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How to travel by train from Milan to Bavaria
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Milano / Milan / Mailand to München / Munich by train
The only direct train from Milan to München / Munich is the nightly Nigthtjet sleeper train.
However, due to construction works in Austria, the direct night train service will be suspended from November 18th to July 27th.
There are typically three ticks in the box for taking the combination of daytime trains.
1 - the routes travelled are among the most scenic European rail journeys
2 - the journey is faster
3 - you can set off from the city's main station, Milano Centrale.
Routes you can take to go from Milano / Milan / Mailand to München / Munich
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1 - direct, but overnight
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
12hr 10min (approx)
Frequency
Nightly
Travel Info
1 x train per night
Purchase Tickets
OBB Guide
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
Travel Information
The train is USUALLY scheduled to depart from Milano Rogoredo at 21:26 and arrive in Munchen Hbf* at around 09:20.
Final Destination: Munchen Hbf
*This train does not call at Munchen Ost station
The train also departs from : Brescia (22:18), Desenzano del Garda (22:33) and Peschiera del Garda (22:43).
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
The train heading to Munchen will be joined to another train heading to Wien on departure from Milano.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB*
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
These trains are provided by Austria's national rail operator, OBB, the travel through Austria on this journey between Germany and Italy.
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train details for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains.
Making the rail pass reservation in advance online is particularly recommended if you will be traveling between June and September.
If you wait until arriving in Milano to reserve, your first choice of accommodation on the train may have sold out.
Route Information
Via stations: Verona Porta Nuova
Option 2: connecting in Verona
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
from 7hr 12min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
up to 4 x optimum connections per day
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
OBB Guide
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
Travel Information
When looking up the daytime journey by train from Milan to München / Munich there will be multiple options on this route via Verona.
That's because not all of the trains which take the epic journey from Verona to southern Germany, have optimum connections with the Frecce high speed trains, that head to Verona from Milano.
The Frecce trains, that do have an easily timed connection in Verona of around 35mins between arrival and departure, are those which depart from Milano Centrale at 07:15 and 15:15.
Though when departing on the train that typically leaves Milano at 12:45, the connecting time between trains in Verona will be a little over an hour.
Plus that transfer time between between arrival and departure of around 35mis is also typically available when departing Milano at 09:13 - but this train departs from Milano Porta Garibaldi.
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Milano Centrale and Verona Porta NuovaYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Depart from Milano Centrale and the journey will be on a Frecciarossa 700 train, but the train which departs Porta Garibaldi is usually a Frecciarossa 1000 train,
The only section of this route that uses a high speed line, is the part of the journey between Milano and Brescia - so the train only travels at more than 250 km/h for around 20 minutes.
If you're on the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) keep a look out before Desenzano for a fleeting, but incredible view of Lake Garda.
Train 2
Between Verona Porta Nuova and München Hbf/Munich main stationYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
The Railjet trains trains are used on for the services which depart Verona shortly after 09:00 and 11:00.
Final Destination: Munchen Hbf
The destination of these trains can be shown by ticket agents as 'München Hbf Gleis 5-10'
This is because Gleis 5-10 are in a separate part of the station, which is a 2 - 3 min walk away from the main concourse.
These trains also calls at: Munchen-Ost
Arriving in Munich/Munchen:
If the end point of your journey is in central Munchen/Munich, around Marienplatz then the quickest option is to leave a train at Munchen Ost station and connect there into an S-Bahn (local train) to the city centre.
In Munchen/Munich the S-Bahn trains are similar to Metro trains as they cross the city centre in a tunnel.
Isator station, which is within a 10 min walk of the Deutsches Museum is one station hop from Munchen Ost by S-Bahn trains
Trains on Line S8, travelling in the opposite direction, also connect at Munchen Ost to the airport; look for the trains terminating at 'Flughafen/Munchen'.
This connection at Munchen Ost can save around 30 mins when travelling to Munich airport from Innsbruck by train, compared to making the connection at Munchen Hbf.
Step on board for one of Europe's most epic journeys by express trains.
All of the videos were taken when travelling in the opposite direction
Between Verona and Brennero the railway route primarily travels through a massive valley, by the River Adige - and on this part of the journey, there are some great views to be had from either side of the train.
But it is the views to the south of Innsbruck, after departure from Brennero, which are the highlight of this journey - and they can be seen on the left.
On departure from Innsbruck the train will follow the River Inn through the valley as far as Kufstein; and the best of these views are back over to the right.
Tickets
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.
A choice of tickets
Three types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa
One type of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Europa.
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
- Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
- Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
- Flexpreis Europa tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis Europa tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis Europa ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis Europa tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
The Sparpreis, Flexpreis and Flexpreis Plus tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport between locations in Munchen Hbf and Munich city centre
Booking on the DB website
You can find these direct trains more easily by making a proactive selection of 'Direct Trains Only'.
Or to see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so if you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.
Seat reservations
Seat reservations are mandatory on both trains, so are included when booking tickets.
Rail pass users can save €10 by taking a Regionale train from Milano to Verona.
Reservations on the train from Verona to Munich can be arranged on the DB (German Railways) website, without paying a booking fee.
Route Information
Via stations: Zürich HB / Zurich main station
Option 3 - connecting in Zurich
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
from 7hr 44min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
5 x connections per day
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Travel Information
This journey option is around 30mins slower than the Option 2 route via Verona - the time on the trains is similar, but the connecting time between trains is usually a little over an hour.
Though this enables an easy transfer with time for a snack between trains - and also provides some contingency time in the event of a train delay.
Both trains arrive in and depart from the same part of Zurich HB station, the platforms / tracks which are on the same level as the main concourse.
If the train from Milano arrives in Zurich too late to make the booked connection, tickets will be valid on the next departure on to Munchen.
Though if need be reservations can be transferred to the next departure at the SBB Travel Desk in Zurich HB.
The disruption in the Gotthard Base Tunnel
As a consequence of the ongoing repair work in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, that the EC trains from Milano to Zurich typically use, the journey time has been extended by an hour - in effect the trains are departing an hour earlier from Milano than the usual schedule, with unchanged arrival times in Zurich.
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Milano Centrale and Zürich HB / Zurich main stationYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
The first hour of this journey is unexceptional, but things become a tad more fabulous once the train has passed through Chiasso and crossed the border into Switzerland.
Once you're in Switzerland, look out for these highlights:
The views from the left over Lake Lugano, as the train nears Lugano.
The crossing over Lake Lugano - with great views from both sides of the train.
South of Lugano station, the views over the lake switch to the right.
After departure from Lugano, the train will now travel through the new Ceneri Base Tunnel.
After departure from Bellinzona the train will enter the world's longest railway tunnel, The Gotthard Base Tunnel - so long that it takes the train around 14mins to pass through it.
Despite the fact that this train now travels through The Gotthard Base Tunnel this is still a scenic journey through the Alps.
After the train has exited the tunnel and travelled through Schwyz, there are views on the left over Lake Luzern, which aren’t available when heading south on these trains.
Then shortly afterwards, before Arth-Goldau, also on the left there are views over the Lauerzersee.
After departure from Arth-Goldau there are some beautiful views over Lake Zug - also on the left.
(All of the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction)
Train 2
Between Zürich HB / Zurich main station and München Hbf/Munich main stationYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Tickets
Despite the easy connection between trains the ticket agents don't seemingly offer this route via Zurich as a bookable end-to-end journey.
So separate booking are usually required; Milan to Zurich and Zurich to Munich.
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