. Here are all the details for how to day trip to Paris from Brussels.

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One Day trip to Paris from Brussels

When our son was 8, we decided it was time for him to have the “big” European trip. Several countries were already chosen for us because we had family or friends who could host us, but one place loomed larger for him (probably because he had seen it in Ratatouille): Paris.

But how to do Paris on a budget? Enter the idea to day trip to Paris from Brussels.

A day trip to Paris from Brussels is not only extremely easy, it is a great way to travel more sustainably. Paris is one of the most overtouristed places in Europe. And we get it…it is magical.

But so many visitors means high prices, crowds, and, often, the general unhappiness of locals.

Why Brussels as Your European Base

“Wait, Brussels? You said this was going to be on Paris.”  Now let me explain. With 15 high speed Thalys trains each day going each way and at about 1.5 hours to make the trip, you should choose Brussels for several reasons.

Cost of accommodations in Brussels Versus Paris

According to statista.org, the average cost for a hotel in Paris per night is 146€-187€ depending on the time of year. Brussels is 111€.

While the difference in price isn’t extreme, a week-long stay in Brussels over Paris would be a savings of 530€. That is something.

And again, a day trip to Paris does still contribute to the overtourism of the city for that day. But after a day of the crowds of Paris, you can return to the more relaxed vibe of Brussels.

The Location of Brussels Versus Paris

We don’t hop. Part of our travel philosophy and frankly, a big budget travel strategy, is staying in a location for a minimum of 3 days and choosing short-term vacation rentals both for cost and convenience, and rentals often have minimum night stays.

If you are less concerned about overtourism, you can definitely chose Paris as your hub. And from Paris there is good connectivity not only to Brussels, but also Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp in Belgium.

You can also day trip from Paris to London and Amsterdam.

But for us, we were more interested in the more central location of Brussels and its connections: Bruges in 58 minutes; Cologne in 1 hour, 48 minutes. Amsterdam in 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Brussels is A Great (Less Visited City) in Its Own Right

Not only is there the 17th century pissing boy, the Manneken Pis, Brussel’s humorous mascot, but there is also amazing gothic architecture at the Grand Palace, and also many parks including Parc du Cinquantenaire.

And of course, there is the Belgium Beer. For me, it is about the wine. But Matthew is a true hop snob and so the chance to have a beer at Le Falstaff was not to be missed.

How to Get to Paris from Brussels

Day trip to Paris from Brussels by Train

While we will walk you through, plane, bus and car, train is really the very best choice to day trip to Paris from Brussels. For two reasons, time and cost.

With a day trip, traveling time is the most important thing to consider. And at 1 hour and 20 minutes travel time to Paris from Brussels, high speed trains are definitely the way to go. Especially given that bus and car will take you just under 4 hours.

And here is the beauty of Thalys’ high speed trains: in addition to speed, there are so many to choose from.

The earliest train leaves from Brussels at 6:45 a.m. and arrives in Paris at 8:05 a.m. And if you want a very full day in Paris, the last train from Paris to Brussels is at 9:45 p.m., arriving in Brussels at just after 11 p.m.

Thalys runs 25 trains going to Paris from Brussels and 17 returning. During peak hours in the morning and evening, trains depart every 30 minutes.

The cost of the train varies from 39€ to 89€ one-way based on the time of day. But a good rule of thumb is if you want to ride when it is perfectly convenient for you, it will cost you a bit more.

That early-morning first train at 6:45 a.m is going to be cheaper than the 8:45 a.m. since that’s when everyone wants to slowly meander to the station after coffee and croissants.

You will also save money by booking tickets in advance on the Thalys website.

Trains depart from the central station in Brussels called Brussels Midi/Zuid. And arrive in Paris’ Gare de Nord.

Another great benefit of taking a train over a plane is that trains tend to take you from city center to city center so you don’t have the cost or time of transferring from outside of the city.

Once you arrive at Paris Gare de Nord Station, you will take a quick, 3-minute train operated by Paris RER. The train ticket is very inexpensive, around 1€. But you will want to get a 1-day public transit card, called the Carte Mobilis, which costs 7.50€. See the section on using public transit in Paris for more details.

The RER train will take you to the metro station Châtelet les Halles.

Day trip to Paris from Brussels by Plane

The flight between Brussels to Paris is just 50 minutes. However, when you add transit to the airport from city center and the time needed to clear airport security, a flight to Paris from Brussels doesn’t save you time. Especially given that once you arrive in Paris, you’ve got to get into the city from the airport.

But, if you are committed to flying, Brussels Airlines does have a nonstop flight to Paris from Brussels at 6:40 a.m. The cost of a flight will be much higher than train.

For your return to Brussels, the only nonstop flight from Paris back to Brussels is early in the morning. So you would need to take a flight that includes a stop to get back to Brussels.

See what we mean about the beauty of the train?

However, if flying is really important, you might consider flying in the morning and taking the train home, especially if you are staying near the airport in Brussels.

Day trip to Paris from Brussels by Bus

Bus is the most economical way to travel between Brussels and Paris. A round trip ride can run just 20€.

Buses are also very frequent. There are over 60 buses that run daily from Brussels to Paris. And buses start early — like 1:30 a.m. early.

Buses leave from both the centrally located Gare du Nord and Gare du Midi. And buses also leave from Zaventem at Brussels airport.

The three different bus carriers are Eurolines, Flixbus and Ouibus. Most routes drop passengers in Paris at Gare Routière Internacionale Gallieni Bus terminal. However, some drop at the two Parisian airports so it is important to check the arrival.

Even though buses are the most economical, they (along with car rentals) really don’t make a lot of sense given the time. With a one-way journey time of 3 hours and 45 minutes for a direct route and then the same for your return, you are really losing too much of your day to travel time.

Day trip to Paris from Brussels by Car

Driving to Paris from Brussels takes roughly the same time as taking a bus: 3 hours, 45 minutes.

But let’s be honest….why would you drive? The beauty of Europe is its train connectivity. And with a high speed train that gets you there 2 hours faster than driving yourself, there is really no reason to drive.

Especially since Paris is a very walkable city. And what is not walkable is easily navigated by the city’s amazing metro system.

However, if you do need to rent a car, there are car rental companies at the airport and at Brussel’s South Train station.

Things to Do on Your Day Trip to Paris from Brussels

So perhaps the only down sides of a day trip to Paris is that you won’t be able to see everything that Paris has to offer. A day trip will mean hitting the highlights. These are your must sees.

The Tour de Eiffel

Let’s be honest. This a big part of what you are coming for. And we get it.

We have been to Paris numerous time. But when we brought our son, O, here as a daytrip from Brussel, we made a beeline to the Eiffel Tower.

The site opens at 9 a.m. so if you take the first train into Paris, you will arrive about an hour before it opens.

The train will drop you at Nord station. Then you will take the RER train to Châtelet les Halles. From here you will hop the metro. You’ll start on line 1, in the direction of La Defense.

Line 1 is one of the main lines through Paris. From this line, you can access Champs-Élysées avenue and the Louvre Museum.

However, we recommend you start the day going past these sites and go directly to the Eiffel Tower, which requires a change to line 8 at Concorde. You will get off at the stop École Militaire.

École Militaire is not the official Eiffel Tower stop; that stop is called Bir-Hakeim, which you will use later if you are following our suggested itinerary and steps here. École Militaire is just the closest stop to the Eiffel Tower on the Metro line 8. From École Militaire you will walk about 14 minutes to get to the Eiffel Tower.

There are many ways to experience the Eiffel Tower. You can walk the 674 steps to the second level and stop there. Or you can walk to the second floor and then take a lift the the top. Or you can take a lift all the way either stopping on the second floor or taking it to the top.

We actually love taking the stairs to the second floor and then the elevator the rest of the way.

Going up on your own power saves you about 6€ a ticket. But more than that, it is just a beautiful view and a great challenge to ascend this marvel of the 1889 World’s Fair.

However, be aware: if you have any fear of heights, you might opt not to take the stairs. The last time we visited, we were on the stairs with someone who has a fear of heights and they really struggled.

Plan around 2 hours for your Eiffel Tower experience.

Seine River Cruise

Since time is limited, one of the great ways to see Paris is by traveling on the Seine, Paris’ central river, on the famous Bateaux Parisiens river cruise.

Cruises leave from Port de la Bourdonnais, which is a quick, 4-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.

Cruises are 1 hour in duration and take you past such iconic sites as the Musée de Orsay and Notre Dame Cathedral.

But our favorite part of this cruise is crossing under all the beautiful bridges that crisscross the city.

Plan 1.5 hours for this experience

 Musée de l‘Orangerie  and the Tulleries

From the river cruise, you can either walk the entire way to Musée de l’Orangerie. Or walk to the Jena Bridge bus stop and take the 72 bus towards Gare de Lyon to the Concorde-Quai des Tuileries stop.

Both walking and bus take about 25 minutes.

 Musée de l’Orangerie is one of our very favorite small museums in Paris. The museum was literally built to house 8 panels of Monet’s The Water Lilies. It is one of the most serene places with some of Monet’s most famous works.

The museum is also home to works by Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir.

As a small museum, l’Orangerie takes about an hour to explore.

From here walk through the beautiful Jardin de Tuileries towards the Louvre. On a sunny day in Paris, this is THE place to be.

If you are budget travelers like us, this is a great time and place to pull out that picnic lunch.

A note on the Louvre: while we definitely recommend walking by to see the glass pyramid and the huge expanse of buildings that make up the Louvre, we don’t recommend going in.

While the Louvre is certainly a must-see experience in Paris, it is so massive and far too overwhelming for a day trip.

We also love the museum the Musée d’Orsay, home to so many of the impressionist masters. But again, even the Musée d’Orsay is a lot of museum for such a short time. So, save both these iconic museums for the next time you visit Paris. Instead, walk on to Sainte-Chappelle.

Your time at l’Orangerie and walking in the Tuileries with a view of the Louvre should take you about 2 hours.

Sainte-Chappelle

Sainte-Chappelle is a gothic chapel built to hold such Christian relics as Christ’s crown of thorns.

However, while it no longer serves as a chapel, it houses some of the most stunning stained glass windows, perhaps in the entire world.

The chapel has fifteen windows, each 15 meters high. The windows depict 1,113 scenes from the life of Jesus Christ.

Even if you are not a religious person, you can not miss Sainte-Chappelle. So spectacular.

Notre Dame

By now, you are probably feeling all the walking and seeing. If you did the river cruise or you are running out of time, you might actually skip Notre Dame.

Since the fire in 2019, you can no longer enter the cathedral as they are currently renovating it.

If you have the leg power, you can get up close to the front façade should you walk to the site. So the trip is definitely worth the trip.

The cathedral is set to open in 2024. However, when we were there in February of 2022, the locals had very little hope that the builders would meet this date. It remains to be seen.

While you are near Notre Dame, be sure to swing by Shakespeare and Company. The book store has been in operation since 1951 as the meeting place for English-speaking writers and readers.

Plan 2 hours for your time at Sainte-Chappelle plus Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Co.

Time’s Up on your Day Trip to Paris from Brussels

Tired yet? Well, even if you are not, you are probably out of time.

The beautiful thing about Paris is you can never really get enough. So next time back you can check out Montmartre, the Arc De Triomphe, and people watch along the Champs-Élysées. Or stroll through the neighborhoods of Le Marais and the Latin Quarter.

But for now, walk back to the Palais de Justice and grab the N14 bus to Gare de Nord. The trip should take you about 25 minutes.

Need Another Day Trip from Brussels?
How about Bruges?

At just over 1 hour by train, Bruges is a wonderful day trip from Brussels. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site. And everywhere you turn is quaint, quaint, quaint.

We recommend two tourist “must dos” in Bruges: canals tour and belfry climb.

Canal Tours

A day trip to Bruges is not complete without a tour of its canals. We have done canal tours in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and enjoyed both. However, what makes Bruges unique is the scale and well…quaintness. No large touristy signs with a huge cue to embark. No, here you just find one of the five boarding spots, buy a tickets from the captain and enjoy the 30 minute ride.

Climb the Belfry

The Belfry is one of the oldest examples of medieval architecture. As such, it is a protected building by UNESCO. And yet, you can still experience its grandeur by climbing the 272 ft. tall tower.

There are over 300 steps to get to the top. So families be wary. At 8-years of age, O made it easily up and down. While kids under 5 are free, I don’t think I would have taken O before he was 6 or 7. At the time of writing, it was 14€ for adults and 12€ for kids up to 25.

Paris will always be the city where Matthew and I began our travel love story, but as a family, we couldn’t beat Brussels.

Frequently Asked Questions About a Day Trip to Paris from Brussels

If after reading this post, you are still interested in staying in Paris…And let’s be honest, we have seen Paris both as a day trip and as a week-long stay…then our ultimate Paris guide for families on a budget is for you.

We also have a post on our favorite small museums in Paris. And how we save as much as we can while seeing as much as we can using the Paris Pass.