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München / Munich to Köln / Cologne / Koeln by train

How to travel from München / Munich to Köln / Cologne by train

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.

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Routes

Option 1: take the ICE trains to the main station in Koln/Cologne

Journey Summary

From
München / Munich
The main station building at Munchen Hbf
München Hbf/Munich main station Rail Station Guide
To
Köln / Cologne / Koeln
Köln/Cologne Hbf Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
4hr 35 min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Koln or Munster or Dortmund or Hannover

Most trains (after 07:30) also call at: Munchen-Passing (the trains on the alternative route don't call at this station)

10 - 11 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

If you want to take THESE  trains to Koln Hbf, then when looking up schedules or ticket prices enter ‘Köln Hbf’ into the ‘To’ box.

Do that, then on DB Bahn most of the journeys you will see involve making connections, (many of these options will be reaching Koln Hbf from the trains that only call at Koln Messe/Deutz).

These direct trains to Koln Hbf have:
- 0 in the changes column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Product column

If you enter ‘COLOGNE’ into the ‘To’ box when looking up schedules or ticket prices -you will also see the direct trains to Koln Messe/Deutz.

Seat Reservations:

Reservations are strongly recommended for train journeys from Munchen/Munch to Koln/Cologne, no matter which route you choose to travel by.

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn 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.

Finding a spare seat for the complete Munchen to Koln train journey is not guaranteed, particularly after midday on Fridays and Sundays.

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.

Saveatrain from €17.90

Saveatrain Guide

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.

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.

On this journey

Travelling On
An ICE 3 (406) train on a Bruxelles - Frankfurt service
ICE 3 (Germany) Train Guide
ICE 4 (Germany) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

These trains, which travel via Stuttgart, arrive at Koln Hbf, the city's main station

During the day they usually depart from Munich/Munchen every other hour - in the odd hours.

Most of the departures on this route are now by the new ICE 4 trains, if you want to take a non-folding bicycle, you need to target these trains.

This is a journey of six distinct phases

  1. Until Stuttgart the train will travel on a conventional railway and the most scenic part of this journey occurs to the north of Ulm, when the railway threads through some narrow valleys.
  2. The train will reverse direction on departure from Stuttgart and head on to the high speed line.
  3. For around 25 minutes the train will travel at more than 250 km/h until the outskirts of Mannheim.
  4. Between Mannheim and Frankfurt Flughafen the railway travels through a string of commuter towns.
  5. On departure from Frankfurt Flughafen comes the part of the journey with a wow factor, when the train spends around 40 minutes racing along the rollercoaster that is the high speed line to Siegburg/Bonn, at more than 280 km/h.
  6. After Siegburg/Bonn the final part of the journey is on a conventional railway.

Option 2: taking an ICE train to the alternative station in Koln/Cologne

Journey Summary

From
München / Munich
The main station building at Munchen Hbf
München Hbf/Munich main station Rail Station Guide
To
Köln / Cologne / Koeln
The part of Messe/Deutz station used by the ICE trains, those heading south depart from gleis 11
Köln Messe/Deutz Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
4hr 20 min - 4hr 35 min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Essen Or Dortmund

These trains, which travel via Nurnberg and Frankfurt (usually) arrive at Koln Messe/Deutz station.

up to 16 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

If you want to include these trains to Koln Messe/Deutz AND the alternative trains to Koln Hbf (when looking up schedules or ticket prices on the DB website, then enter ‘COLOGNE’ into the ‘To’ box.

Whether you enter 'Cologne' or Koln Hbf in the ‘To’ box, what you will also see is a multitude of options that involve taking more than one train from Munich to Cologne and making connections.

However, these direct trains have:
- 0 in the changes column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Product column

Seat Reservations:

Reservations are strongly recommended for train journeys from Munchen/Munch to Koln/Cologne, no matter which route you choose to travel by.
These trains link more major German cities than any other ICE train, so they’re invariably busy.

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB 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.

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.

Saveatrain from €17.90

Saveatrain Guide

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.

On this journey

Travelling On
An ICE 3 (406) train on a Bruxelles - Frankfurt service
ICE 3 (Germany) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

Despite the fact that these trains don’t call at Koln's main station (the hauptbahhof/hbf), they can be a good option for journeys by train from Munchen/Munich to Koln/Cologne.

For these reasons:

  • They’re more frequent (1 x train per hour during the day) than the trains to Koln Hbf
  • In even hours (usually) they’re the only trains from Munchen/Munich to Koln/Cologne.
  • It’s a straightforward, one station hop by local S-Bhan trains from Koln Messe/Deutz to Koln Hbf (though the connection isn't step-free), or a 10 – 20 min walk.
  • Many areas of central Koln/Cologne, including some of the Christmas markets, are on U-Bahn (Metro) lines from Koln Messe/Deutz that don’t call at Koln Hbf.
  • They’re (generally) 15 mins faster than the trains to Koln Hbf.
  • They can be cheaper than the trains to Koln Hbf (the most heavily discounted tickets tend to sell out faster on the trains to Koln Hbf).

This is a journey of nine distinct phases

  1. Until Ingolstadt the train will be travelling on a conventional railway through a series of commuter towns.
  2. In Ingolstadt station the train will move on to the high speed line and travel at more than 275 k/mh for around 40 minutes until it reaches the outskirts of Nurnberg
  3. Between Nurnberg and Wurzburg the train will be back on conventional tracks
  4. On departure from Wurzburg the train will be on the high speed line for less than 15 minutes, but there are some nice views as the train crosses some long viaducts; in particular look out for when the train will burst out of a tunnel and then immediately cross the River Main.
  5. Between there and Aschaffenburg comes the slowest, but most scenic part of the trip when the railway winds through some valleys.
  6. From there to Frankfurt the railway passes through a series of towns.
  7. The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) and then wind its way to the station at Frankfurt (Flughafen).
  8. On departure from there comes the part of the journey with a wow factor, when the train spends around 40 minutes racing along the rollercoaster that is the high speed line to Siegburg/Bonn, at more than 280 km/h.
  9. After Siegburg/Bonn the final part of the journey is on a conventional railway.

Option 3: through the night on an ICE train

Journey Summary

From
München / Munich
The main station building at Munchen Hbf
München Hbf/Munich main station Rail Station Guide
To
Köln / Cologne / Koeln
Köln/Cologne Hbf Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
7hr 5min (approx)
Frequency
Nightly
Travel Information

Final Destination: Dortmund (or Koln)

The train also calls at: Munchen-Passing and Seigburg/Bonn

1 x train per night

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

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

This train departs from Munchen Hbf nightly at 00:01 (1 min past midnight)

If you're happy to only have access to seats on a overnight journey from Munchen/Munich to Koln/Cologne, it is usually cheaper than travelling by the alternative Nightjet train

Though when comparing prices note that the initial price shown for Nightjet train will be for the ordinary seat; and not for places in its couchette berths or sleeping cabins.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €29

DB Bahn 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.

Trainline from €29

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Travelling On
An ICE 3 (406) train on a Bruxelles - Frankfurt service
ICE 3 (Germany) Train Guide

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

If the timings of the daytime ICE trains from Munich to Cologne don't meet your requirements an option is to travel overnight on this departure.

This train is usually scheduled to depart from Munchen Hbf nightly shortly after midnight and is scheduled to arrive in Koln/Cologne at 07:05.
It is (much) slower than the daytime trains because it makes more station calls; it is 21 stops from Munich to Cologne if you take this train.

This is an ordinary daytime ICE train that happens to run overnight.
It does not have any couchette sleeping berths or sleeping cabins.

But if you would rather travel in a bed or a bunk on an overnight train journey from Munchen to Koln, then you'll pleased to know that you can take the Nightjet train instead.

Option 4: Travel overnight in sleeping cabins and couchettes

Journey Summary

From
München / Munich
The main station building at Munchen Hbf
München Hbf/Munich main station Rail Station Guide
To
Köln / Cologne / Koeln
Köln/Cologne Hbf Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
8hr 1min
Frequency
Nightly
Travel Information

Final Destination: Amsterdam or Dusseldorf

This train also calls at: Koblenz
This train does not call at Bonn.

This train is usually scheduled to depart from Munchen Hbf at 22:50 and arrive in Köln Hbf before 07:00

1 x train per night

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

Despite the trains on this route travelling between two German cities and not through Austria, these trains are provided by Austria's national rail operator, OBB.
The train will have commenced its journey in Innsbruck.

Look for train which is usually scheduled to depart from Munchen Hbf at 22:50.

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

Click the train button below* for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:

Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains and these reservations can be booked on the OBB website

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
OBB *

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

DB Bahn *

DB Bahn 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.

On this journey

Travelling On
A Nightjet train to Roma awaits departure at Wien Hbf
OBB Nightjet (international) Train Guide

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

If you want to travel in a bunk in a couchette or a bed in a sleeping cabin, then this train is the only option for making an overnight train journey from Munich to Cologne.

If you'd be happy to travel in a seat on a overnight Munchen/Munich to Koln/Cologne train journey, then a faster and usually cheaper alternative is to take the nightly ICE train.

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