Berlin to Nürnberg / Nuremberg by train

How to travel from Berlin to Nurnberg by train

The journey by train from Berlin to Nürnberg / Nuremberg has been transformed for the better in recent years by the opening of a high speed line.
So this journey is not only faster than it ever has been, there's also never been so many departures to choose from.

Though many trains divert off the direct route in order to serve Leipzig and this adds around 20 minutes to the journey time for those departures.

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Routes

Option 1: the faster 'Sprinter' services

Travel Information

The departures with a journey time of around 2hr 55mins are branded 'ICE- Sprinter and they now provide the fastest ever train service between Berlin and Nurnberg/Nuremberg; they don't divert off of the direct route to call at Leipzig and only make two station calls on route to Nurnbergb

ICE 3 trains are used for these ICE Sprinter departures - 'Sprinter' is the name that DB gives to a service and not the train.
*They should be marked with a grey 'S' symbol and refrered to as 'ICE-S' on the DB website, but that can be inconsistent.

Despite being faster, a premium ticket price is not typically applied to these 'Sprinter' services; though the limited numbers of discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets will inevitably sell out quickly.

Departing from Berlin:

Final Destination: Munchen

These trains also call at Berlin Sudkreuz

They also usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

Mon - Fri = 7 x trains per day
Sat/Sun = 6 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually

Seat reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Making a reservation is highly recommended if you want to remain in the same seat(s) for the entire journey from Berlin to Nurnberg.

Finding Tickets:

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €17.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Omio from €17.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

This is a scenically uninteresting journey, so what gives this journey its wow factor is its speed.

After departure from Halle the train will move on to the high speed line.
It will then spend around 80 minutes travelling at speeds of up to 290 km/h until it switches back to the conventional railway just to the north of Bamberg.

Option 2: the more frequent, but slower trains

Travel Information

Final Destination: Munchen

All of these trains also call at: Leipzig

Most of these trains also call at: Bamberg

Departing From Berlin:

These trains also usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

They also call at Berlin Sudkreuz - which is to the south of the city centre.

Connections are available at Berlin Sudkreuz from S-Bahn trains from the eastern and western edges of the city centre, as well as S-Bahn (local) trains from Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and Anhalter stations.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map

10 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually

Seat reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Making a reservation is highly recommended if you want to remain in the same seat(s) for the entire journey from Berlin to Nurnberg.

Finding Tickets:

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €17.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Happyrail from €17.90

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Omio from €17.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Saveatrain from €17.90

Saveatrain Guide

Saveatrain from €17.90

Saveatrain Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

Most of the departures by this route are by ICE 4 trains and if you want to travel with an ordinary bicycle you need to travel by these trains.

This is a scenically uninteresting journey, so what gives this journey its wow factor is its speed.

Around 10 minutes after departure from Leipzig, where the train will reverse direction, the train will move on to the high speed line.
It will then spend around 80 minutes travelling at speeds of up to 290 km/h until it switches back to the conventional railway just to the north of Bamberg.

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