Tickets will soon go on sale for the Eurostar Snow, which will take skiers directly from Brussels-Midi train station or Antwerp Centraal to the French Alps in less than five hours assuming no avalanches or mountain goats on the tracks. The previous snow trains required transfers.
There’s also service from London, Paris and other cities. See the full list here.
With Eurostar Snow tickets starting at 55 euros, off-peak, this seems too good to be true, but this all comes in a media release from the SNCB, the Belgian train service. (We’re not sure how Dispatches got on the mailing list, but we’re glad we did.)
By the way, these are the rebranded red high-speed trains that used to be Thalys Snow, and it’s all part of the expansion of Eurostar services.
Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. on 17 October and the earlier you buy, the cheaper the tickets, Prices at 55 euros for a single journey in “Standard” class, or you can be a big spender and throw out the 99 euros one-way for for “Comfort” class or the 134 euros to sit in Premium.
Eurostar Snow service begins 23 December 2023 and runs every Saturday through 6 April 2024, according to the release.
If you’re traveling from another Belgian location than Brussels, Liège or Antwerp, the Eurostar Snow Connection ticket allows you to take any domestic SNCB train between Brussels-Midi, Antwerp-Central and Liège-Guillemins (your departure or arrival station for Eurostar) and the Belgian station of your choice.
Final destinations in the Alps include Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers, Aime-La Plagne, Landry and Bourg-Saint-Maurice giving access to the the biggest names in French resorts including Les Ménuires, Courchevel, Val Thorens, Paradiski, La Rosière and Les Arcs.
The Connection ticket is available from 7.80 euros each way in 1st class or 11.90 euros each way in 1st class, regardless of your Belgian departure or arrival station.
Okay, here at the deets:
• In addition to ski equipment, travelers may bring on piece of luggage and one piece of hand luggage (or 2 pieces of luggage plus 1 piece of hand luggage if you are not taking ski equipment). Ski hosts will help load and unload luggage on site.
• Tickets are exchangeable and refundable before departure.
A note: Starting 1 October 2023, the Thalys trains that connect Brussels to Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne are now Eurostar. The seasonal trains to the French Alps (in the winter) and to the South of France (in the summer) will be called Eurostar Snow and Eurostar Sun. You can see all routes here.
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See more about skiing here in Dispatches’ archives.
