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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
![Germany map major rail connections](/content/dam/maps/Germany map major rail connections.adaptive.767.1660049502571.png)
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 trains in Germany
All long-distance trains to/from Germany will be subject to mandatory reservations from June 1 to September 1 (except trains via Basel and Schaffhausen)
All international ICE’s will be subject to mandatory reservations from June 1st until September 1st (except trains via Basel).
- Frankfurt – Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam/Zurich
- Stuttgart – Paris
- Hamburg – Zurich
- Dortmund/Berlin – Vienna
- Berlin – Innsbruck
- Frankfurt – Amsterdam
- Frankfurt – Brussels
- Frankfurt – Paris
- 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 compulsory for trips to France
- Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Brussels – Paris
- Reservations are compulsory
- Read more about special booking conditions on our dedicated Eurostar page
- Operated by red coloured former Thalys trains
- Munich – Salzburg/Vienna/Budapest
Eurocity/Railjet Brenner
- Munich – Innsbruck – Verona/Bologna/Venice
- 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
EuroCity Express (ECE)
- Munich – Zurich
- Frankfurt – Milan
EuroCity (EC)
- Hamburg – Zurich/Interlaken
- Bochum – Klagenfurt
- Rostock/Hamburg/Berlin – Prague – Budapest
- Berlin – Gdynia/Warsaw (Reservations compulsory)
- Berlin – Wroclaw – Krakow – Przemysl (Reservations compulsory)
- Frankfurt – Munich – Salzburg – Ljubljana – Zagreb
- 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
- 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/Passau
- Hamburg – Hannover – Nürnberg – Munich/Passau
- Hamburg – Hannover – Frankfurt – Freiburg – Basel
- Berlin – Leipzig – Frankfurt – Freiburg – Basel
- Dresden – Leipzig – Frankfurt – Freiburg – Basel
International night trains in Germany
- (Dresden –) Berlin – Hamburg – Copenhagen Örestad – Malmö – Stockholm
SJ Euronight (EN)
- Berlin – Hamburg – Copenhagen Airport – Malmö – Stockholm
ÖBB NightJet (NJ and EN)
- Munich – Florence – Rome
- Munich – Verona – Milano – Genoa - La Spezia
- Stuttgart – Munich – Udine – Venice
- Hamburg – Basel – Zürich
- Hamburg – Linz – Vienna
- Hamburg – Munich – Innsbruck
- Hamburg – Nuremberg – Vienna
- Amsterdam – Düsseldorf – Linz – Vienna
- Amsterdam – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Innsbruck
- Amsterdam – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Basel – Zürich
- Vienna – Munich – Paris/Brussels
- Berlin – Halle – Erfurt –Paris/Brussels
- Prague/Berlin – Leipzig – Basel – Zürich
EuroNight Metropol (EN)
- Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Bratislava – Budapest
EuroNight Chopin (EN)
- Munich – Salzburg – Vienna – Krakow – Warsaw
- Stuttgart – Munich – Salzburg – Vienna – Budapest
EuroNight Lisinski (EN)
- Stuttgart – Munich – Ljubljana – Zagreb
EuroNight Opatija (EN)
- Stuttgart – Munich – Opatija – Rijeka
European Sleeper (ESL)
- Prague – Dresden – Berlin – Amsterdam – Rotterdam – Den Haag – Antwerp – Brussels
- Prague and Dresden from 25th March
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
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 (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
Berlin to Prague (Czechia) | EuroCity | 4h 30m | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
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 1 June to 1 September) |
Frankfurt to Brussels (Belgium) | ICE | 3h 05m | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
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 Copenhagen (Denmark) | IC train | 4h 40m | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
Munich to Innsbruck (Austria) | EuroCity / Railjet Brenner | 1h 45m | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September); Supplement required |
Munich to Paris (France) | TGV | 5h 40m | Required |
Munich to Rome (Italy) | ÖBB Nightjet | 11h 30m (overnight) | Required |
Munich to Venice (Italy) | EuroCity / Railjet Brenner / ÖBB Nightjet | 6h 50m / 8h 40m (overnight) | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) / Required |
Munich to Vienna (Austria) | RailJet | 4h 10m | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
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 | Optional (Required 1 June to 1 September) |
Dresden – Berlin to Brussels (Belgium) via Amsterdam (Netherlands) |
European Sleeper | 11h 30m (overnight) | Required |
Dortmund / Cologne to Paris (France) | Eurostar | 5h 10m / 3h 20m | Required |
Berlin to Paris (France) | ÖBB Nightjet | 14h | Required |
Reservations
Eurail reservation self-service system
- Eurail
- IC, EC, ECE, ICE, TGV, RailJet, Eurostar, Nightjet, EuroNight, European Sleeper
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
- Toggle on ‘Book seat only’ for most trains
- Leave ‘Book seat only’ switched off for:
- ICE and TGV to France
- ‘Brenner’ EC/Railjet direct trains to Italy
- 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
- SNCB (b-europe): Only international trains
- Eurostar, TGV to France, European sleeper and some Nightjet trains
- Westbahn (Private Railway): Only international Westbahn trains
- Snälltåget:
- Berlin – Copenhagen – Stockholm night train
- Also bookable by phone through Snälltåget's Customer Service
- SJ (Swedish Railways): Only Berlin – Stockholm Euro Night
- European Sleeper: Only European Sleeper trains, international
- ÖBB Nightjet: Only Nightjet and some Euro Night trains
Other platforms
- Rail Europe
- ICE to France, Eurostar, and TGV
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
- 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 highly recommended during busy periods): InterCity (IC) / ICE / EuroCity (EC) / ECE (Eurocity Express). €5,20 2nd class and €6,50 1st class.
- Required: All international IC, EC, and ICE trains to and from Germany during summer season (June 1st until September 1st).
- Exception: To Switzerland, only trains Munich-Zurich have mandatory reservations.
- Required: All night trains, fees depend on destination and type of seat/bed booked.
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 $ 187
Global Pass
Be free to visit Germany along with the other 32 Eurail countries.
Standard prices from $ 233
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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