How to take the rail journey from London to Munich/München

Travelling on Monday to Friday and Sunday

The Eurostar which typically departs London at around 10:30, is due into Paris a little over two hours before the one direct train of the day from the city to München/Munich is usually scheduled to depart.
Time enough to make an easy transfer, and have something to eat/drink in or near the Gare de l'Est.

Travelling on Saturday

The daily train from Paris to München/Munich is usually scheduled to depart two hours later on Saturdays.
So leaving London by the Eurostar, which typically departs at around 12:30 on that day of the week, allows around two hours to make the transfer between stations in the French capital.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

In Paris:

The Eurostar from London will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the train on to Munchen will depart from the Gare de L'Est.

This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations.

On Monday to Friday and Sunday a train heading to Frankfurt (Main) departs Paris Est around 35mins before the direct train leaves for München / Munich.
That train to Frankfurt (Main) calls in Karlsruhe, where there is usually a 10 min transfer available into a train on to München / Munich - though making this connection is very much not guaranteed.
This matters because the ticket agents can list this journey option with this second connection in Karlsruhe, but not the journey option which involves taking the direct train from Paris
It's because the journey time, when making the additional connection is faster - but if the tightly connection is missed in Karlsruhe, you will then be boarding the train on to München / Munich, which will have travelled from Paris.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Eurostar ticket terms summary:

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
'However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier (such as the TGV train on from Paris) including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

But SNCF, which operates the train on to Munich, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.

So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Munich to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at the Gare de l'Est.
*= But that new E.U legislation specifically states that in exceptional circumstances, the train operators do not need to issue replacement tickets - and the terms and conditions on the SNCF Connect website reiterate this.
These exceptional circumstances specifically stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament include:

• extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises...
• ...the behaviour of a third party... such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities or sabotage.

For an earlier arrival into München/Munich than when following Option 1, you will need to make connections between trains in both Paris and Stuttgart.
When departing London at around 06:00, which is an option on Monday to Friday, the arrival time in München Hbf will be before 17:00 - if all the connections are made as per the schedule.
This will be in time to make connections on to a swathe of destinations including Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg, Villach and Wien / Vienna - and into the Nightjet train on Rome and Venice.

When departing London at around 09:30 the arrival time in München Hbf will be before 19:30 - which will also be before the Nightjet train on to Italy will typically be due to depart, but it only allows for around 40mins of contingency time in the event of delays.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

In Paris:

The Eurostar from London will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the train on to Stuttgart will depart from the Gare de L'Est.

This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations.

In Stuttgart:

The time in Stuttgart between the arrival of the train from Paris and the departure of the subsequent express train on to München / Munich will typically be between 11 and 25min.
Making the transfer simply involves walking from train to another via the concourse at the end of the platforms / tracks - so if the train from Paris is running a little late, move towards the front of the train prior to arrival.

The ticket agents can sell two journey options departing at the same time from London, but with different arrival times into München Hbf - one will involve making the 11min connection between trains in Stuttgart and the other will have the 24 min connection.
The two journey options will involve taking the same train on from Paris, so ShowMeTheJourney's suggestion is to book the journeys with the 11min connection - particularly as reservations are optional on the train on from Stuttgart.
If the train from Paris is delayed by around 10mins, you'll be able to hop on that later train from Stuttgart.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for the Eurostar and the train on from Paris, as reservations are mandatory on both of these trains.
Seat reservations are optional on the train on from Stuttgart - but, because of this you can simply hop on the next subsequent train on to Munchen, in the event of a delayed arrival from Paris.
If need be, seat reservations on the train on to Munchen can be transferred free of charge at the Reisezentrum travel desk in Stuttgart Hbf - but because of the construction work at the station, it is some distance away from the part of the station that the trains use.

Eurostar ticket terms summary:

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
'However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier (such as the TGV train on from Paris) including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

But SNCF, which operates the train on to Stuttgart, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.

So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Munich to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at the Gare de l'Est.
*= But that new E.U legislation specifically states that in exceptional circumstances, the train operators do not need to issue replacement tickets - and the terms and conditions on the SNCF Connect website reiterate this.
These exceptional circumstances specifically stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament include:

• extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises...
• ...the behaviour of a third party... such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities or sabotage.

The potentially awkward transfer between the two stations in Paris can be avoided on this route via Bruxelles and Frankfurt (Main)
Though the connections with the fastest end to end journey times only allow around 20 minutes to make the necessary changes of train in both stations. (There are no direct daytime trains between Bruxelles and Munchen/Munich).

So ideal if the trains are on time - and Frankfurt (Main) Hbf is an exceptionally easy large station in which to make a transfer between trains.
However, only a slight delay is going to create race against the clock scenarios!
These comparatively tightly timed connections between trains are a factor when departing London daily at around 09:00; 11:00 and 13:00.
Though if delay were to a result in a missed connections in Bruxelles or Frankfurt, any tickets/reservations booked as an end-to-end journey can be transferred to the next departure(s).
Though try to avoid departing London at around 13:00, because being in München/Munich by the end of the day, will then be dependent on making a 20 min connection in Bruxelles.

However, if you can depart London at around 06:15, which is an option on Monday to Friday, the connecting time in Bruxelles between trains will be more than an hour.

More information about making the connection in Bruxelles/Brussels - and what to do if you if the Eurostar does arrive too late, is available on our changing trains at Bruxelles-Midi station guide.

A good option for rail pass users:

If you'll be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass you won't have to make reservations on the ICE trains used for the Bruxelles to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to München sections of the journey.
So this routing is cheaper than travelling via Paris.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Eurostar's online booking service does not sell tickets for this journey.

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here .

ICE trains ticket terms summary:

• Super Sparpreis Europa / Super Saver Fare Europe tickets: cannot be exchanged or refunded.
• Sparpreis Europa / Saver Fare Europe: these tickets can be 'refunded; up until the day of departure for admin of €10. The refund will be in the form of a voucher, matching the value of the price paid.
  So in effect these tickets can be exchanged for a fee of €10 and the difference in price will need to be paid.
• Flexible tickets can be refunded free of charge with payment returned, but after the travel date a €19 admin fee is applied.
  So in effect if you want to 'exchange' flexible tickets, you can use the cost you originally paid towards the cost of a re-booking, but the new price will likely be higher.

Seat Reservations:

Seat reservations on the ICE trains are an additional cost unless you book the most expensive type of ticket.

What if you miss a booked connection in Bruxelles:

Eurostar classifies end-to-end journeys involving Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains as 'through tickets', but it classifies journeys involving Eurostar + ICE trains as being booked as a ticketing bundle.
There are relatively new E.U. 'rules' protecting against financial loss in the event of a delay, but they only apply to 'through tickets'.

But DB which operates the ICE trains on to Frankfurt, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.

So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Munich to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at Bruxelles-Midi
However, the AJC does not cover the cost of any overnight accommodation which will need to be booked if the final train of the day on to Munich is missed.

Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:

Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high speed trains.

The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.

You can purchase these online with no booking fees with B-Europe.
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.

You can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.

If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.

Two things worth knowing when opting to travel overnight from London to Munich / München:

1: The train will arrive at München Ost, which isn't the main station in the city - but it is linked to the heart of the city by local S-Bahn trains - which are on the same route as when arriving into München Hbf.
So taking the S-Bahn trains is the easiest transfer on to München Hbf.

2: The train from Paris is typically due to arrive into München Ost at around 05:45!
But in time to connect into trains heading on from München Ost to Innsbruck, Linz, Salzburg, Vienne, Venice and Verona.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

When the end-to-end journey is available to book online, the ticket agents will typically opt for the train which departs London at around 15:30.
However, this Eurostar will typically arrive in Paris only 1hr 5min prior to the departure of the train on Munich / München.
It is essential to make the transfer in time, but this option allows for around 40mins of delay to the Eurostar.
So to provide more contingency time, this is an instance when booking separate tickets can pay off, so that you can leave London earlier

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
'However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier (such as the Nightjet train on from Paris) including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

But OBB, which operates the train on to Munich, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.

So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Munich to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at the Gare de l'Est.
But the AJC won't cover the cost of cost of the overnight accommodation in Paris, which would then be required.

*= Also that new E.U legislation specifically states that in exceptional circumstances, the train operators do not need to issue replacement tickets - and the terms and conditions on the SNCF Connect website reiterate this.
These exceptional circumstances specifically stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament include:

• extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises...
• ...the behaviour of a third party... such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities or sabotage.