München Hbf/Munich main station (München / Munich)

Thanks to a relatively new high speed line in Germany the train journey from Munchen / Munich to Berlin has never been faster and it's more frequent too!

What won't be obvious when looking up a journey by train from München / Munich to Berlin is that the ICE trains between the two cities now take four different routes:

1. München - Nurnberg - Erfurt - - Halle - Berlin (the fastest services on this route with the fewest station calls are known as 'Sprinter' services)
2. München - Nurnberg - Erfurt - Leipzig - Halle - Berlin (diverting off the direct route to serve Leipzig only adds around 40 mins to the journey time)
3. Trains which follow the two routes above after Nurnberg but divert off the direct route in order to serve Augsburg; this adds around 30 mins to the journey time.
4. Other trains take a route via Stuttgart and Frankfurt (Main) which is much longer, so it has been excluded from the options below.
   Take care to avoid these trains if you will be travelling with a rail pass.

There are options for travelling from München/Munich to Köln/Cologne by train during the day and overnight

During the day ICE trains take two different routes from München/Munich to Köln/Cologne.
The more frequent services take a route via Nurnberg and Frankfurt, but they don't arrive at the main station in Köln/Cologne as their route takes them through a station named Köln Messe/Deutz.
However, other ICE trains from München/Munich do arrive at the main station, Köln hbf.

So check the location of your final destination in Köln/Cologne and use the station info below, to see which route will suit you better.
Köln Messe/Deutz is further from the city centre, but if your ultimate destination is located along the U-Bahn (metro) routes; 1, 3, 4 or 9 then connections are available to these lines at Messe/Deutz.
While U-Bahn lines 5, 16 and 18 have stations linked to Köln hbf.

If your final destination is within walking distance of Köln hbf and you won't be travelling with luggage etc and you can find a cheaper price for train Messe/Deutz; or if the arrival times of those trains suit you better, then take the trains heading to Messe-Deutz.
You can then hop on a local S-Bahn train at Messe-Deutz (if you book to Koln hbf) and can be at the main station less than 10 minutes after you have stepped off the train at Messe/Deutz.

However, if you will be heading to a location near Koln hbf and will have luggage etc, or making an onward connection in that station, then do target the direct ICE trains to Koln hbf.
That's because the interchange between the ICE and S-Bahn trains at Messe/Deutz involves walking up a staircase.

When travelling overnight you will arrive at Koln hbf, but can choose between travelling in a bed or bunk on the Nightjet train, or travelling on the same ICE trains as used for the daytime services.

The direct train(s) from Munich to Bologna provide a highly useful connection when travelling from southern Germany to northern Italy also happen to take a beautiful route through the Alps and Dolomites.

Bologna is the main hub of the Italian rail network, so connect there for a swathe of fabulous destinations, which have no direct trains from Germany including Bari, Ravenna, Modena, Parma, Naples and Lecce
(In the summer months this train has its journey extended to Rimini).

Also if you'd rather travel by day to Florence and Rome than take the night train, you can connect in Bologna for those cities.

When taking the train from München / Munich to Budapest there is a choice between travelling by day on a smart and comparatively comfortable Railjet train, or overnight on a sleeper train.
Though on this route the overnight isn't a Nightjet because the Hungarian national rail operator MAV provides the sleeping cabins, couchettes and seated coaches.

Sleek ICE trains link München / Munich to Frankfurt (Main) but what's slightly odd is that they take two different routes;
1 - via Nurnberg
2 - via Stuttgart
But because the trains on the route via Nurnberg ae faster, the only trains that have tickets available online are the trains on this route.

You might then wonder why, when you're at the station in Munich/Munchen why you can see trains to Frankfurt (Main) leaving before your departure, that you weren't aware of.
However, those other trains will arrive in Frankfurt after the train you will be taking.

Heading off to see the fairytale castles of Hohenschwangau and the Schloss Neuschwanstein on a day trip by train München / Munich is easily done

Heading off to the German Alps by train from München/Munich is easily done thanks to direct trains to the popular resort town, where an easy transfer is also available to Germany's highest railway, the Zugspitzbahn.

When taking the train from München / Munich to Hamburg, there is a a choice available between travelling during the day on a sleek ICE train, or travelling through the night on a Nightjet.

Every hour during the day a sleek ICE train makes the train journey from München / Munich to Hannover

There are direct trains from München / Munich to Heidelberg, though if you are willing to change trains, the journey options which involve making a connection are much more frequent

There are two routes to choose from when travelling from Munich München / Munich to Innsbruck by train.

(1) The quickest route via Kufstein and Worgl is the only route you will be offered when looking up this journey by the online booking agents, and the Austrian part of this journey has some delightful riverside views

(2) Some of the Regio services from München / Munich to Garmisch have their journeys extended over the Austrian border and on to Innsbruck.
If you favour scenic views over speed then this is the route to take as the birds eye views over the valleys to the south of Garmisch are exceptional.

Taking the train from München/Munich to Leipzig has been transformed for the better in recent years by the opening of Germany's latest high speed line.

On the departure info at Munchen Hbf you may see other ICE trains heading to Berlin that will be calling at Leipzig.
Those trains take a much longer route via Stuttgart and Frankfurt; hence they're not listed when looking up this journey on DB Bahn and the other ticket booking services.
But if you will be travelling with a rail pass and opted not to make reservation, take care not to board those other trains.

There are now two distinct travel options when taking a train from München/Munich to beautiful Lindau on the shore of the Bodensee.

(1) The newly improved express train service on which very smart EEC traina now complete the journey in under two hours.
However, they arrive at a new station, Lindau-Reutin, which is a 10-15 min walk from the lovely island on which the old town is located.
Though an option is to connect there for a train to Lindau-Insel station, which lives up to its name as it's on the island.

(2) Regio trains, operated by ALX and not by DB, still provide a direct service to Lindau-Insel station.

If you book ahead you can save money, by taking the express trains, but if you will be buying tickets last minute at the station, the Regio trains will be the cheaper option.

Every other hour during the day sleek Railjet trains link München/Munich to Linz

Step on board for one of Europe's most spectacular railway journeys; once the train has departed Salzburg, you can enjoy hour after hour of beautiful views.

There is an overnight train from Munich to Ljubljana, but we don't recommend taking it for two reasons:
(1) It is due to arrive at the painfully early time of 05:59.
(2) You'll miss out on experiencing this fabulous daytime journey.

There is only one daily direct train from München/Munich to Paris, but when looking up the journey you will see numerous other options which involve making connections.
Of those target the routings with only one change of train in Stuttgart.

Two of Europe's must-see cities are linked by direct trains, so it's an easy journey, but what can take travellers by surprise is that express trains aren't used, despite the distance.
Instead this is a contender for Europe's longest journey by regional trains.

Salzburg may be over the border in Austria, but it's one of the closest cities to München/Munich hence the service of frequent trains.

Because of the relatively short distance the express trains, the Railjets and EuroCity trains aren't particularly faster, but they do allow the option to reserve seats; and can be cheaper if you want to book ahead and commit to a specific departure.

There are also hourly Regio trains operated by Meridian.

During the day the timetable is arranged so that:

• odd hours = a Railjet and a Meridian train.
• even hours = an EC train and a Meridian train.

Something worth knowing is that the railway line to Salzburg is on the opposite side of München/Munich to its main hauptbahnhof railway station.
So after departure from München hbf the trains have to travel in a semi-circle around the city centre, but aside from the fast Railjet trains, the other trains from München/Munich to Salzburg also call at Munchen Ost station.

Munchen Ost station offers straightforward connections from local, S-Bahn, trains which call at multiple stations in the heart of the city, they use a tunnel to cross the city centre.

If you will be travelling by train from Munich Airport/Flughafen to Salzburg, the quickest option is to take a train on line S8 to Munchen Ost and make the connection on to Salzburg there.

When taking the train from München/Munich to Venezia/Venice you can either opt to take the fantastically scenic daytime journey, or travel overnight on a sleeper train

When travelling from München/Munich to Verona by train, you can choose between making the stunning daytime journey, or to travel on the overnight train.

Despite the distance it's super easy to travel from München/Munich to Wien/Vienna by train.
The Railjet trains are smart and comfortable, the stations at both ends of the trip are very passenger friendly and the journey is easy on the eye.

Or if you need to be in Wien/Vienna before breakfast there is an overnight train, but note that it isn't a Nightjet train.

This is one of Europe's most scenic city to city railway journeys, so if you will be travelling from Bavaria to the lake shore resorts on lovely Wörthersee, taking the train is definitely the way to go.

When travelling by train from München/Munich to Zagreb you can travel during the day on of Europe's most stunning railway journeys, or if the timings don't suit there's also an overnight train available (for now).

Thanks to recently completed major construction work, including a new station in Germany, and the introduction of sleek tilting trains, there has never been such a fabulous rail service between München/Munich and Zurich.

The only direct train service between München/Munich and Roma/Rome is provided by the overnight Nightjet train, but it's also a straightforward and stunningly beautiful journey by day.

Take one of the daily EC trains through the mountains to Bologna and connect there for a high speed train on to Roma

The only direct train service between München / Munich and Firenze / Florence is provided by the overnight Nightjet train, but it's also a straightforward and stunningly beautiful journey by day.

Take one of the daily EC trains through the mountains to Bologna and connect there for a high speed train on to Firenze/Florence

If you want to travel direct from München/Munich to Milano/Milan/Mailand by train you will need to travel overnight by Nightjet.

By day a connection between trains is required in Verona Porta Nuova station, but the end-to-end journey will be faster; and it's also a stunning train ride.

There are two optimum route options for a journey by train from Munich/München to London:

1. Make two transfers between trains and travel via Bruxelles, thereby avoiding having to make a transfer between stations in Paris.
   On this routing the optimum end=to-end journey involves having to make the connection between trains in Koin/Cologne.

2. Travelling via Paris (not available on Saturdays) on the direct train from München to the Gare de l'Est, then heading to the Gare du Nord in order to take the Eurostar on to London.

What currently isn't an option is taking the overnight train from München to Bruxelles and then on by Eurostar, as that train to the Belgian capital isn't operating at the moment.

There are now two optimum choices for taking the train from München / Munich to Bruxelles / Brussels:
(1) If you are happy to travel overnight there is a direct train which departs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
(2) The daytime journey requires a connection between two ICE trains at Frankfurt (Main) hbf, but it's an exceptionally easy station in which to change trains.

Taking a train from Cologne/Köln to Munich/München is very straightforward but there is an unusually high number of options for taking a direct train, and in summary they are:
1: the most frequent service of high speed ICE trains, which happen to depart from Köln Messe/Deutz station.
2: other ICE trains which depart from the city's main central rail station, Köln hbf.
3. taking a more scenic, but slower route.
4. Travelling in a bed or a bunk on a Nightjet train
5. Travelling through the night on an ICE train

Step on board the only direct trains from Bologna to Germany.
Connect in Bologna when travelling to Germany by daytime trains from the likes of Firenze, Napoli and Roma
Connect in München/Munich for ICE trains to a swathe of German cities without rail connections with Italy including Berlin, Koln, Nurnberg and Stuttgart

When taking the train from Venezia/Venice
to München/Munich you can either opt to take the fantastically scenic daytime journey, or travel overnight on a sleeper train

München / Munich is some distance from the high speed line which links Paris to eastern France, so most of the international high speed trains which use it travel no further than Stuttgart.
Hence there only being one direct train per day from Paris to München/Munich, but when the timings (and price) of this service don't suit, there are other journey options available, the easiest of which is to make one connection in Stuttgart.

Taking an overnight train journey from Paris to Munchen/Munich isn't feasible.

Despite the comparatively short distance it's possible to travel by day or night when taking the train from Wien/Vienna to München/Munich.
The first daytime train of the morning is usually scheduled to arrive in München/Munich around 10:30, but the overnight train will take you there in time for breakfast, with an arrival before 06:30

Thanks to recently completed major construction work, including a new station in Germany, and the introduction of sleek tilting trains, there has never been such a fabulous rail service between Zurich and München/Munich.

Connect in München hbf for destinations in Germany without direct trains from Switzerland including Augsburg, Nurnberg and Leipzig.

The only international rail service from Rome is the Nightjet train which serves both Munich/München and Vienna on routes which travel through the night.

The only international rail service from Florence/Firenze is the Nightjet train which serves both Munich/München and Vienna on routes which travel through the night.

There are two optimum routes when taking a train from London to Munich/München:
1, Travelling by day via Paris
2. Travelling by day via Bruxelles

The daytime connections via Paris are sold as end-to-end journeys by ticket agents, but the daytime route via Bruxelles can be a good option if you will making this journey with a Eurail or InterRail pass; or won't mind book separate tickets for different parts of the journey.
Making the effort to do can be worth it if you'd rather avoid what can be an awkward transfer between stations in the French capital.

There are multiple options available for taking a train journey between Amsterdam and Muenchen*/Munich (*Dutch spelling of Munich).

Simplest of all is to take the direct overnight trains, which have been newly re-introduced to this route.
Or if you'll be happy to travel overnight in a seat rather than a bed or bunk, you can travel through the night on a combination of ICE trains

Connections between swish ICE trains are always required when making a daytime journey.
But because you need to change trains, when you look up the journey on the ticket agents, you will see a multitude of options.

However, take care as many of the combinations of journeys, will have connecting times between trains of less than 20 minutes.
And those tightly timed connections can't be guaranteed in Germany.
Though if you miss a booked connection, any tickets/reservations can be transferred to a later train at a Reisezentrum travel desk, but this is a hassle that can be avoided.

Salzburg is one of the closest major cities to Munich, hence a comparatively frequent service of two trains per hour being available on this route.

One of these trains is a faster express service, on which seat reservations and advance discounted tickets will be available; though multiple different types of trains are used for these faster services.
The other hourly service is a slightly slower regional train, on which tickets won't cost any more when booking last minute at the station.
This regional service is operated by Meridian.