München / Munich to Praha / Prague / Prag by train

How to travel from München/Munich to Praha/Prague/Prag by train

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.

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Routes

From München Hbf/Munich main station to Praha hl.n.

Travel Information

Trains now depart every other (even hours) with the final departure of the day scheduled for 16:44.
*The usual first train of the day does not depart on Sundays.

Final Destination: Praha hl.n

All trains also call at: Plzen, Praha-Smíchov

On arrival in Prag/Praha/Prague:

If you're heading to the city centre, leaving these trains at Praha-Smíchov station is usuallythe best option.
This station is located to the west of the city centre and is on line B of the Prague Metro; the metro station name is Smíchovské nádraží.

However, Praha h.l.n. is on the opposite side of the city centre and these trains take around 10 mins to travel across the city from Praha-Smíchov.
So if you connect to the Metro at Praha-Smíchov, you could be in the city centre by the time these trains have arrived at Praha hl.n.
Prague Metro line B calls at Můstek, the closest Metro station to the heart of the old town.

up to 7 x trains per day

Tickets

This train service has more quirks than most.

It has to be the longest international route between two major cities in Europe, on which the trains aren’t conventional express trains, but the ticketing is also an exception to the rule.

DB does not discount tickets for these trains (because they are not IC or EC express trains) - so they cost the same online as they do if booked at the station, just prior to hopping on board.

However, as DB Bahn does not offer discounted tickets for this journey, it can be (much) cheaper to book on the Czech national rail booking service, CD; we have published a  guide to booking tickets on the CD website.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
cd.cz *

cd.cz Guide

CD is the national rail operator in Czechia and its very smart online booking service sells tickets for all express train services which it operates within Czechia, as well international journeys by EC, Railjet, SuperCity and overnight trains.
Some express trains, both within and to/from Czechia are operated by LeoExpress and Regiojet and these cannot be booked with CD.

CD also sells international tickets involving changes of train outside of Czechia for end-to-end journeys:

  • to Belgium
  • destinations in Germany not served by direct trains
  • to Paris
  • to Arhus, Copenhagen and Odense in Denmark
  • to destinations in Italy served by the overnight trains from Austria
  • to Luxembourg
  • to destinations in the The Netherlands, including Amsterdam, which are on the route of the direct trains from Berlin
  • to destinations in Romania, including Bucuresti served by the direct day and night trains from Budapest.

In addition to tickets, seat reservations, reservations for bicycles, plus reservations for couchettes and sleeping cabins, can also be booked online with CD, with no booking fees.

DB Bahn from €36

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.

Omio from €36

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 - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

The trains used on this service are in effect German regional trains (operated by Alex) - which have their journeys extended over the border in to The Czech Republic.
They don't have the same ambience as long distance express trains.

Also take food/drink on board with you as no catering facilities are available on the train.

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