Paris to Amsterdam, first-class all the way

In 2004, we had prebooked seats in first class on the ICE train in Germany. However, on boarding, all the first-class seats were taken and there was no conductor to ask for help, so we ended up in a smokers' carriage in separate seats. Now we're planning to take a train from Paris to Amsterdam. How do we avoid the same problems and get the seats we have paid for? What is the best time of day to travel?

- R. Jones, Baulkham Hills.

On European trains, even if you have a valid ticket, you will not necessarily get a seat unless you have made reservations. A reserved seat costs only a fraction more and, especially if you are paying to travel first class, you might as well shell out a bit more.

Whether you book via the internet or a rail booking agency, you can obtain a seat and carriage number and a guarantee that the bottom on the seat will be yours.

More than a dozen trains run daily from Paris to Amsterdam; the one departing Paris's Gare du Nord at 10.25am looks good to me. This direct service whizzes you the 500 kilometres to Amsterdam in three hours and 18 minutes.