Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Nürnberg / Nuremberg by train

Final Destination: Munchen Hbf

All trains also call at: Frankfurt (Main) and Wurzburg

Note that these fastest trains from Koln/Cologne to Nurnberg depart from Köln Messe/Deutz station; located on the opposite bank of The Rhine to the city centre.
They don’t depart from the main city centre station, Köln Hbf.

These trains are following ICE route 41 which is designed to allow the fastest journeys from Essen and Dusseldorf to München/Munich.
Calling at Koln Hbf station would require a reversal and add around 15 mins to the journey time.

If you want to travel direct by train from Koln Hbf to Nurnberg you can take the alternative slower trains, which also happen to take a more scenic route through The Rhine Valley.

Book early and save: Yes

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

Finding tickets:

Enter Köln Messe/Deutz as the 'from' station on DB Bahn to purchase the tickets for this journey to Nurnberg.
Cut and paste this specific station name as you'll need to use the special character over the 'o'

These direct trains from Koln Messe/Deutz to Nurnberg have

• 0 in the Change column
• ICE (only ICE) in the Product column

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.

Opting to reserve is particularly recommended if you will be travelling at business hours and/or during the day on Fridays and Sundays.

Travelling from Koln Hbf station:

These ICE trains from Koln/Cologne to Nurnberg don't depart from the city's main station - Koln Hauptbahnhof.

But if you want to travel to Nurnberg from Koln Hauptbanhof faster than by the direct trains from that station, you can take a combination of 2 x ICE trains.
If you enter 'Köln hbf'' as the 'From' station on DB (cut and paste as you'll need to use the special charatcer over the 'o')  you will see multiple journeys options by ICE trains with 1 x change of train, normally at either Frankfurt (Main) hbf or Frankfurt Flughafen.

Our advice is to avoid gambling on these connections in Frankfurt and instead book tickets for this journey from Köln Messe/Deutz.
Then purchase tickets at Köln hbf' for the one stop journey to KölnMesse /Deutz station; and make the connection there into these trains to Nurnberg.

If you're at Köln Hbf 20 mins before the departure time of the train from Köln Messe /Deutz, you can virtually guarantee that you'll arrive in time at Koln Messe/Deutz to make the ICE train to Nurnberg.
Though making the connection at Koln Messe/Deutz will involve going down a staircase.

The first 3 x trains of the day are the ICE trains.

Final Destination: Wien or Munchen or Nurnberg or Passau

All trains also call at: Koblenz and Mainz

The journey is a delight, you can't miss the endless parade of boats travelling up and down the river and look out for the multitude of castles perched on top of the hills.

The alternative, faster ICE trains from Koln to Nurnberg, take a less scenic route, but they do use Germany's fastest high speed line between Seigburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Flughafgen.

But unlike these trains they don't depart from Koln Hbf station - instead they depart from the city's other main station, Koln Messe-Deutz.

Book early and save: Yes

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

The faster and more frequent direct trains to Nurnberg from Koln/Cologne depart from Koln Messe/Deutz station and NOT from the city’s main station, Koln Hbf.

These are the direct trains from Koln Hbf to Nurnberg - target these trains if:

• you want to travel city center to city center from Koln Hbf to Nurnberg Hbf without having to change trains;
• you want to see the stunning river valley views that can be seen from these trains.

Finding tickets:

If these trains are your preferred option - enter ‘Köln Hbf’ into the ‘from’ box when looking up schedules or prices.

There can be gaps of more than two hours between the departures of these direct trains - so they can be hard to spot amidst all the other journeys
(DB will also list the multitude of options that involve making a connection).

Use the earlier and later buttons if need be - and look for the trains that have:

• 0 in the changes column
• ICE or IC  in the Product column.

If you want to find the cheapest possible ticket enter ‘COLOGNE’ into the ‘From’ box when looking up schedules and prices.
These trains from Koln Hbf can be cheaper OR more expensive than the trains from Koln Messe/Deutz.

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.

Opting to reserve is particularly recommended on this route.