Related Content
Content
Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Nürnberg / Nuremberg by train
How to take the rail journey from Cologne/Köln to Nuremberg/Nürnberg
There are two very different routes taken by direct trains from Cologne/Köln to Nuremberg/Nürnberg.
- The faster ICE trains which use the high speed line between Cologne and Frankfurt, depart from Koln Messe/Deutz station and not the city center station, Koln Hbf
- The slower trains do depart from Koln Hbf and they take the more scenic route between Cologne and Frankfurt.
Share
Routes
Option 1: departing from Koln Messe/Deutz station on the regular ICE trains
Journey Summary
3hr 15min - 3hr 25 min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
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.
1 x train per hour
Tickets
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.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €17.90 | |
| Omio | from €17.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €17.90 | |
| Happyrail | from €17.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
These trains reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
This is a journey of five distinct phases:
- Until Siegburg/Bonn the first part of the journey is on a conventional railway.
- On departure from Siegburg/Bonn 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 Frankfurt Flughafen, at more than 280 km/h.
Option 3: departing from Köln Hbf
Journey Summary
4hr 34 min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
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.
6 x trains per day
Tickets
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.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €19.90 | |
| Trainline | from €19 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
These trains reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
Sit on the left on the train (when facing the direction of travel), the train will initially head north before looping around the city to reach the west bank of the River Rhine.
You can then see the stunning views of the Upper Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Bingen.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main)** and then after Aschaffenburg another scenic part of the trip when the railway winds through the valleys.
North of Wurzburg the train will be on a high speed line for less than 15 minutes, but there are some nice views as the train crosses some long viaducts between more long tunnels.
Option 2: departing from Koln Messe/Deutz on a Sprinter service:
Journey Summary
2hr 48min
Daily
Travel Information
These trains will typically depart Koln Messe/Deutz at 06:27 (not Sat/Sun) and 16:27 daily.
Final Destination: Munchen Hbf
Monday to Friday: 2 x trains per day
Sat/Sun: 1 x train per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually
Though what's unusual about these 'Sprinter' services is that if you book more than around 4 months ahead, you may see 'no special deals' available' on the DB website; with prices more than €100.
However, for journeys less than around 4 months ahead, you should find the €17.90 fee on some departures.
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.
Finding Tickets:
When making an online booking, if you want to target these 'Sprinter' services, target the usual departure times of at 06:27 (not Sat/Sun) and 16:27; these trains aren't typically more expensive than the slower, regular ICE trains (when you don't see 'no special deals' listed against a departure).
On the DB booking site look for journeys that have
0 in the Chg. column
ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB | from €17.90 | |
| Omio | from €17.90 | |
| Saveatrain | from €17.90 | |
| Happyrail | from €17.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
These trains take a similar route to the other ICE trains which head to Nurnberg from Messe/Deutz station, but aside from their fewer station calls, what makes them faster is that they don't divert off the direct route to call at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf; hence they don't reverse during the journey.
This is a journey of five distinct phases:
- Until Siegburg/Bonn the first part of the journey is on a conventional railway.
- On departure from Siegburg/Bonn 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 Frankfurt Flughafen, at more than 280 km/h.
Newsletter
Sign up to receive the latest travel news stories and to hear about what we've been working on for you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
