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Berlin to Zürich / Zurich by train
How to travel from Berlin to Zurich by train
The only direct train from Berlin to Zurich is the Nightjet service, but there are two options for making the journey by day with only one connection.
The fastest and easiest of which is travel via Basel, the tick in the box for this route as there a minimum of two trains per hour from Basel to Zurich and tickets will be valid on any onward train.
The other route with one connection involves travelling via Munich, but it is typically an hour longer, which is why it hasn't been included below.
But if you can find an exceptionally cheap price on the route via Munich then book it.
The journey from Munich on to Zurich is also more scenic than the route via Basel.
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Routes
Option 1: travel direct on an overnight train
Journey Summary
11hr 58min
Nightly
Travel Information
This train is usually scheduled to depart from the upper level (tief) in Berlin Hbf nightly between 20:30 and 21:30,
Final Destination: Zurich - the train is usually scheduled to arrive there at 09:42.
This train is also scheduled to depart from Berlin Ostbanhof at 20:56. and unlike the daytime trains from Berlin to Basel, it also departs from Berlin Zoologischer Garten, the main station in West Berlin.
1 x train per night
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
Using rail passes:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website, but you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).
Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
Or you can avoid the booking fees by arranging the reservations when you arrive in Germany, by purchasing them at a Reisezentrum travel desk, which you will find in any hauptbahnhof.
Though it's best to do this at the first hauptbahnhof (city centre station) that you will arrive at, the later you leave booking your accommodation, the more likely it is that your preferences will be sold out.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * | |
| DB Bahn | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Option 2: travel during the day and connect in Basel
Journey Summary
8hr 30min
Daily
Travel Information
There are no direct daytime trains between Berlin and Zurich.
Look up this journey and you will see a multitude of options, but this routing, with a change of train at Basel SBB station, has the big advantage that tickets will be valid on any train on to Zurich from Basel.
So there won't be any actions required if the train from Berlin arrives in Basel SBB station too late to make the optimum 22min connection into the train on to Zurich.
There are minimum of two express trains per hour from Basel to Zurich.
5 - 6 x optimum connections per day
Change trains in: Basel
Tickets
Book in advance and save: YES
Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
On the DB (German) national railways booking site look for the journeys which have:
- a journey time of 8hr 30mins
- a '1' in the chg. column
- 'ICE' in the Product column
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €34.90 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Departing from Berlin:
Final Destination: Basel SBB or Interlaken Ost.
These trains commence their journey at Berlin Ostbanhof and they usually depart from the upper level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.
*If your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio or S-Bahn train from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Berlin-Spandau station and join these trains to Basel there.
It's an interesting rather than beautiful train journey from Berlin to Basel, but it does give straightforward access to Switzerland, when travelling from the German capital.
So you won't be missing out on wonderful travel experience if you opt to take the night train instead of these daytime trains.
The train will travel on no less than three high speed lines during the course of its journey and during these sections of the trip the speeds should reach more than 250 km, but most of the journey is on conventional railway lines.
It is a journey of seven distinct phases:
- One of the highlights of the journey comes right at the beginning of the trip when the train travels on a viaduct across Berlin with great views over the city centre
- Then between Berlin-Spandau until around 10 mins before arrival in Braunschweig the train will be on a high speed line across dull farmland.
- Shortly after Hildeshiem until Fulda, the train will make use of Germany's first high speed line; this is the part of the journey with a wow factor as the trains will travel across dozens of viaducts and bridges, which occur as flashes between numerous tunnels.
- The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
- Between Frankfurt (Main) and Karlrsruhe the train will race through a string of towns.
- Then from Karlsruhe to Offenburg a high speed line has been constructed right beside the conventional route, which will be on the left.
- From Offenburg to the suburbs of Basel, the railway travels through a rolling landscape.
Train 2
Good to Know
Final Destination: Zurich or Chur
The DAYTIME train service between Basel and Zurich is unusual because along with the Swiss IC trains, OTHER international trains share this route.
Those international trains include EC trains from various cities in Germany, ICE trains from Hamburg and TGV/Lyria trains from Paris.
Those international trains tend to be incorporated into the regular timetable, so an ICE or Lyria train takes the place of the usual Swiss IC train
What's also unusual is that it doesn't particularly matter what of these trains you travel by, the ticketing terms and conditions are generally the same - reservations aren't compulsory on the Lyria services when travelling between Basel and Zurich.
By Swiss standards the journey between Basel and Zurich is unexceptional, but there are some fleeting views over the landscape to be enjoyed, which anywhere else in Europe would be exceptional; particularly around 20 minutes into the journey when the train has passed through Sissach.
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