Question:
I'm traveling to Paris in a week and would like to know of anymedieval cities within in two hours or so from paris.. Also doesanyone know how much it will to travel to amsterdam and back bytrain(second class)...

Answer: I'm not an expert, but I suspect that there are many mediaevalcities within a short distance of Paris -- depending on what itis that you are looking for. Chartres, for example, is aboutan hour from Paris on the train, and the area of the city aroundthe famous cathedral is reasonably well preserved.

As for the trip to Amsterdam, prices on the Thalys are EUR 72,20,EUR 107,00, or EUR 162,60 -- depending on the type of ticketavailable. The Thalys is the only practical train between Parisand Brussels. One can change trains at Brussels and board astandard (non-Thalys) international train for the Brussels toAmsterdam part of the journey, but this is not necessarily a bigsavings in terms of cost. Indeed, putting in a couple of datesfor next weekend at the SNCF web site produces prices that are_more_ expensive for non-Thalys travel (Thalys at EUR 107,00;Thalys plus international train at EUR 185,60).

FWIW, I agree with some others that the SNCF web site has someannoyances in terms of research, but you should be able to useit to get at least a general idea of prices: