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München / Munich to Frankfurt by train
How to travel from München / Munich to Frankfurt (Main) by train
Sleek ICE trains link München / Munich to Frankfurt (Main) but what's slightly odd is that they take two different routes;
1 - via Nurnberg
2 - via Stuttgart
But because the trains on the route via Nurnberg ae faster, the only trains that have tickets available online are the trains on this route.
You might then wonder why, when you're at the station in Munich/Munchen why you can see trains to Frankfurt (Main) leaving before your departure, that you weren't aware of.
However, those other trains will arrive in Frankfurt after the train you will be taking.
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Routes
From München Hbf/Munich main station to Frankfurt Main Hbf
Journey Summary
3hr 9min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Dortmund or Essen
Trains also call at: Wurzburg, Frankfurt Flughafen/airport
The alternative route:
Every other hour (in odd hours) there is also an ICE train between Munich and Frankfurt which travels an alternative route via Stuttgart.
Those trains via Stuttgart tend to depart around 5 mins before these trains via Nurnberg, so you will see them listed on the departure screens at Munchen Hbf.
But the route they take is slower, so much so that these trains, which leave later, get to Frankfurt (Main) earlier.
Hence tickets can't usually be booked online for a train journey from Munich to Frankfurt (Main) on that alternative route via Stuttgart.
However, if you use the 'travelling with a bicycle' search option on the DB website, some of the trains on the route via Stuttgart are ICE 4 trains which have bike racks and EC trains which have bike storage, so you will be see those trains when looking up a journey
16 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
On the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that have:
- 0 in the Chg. column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Reservations are recommended for this journey, this is one of the busiest ICE routes.
Though seats are now assigned if you book 1st class tickets.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €17.90 | |
| Save A Train | from €17.90 (in £s) | |
| Omio | from €17.90 | |
| Happy rail | from €17.90 | |
| Trainline | from €17.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
What gives this journey its wow factor is the opportunity to travel on the fabulous ICE 3 trains.
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Journey description:
This is a journey of six distinct phases
- Until Ingolstadt the train will be travelling on a conventional railway through a series of commuter towns.
- In Ingolstadt station the train will move on to the high speed line and travel at more than 275 k/mh for around 40 minutes until it reaches the outskirts of Nurnberg
- Between Nurnberg and Wurzburg the train will be back on conventional tracks
- On departure from Wurzburg comes the part of the journey with a wow factor, the train will be on the high speed line for less than 15 minutes, but there are some nice views as the train crosses some long viaducts; in particular look out for when the train will burst out of a tunnel and then immediately cross the River Main.
- Between there and Aschaffenburg comes the slowest, but most scenic part of the trip when the railway winds through some valleys.
- From there to Frankfurt the railway passes through a series of towns.
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