Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022. 

On 1 October 2023, the Thalys brand ceased to exist and became Eurostar. Eurostar already existed as a brand linking London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. To consolidate and to be more competitive against newcomers in the region – Trenitalia, Arriva, Qbuzz, Deutsche Bahn – the two merged.

So now, it’s not a Thalys from Belgium to Paris, but a Eurostar.

New but old

We hopped on a Eurostar ‘red’ in Antwerp-Central Railway Station. The train still looks the same as when it was a Thalys, except for the Eurostar logos. I’m purposely not saying branding because the train still screams Thalys. 

Danny had the ‘privilege’ to ride one of these earlier in 2023 and wasn’t incredibly impressed. Read his elaborate review here. 

Refurbished

Although the train, apparently still called Thalys PBKA, is the same, the interiour has been refurbished. 

We had Comfort seats, the same as used in Premium. They’re not really comfortable and are work-oriented. They’re designed for work people to work, not for tourists to relax. 

But they com with a nifty double table, a power outlet and USB outlets. 

No more catering

Eurostar ‘red’ has three classes: Standard (economy, coach, 2nd class), Comfort (‘medium’) and Premium (1st class, business). 

In the olden days, aka pre-corona, one received a (light) meal in Comfort. Those days are long gone. Included catering is only for Premium. And the bar-bistro for Standard has disappeared and is now a lifeless Kiosk with a vending machine. 

Is that so bad?

The absence of decent catering angers, because most of us associate the high-speed train to Paris with tourism and leisure. And a having a good time on board should be part of the experience.

But the reality is many passengers travel for professional reasons and the journey is not that long. Some three hours and fifteen minutes to go from Amsterdam to Paris. And departing from Antwerp or Brussels only shortens the journey. 

Many three-hour train journeys in Europe do not provide (included) catering. And now neither does Eurostar. 

2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour

1. Visiting Gibraltar in 2013.