
Germany By Train
Germany is filled with interesting destinations, like the dynamic capital Berlin, the enchanting Neuschwanstein Castle or major cities like Cologne, Hamburg, or Munich. You can also explore the dense forests, mountainous regions, river valleys, or sea coast. In short – Germany has it all.
Train types in Germany
The German railways are run by Deutsche Bahn. You can check train times on the Eurail train timetable or on the DB website.
- Route map
- Domestic trains
- International trains
- Night trains
- Scenic trains
- Private

Your Eurail Pass can also be used on several railway companies in Germany.
Regional and intercity trains in Germany
S-Bahn
Suburban trains that run within most major cities.
No reservations required.
Regional Express (RE)
Connections between regional towns and larger cities. Frequent stops.
No reservations required.
Regional Bahn (RB)
Connections across all local towns. Slower than Regional Express trains.
No reservations required.
Interregio-Express (IRE)
Connections between Germany’s regions.
No reservations required.
InterCity and Eurocity (Express) (IC, EC, and ECE)
Domestic and international connections between major cities. Frequent stops.
No reservations required.
High-speed trains in Germany
InterCity Express (ICE)
Connects major cities and travels at speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph).
Includes an on-board restaurant.
1st class may have extra benefits, like newspapers and power sockets.
Reservations optional (but recommended during busy periods).
- Frankfurt/Munich/Stuttgart/Freiburg to France.
- Reservations optional for trips within Germany.
- Reservations required for trips to France.
International high-speed trains in Germany
- Frankfurt – Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam/Zurich
- Stuttgart - Paris.
- Hamburg - Zurich
- Dortmund - Vienna
- Reservations for Frankfurt-Amsterdam are compulsory during summer season (June 17th till August 18th)
- Reservations for Frankfurt-Paris are compulsory all year round
- Frankfurt – Paris/Marseille
- Munich/Stuttgart/Freiburg - Paris
- Frankfurt – Bordeaux. Running on Saturdays 08 July – 26 August
- Freiburg – Bordeaux. Running on Saturdays 01 April – 02 September
- Reservations optional for trips within Germany
- Reservations required for trips to France
- Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Brussels – Paris
- Reservations are compulsory
- Operated by red coloured former Thalys trains
- Munich – Salzburg/Vienna/Budapest
- Reservations are mostly optional, and compulsory when travelling to Hungary.
International conventional trains in Germany
EuroCity Express (ECE)
- Munich - Zurich
- Frankfurt - Milan
EuroCity (EC)
- Hamburg – Zurich/Interlaken
- Bochum - Klagenfurt
- Hamburg/Berlin - Prague - Budapest
- Berlin – Gdynia/Warsaw
- Berlin – Wroclaw – Krakow – Przemysl
- Frankfurt – Munich – Salzburg – Ljubljana - Zagreb
- Reservations are optional.
- Munich to Venice, Verona and Bologna (Italy)
- Mandatory supplement if you are travelling to/from/within Italy. You can purchase it before boarding, but you can also do so on board of the train (for a €5 fee).
- 1st class: €15
- 2nd class: €10
InterCity (IC)
- Hamburg – Copenhagen/Aarhus
- Berlin - Amsterdam
- Hamburg - Zurich (part of the NightJet)
- Amsterdam - Cologne - Frankfurt – Zurich (part of the NightJet)
- Stuttgart - Zurich
Train stations of bordering countries
With a Eurail pass valid in Germany you can travel to the following train stations of countries that border Germany:
Basel (Switzerland)
Salzburg (Austria)
Domestic night trains in Germany
ÖBB Nightjet (these trains continue or/and start abroad)
- Düsseldorf - Cologne - Frankfurt – Nürnberg - Munich
- Düsseldorf – Cologne – Frankfurt – Nürnberg - Passau
- Hamburg – Hannover - Frankfurt – Freiburg – Basel
- Berlin – Leipzig - Frankfurt – Freiburg - Basel
- Dresden – Leipzig – Frankfurt – Freiburg – Basel
International night trains in Germany
- Berlin - Hamburg – Copenhagen Örestad – Malmö – Stockholm
SJ Euronight (EN)
- Berlin (from 31 March) - Hamburg - Copenhagen Airport - Malmö - Stockholm
ÖBB NightJet (NJ and EN)
- Munich - Florence – Rome (not between 10 June – 9 September)
- Munich – Bologna – Ancona (10 June – 9 September)
- Munich - Verona – Milano – Genoa - La Spezia
- Stuttgart - Munich - Udine – Venice
- Hamburg - Basel - Zürich
- Hamburg - Linz - Vienna
- Hamburg - Munich - Innsbruck
- Hamburg - Nuremberg - Vienna
- Amsterdam/Brussels - Düsseldorf - Linz - Vienna
- Amsterdam - Düsseldorf - Cologne – Innsbruck
- Amsterdam – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Basel – Zürich
- Paris – Munich - Vienna
- Berlin - Wroclaw - Bratislava - Budapest
- Berlin - Wroclaw – Vienna – Graz
- Prague/Berlin – Leipzig – Basel - Zürich
- Stuttgart - Munich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest
EuroNight Lisinski (EN)
- Stuttgart - Munich - Ljubljana – Zagreb
EuroNight Opatija (EN)
- Stuttgart - Munich - Opatija - Rijeka
European Sleeper (ESL)
- Berlin – Amsterdam – Rotterdam – Den Haag – Antwerp – Brussels
Scenic train routes in Germany
- Offenburg to Konstanz, through the Black Forest and small villages.
- Koblenz to Mainz, through the German wine country.
Elbe Valley Line
- Dresden to Czechia, along the Elbe river in Saxon Switzerland.
Neckar Valley Line
- Stuttgart to Heidelberg, along the picturesque Neckar river.
Mosel Valley Line
- Koblenz to Trier, small towns and wine along the Mosel river.
Private railway companies in Germany
Your Eurail Pass can also be used on several railway companies in Germany.
Popular connections
- Domestic routes
- International routes
- Ferry routes
In Germany it's not mandatory to have a seat reservation on the ICE trains. However, we recommend you to buy a seat reservation, especially if you're traveling in a group. This way you can not be asked to leave a seat, which might happen if you don't have a reservation. We'll explain more about reservations in Germany a bit further down on this page.
View approximate train travel times between Germany's key cities with high-speed ICE trains.
Route | ICE |
---|---|
Berlin to Cologne | 4h 30m |
Berlin to Frankfurt | 4h |
Berlin to Hamburg | 2h |
Berlin to Munich | 4h 30m |
Frankfurt to Cologne | 1h |
Frankfurt to Munich | 3h 30m |
Hamburg to Cologne | 4h |
Hamburg to Frankfurt | 4h |
Hamburg to Munich | 6h |
Munich to Cologne | 4h 30m |
Route | Which train? | Travel time | Reservations |
---|---|---|---|
Berlin to Amsterdam (Netherlands) | InterCity | 6h 20m | Optional |
Berlin to Prague (Czechia) | EuroCity | 4h 30m | Optional |
Berlin to Warsaw (Poland) | Berlin-Warsaw Express | 5h 30m | Required |
Berlin to Zurich (Switzerland) | ÖBB Nightjet | 12h 15m (overnight) | Required |
Dresden to Wroclaw (Poland) | trilex regional train | 4h | Not required |
Düsseldorf / Frankfurt to Amsterdam (Netherlands) | ICE | 2h 15m / 3h 55m | Optional (Required June 17th till August 18th) |
Frankfurt to Brussels (Belgium) | ICE | 3h 05m | Optional |
Frankfurt to Paris (France) | TGV / ICE | 3h 55m | Required |
Hamburg to Zurich (Switzerland) | ICE / ÖBB Nightjet | 7h 35m / 10h 55m (overnight) | Optional / Required |
Hamburg to Aarhus (Denmark) | IC train | 4h 26m | Required from June 17th until August 21st |
Hamburg to Copenhagen (Denmark) | IC train | 4h 40m | Required from June 17th until August 21st |
Munich to Innsbruck (Austria) | EuroCityBrenner | 1h 45m | Recommended, supplement required |
Munich to Paris (France) | TGV | 5h 40m | Required |
Munich to Rome (Italy) | ÖBB Nightjet | 11h 30m (overnight) | Required |
Munich to Venice (Italy) | EuroCityBrenner / ÖBB Nightjet | 6h 50m / 8h 40m (overnight) | Recommended / Required |
Munich to Vienna (Austria) | RailJet | 4h 10m | Optional |
Stuttgart to Zagreb (Croatia) | EuroCity / EuroNight | 10h 45m / 14h 10m (overnight) | Required |
Stuttgart to Budapest (Hungary) | EuroNight | 12h 50m (overnight) | Required |
Berlin – Stockholm | EuroNight / Snälltåget | 15h 20m / 17h 15m (overnight) | Required |
Berlin – Budapest (Hungary) | EuroCity / EuroNight | 11h 30m / 13h 30m (overnight) | Required |
Frankfurt – Milan (Italy) | EuroCity Express | 7h 45m | Recommended |
Berlin to Brussels (Belgium) via Amsterdam (Netherlands) |
European Sleeper | 11h 30m (overnight) | Required |
Dortmund / Cologne to Paris (France) | Eurostar | 5h 10m / 3h 20m | Required |
International ferry connections to and from Germany
You can also travel to and from Germany by ferry. Get a discount on specific routes with a Eurail pass.
Finland – Germany
Sail with Finnlines from Rostock or Travemünde to Helsinki (Finland). Get a 30% discount with Eurail passes.Poland – Germany
Sail from Rostock to Gdynia with Finnlines and get 30% off with Eurail passes.Sweden – Germany
Travel from Travemünde to Malmö (Sweden) with Finnlines. Get a 20% discount with Eurail passes.
Reservations
Eurail reservation self-service system
- Eurail
- IC, EC, ECE, ICE, TGV, RailJet, Eurostar, Nightjet, EuroNight
Administration costs when booking through Eurail self-service
- € 2,- p.p.per train
- Additional € 9,- per order (for paper tickets)
With railway carriers
- DB (German railways): Domestic and international trains
- IC, EC, ICE, RailJet
- ÖBB (Austrian railways): Domestic and international trains
- RailJet, IC, EC, ICE, Nightjet, EuroNight
- ČD (Czech railways): Domestic and international trains
- RailJet, IC, EC, ICE, Nightjet, EuroNight
- RailJet, IC, EC, ICE, Nightjet, EuroNight
- DSB (via b-europe): Domestic and international trains
- IC, EC, ICE, RailJet
- Westbahn (Private Railway): Only international Westbahn trains
- SNCB (b-europe): Only Eurostar trains
- Snälltaget: Only Berlin – Stockholm night train
- SJ (Swedish Railways): Only Berlin – Stockholm Euro Night
- European Sleeper: Only European Sleeper trains, international
By calling Deutsche Bahn
- By clicking the link above you'll find yourself on the DB contact page. There are phone numbers for English, French, Danish, Italian, Dutch or German speaking customer service representatives.
An explanation of how each booking platform works can be found here: How do I book my reservations
Locally at the train station in Germany
- Domestic journeys only – At the DB ticket machines at the station
Good to Know
Which trains in Germany require reservations?
No reservations: Regional (RE, RB, IR).
Optional (but recommended during busy periods): InterCity (IC) / ICE / EuroCity (EC) / ECE (Eurocity Express). €4,50 2nd class and €5,90 1st class.
- Required: All night trains, fees depend on destination and type of seat/bed booked.
- Required: ICE trains from and to Amsterdam in the summer season (€4,50 from 17 June until 18 August).
- Required: IC trains from and to Denmark in the summer season (€4,50 from 17 June until 21 August).
Required: Supplement Eurocity (EC) trains to/from/within Italy. Optional for routes that don't start, end or run through Italy.
The ICE Paris-Frankfurt train has a limited amount of seats for Eurail Pass Holders. Our advice is to book this train well in advance, especially if you plan to travel in high season (May to September).
Eurostar trains are popular and therefore, usually sell out quickly. Make sure to get your seat reservation in time. Alternatively, find trains without seat reservations in our timetable by toggling on the ‘no reservation needed’ button.
Get your Pass for Germany
German Rail Pass
Germany is not available as a Eurail One Country Pass.
If you only want to travel in Germany, check out the German Rail Pass.
Standard prices from $ 167
Global Pass
Be free to visit Germany along with the other 32 Eurail countries.
Standard prices from $ 211
Tips and tricks for Germany
Quick facts
Capital: Berlin
Population: 81.1 million
Language: German
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Dialing code: +49
Spelling of city names
On German train timetables and at train stations in Germany, you'll usually find the local spelling of German cities and stations.
Here is the local spelling of some popular German cities:
Hannover = Hanover
Cologne = Köln
Munich = München
Nuremberg = Nürnberg
German hub stations
Germany's main hub stations are Berlin Hbf, Köln Hbf (Cologne), München Hbf (Munich) and Frankfurt Hbf. At these train stations, it's possible to connect to trains to Germany's main cities and many international destinations.
Station facilities
Stations in Germany usually have excellent facilities, often including:
Luggage lockers
Foreign exchange desks
Restaurants and cafés
Tourist information offices
ATM cash machines
Elevators and escalators
Access for disabled passengers
Get around with the S-Bahn
Eurail Pass holders can travel for free on the S-Bahn (suburban metro railways) networks that DB operates in major German cities. The S-Bahn can be recognized by its logo (a white S on a green background).
Ferry buses to and from Germany
Free bus travel (reservation only) is an extra benefit of the German Rail Pass. Travel from Germany to Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and many more countries.
Get inspired
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1 week in Germany Thanks to a stellar rail network, 1 week in Germany will give you enough time to explore its beautiful regions and fascinating cities! Travel Germany by train with our convenient Eurail pass.
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Berlin The city of Berlin is a wonderland mixed with history, culture and extraordinary landmarks. With the Eurail Pass, you can travel to the city of Berlin by train and see what Berlin has to offer. Don't miss out! Book your train ticket now #eurailberlin
Change of currency
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