Looking down into the main departure hall at Munchen Hbf used by the long distance trains

Paris to München / Munich by train

How to travel from Paris to Munich by train

München / Munich is some distance from the high speed line which links Paris to eastern France, so most of the international high speed trains which use it travel no further than Stuttgart.
Hence there only being one direct train per day from Paris to München/Munich, but when the timings (and price) of this service don't suit, there are other journey options available, the easiest of which is to make one connection in Stuttgart.

Taking an overnight train journey from Paris to Munchen/Munich is now an option on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evenings, but it isn't recommended as the train is due to arrive at Munchen Ost station at around 05:45.

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Routes

Option 1: the daily direct train

Travel Information

Final Destination: Munchen

This train also calls at: Stuttgart, Ulm and Augsburg

This is the only direct train between Paris and Munchen/Munich, the overnight train between the two cities was discontinued some years ago.

The train is scheduled to depart at 15:55 on Mon-Fri and Sundays, but on Saturdays it usually departs at 17:55.

If these timings don't suit the best alternative is to travel via Stuttgart.

1 x train per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 monthsahead of the travel date - usually

The train departs Paris at around 15:55 on Mon-Fri and Sundays, but on Saturdays it departs at 17:55.

For this journey it can be worthwhile comparing prices across the agents, some may still have the cheapest discounted tickets available, when others have sold out.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding this DB-SNCF service.

The alternative journey options:

There are three other direct DB-SNCF trains per day between Paris and Stuttgart, that have connections on from Stuttgart to Munchen/Munich(via Ulm and Augsburg).

So if you want to arrive earlier in Munchen/Munich DON'T tick the direct train box when making a booking; the journeys with connections can also be cheaper.

But DO select the direct train options if you specifically want to take this train.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
SNCF Connect from €39

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

DB from €39

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
Trainline from €39

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

The train will reverse direction on departure from Stuttgart.

Journey description:

Between Paris and Strasbourg the train travels at up to more than 300 km/h on the fastest high speed line in France.
Then from Strasbourg inti Germany, the train travels on conventional tracks through an urban area; see if you can spot when the train has crossed the border, it won't be announced on the train.

Then once the train has travelled for around 15 mins in Germany it briefly joins another high speed line before calling at Karlsruhe.
Yet another high speed line is used for around 25 mins of the journey, as the train approaches Stuttgart.

Between Stuttgart and Ulm the train takes a slower, twisting route through the hills, before speeding up again between Ulm and Munchen.

Option 2: A wider choice of departure and arrival times if you connect in Stuttgart

Travel Information

The only direct train between Paris and Munchen/Munich isn't scheduled to arrive in Munchen until after 21:30.
If you want to arrive in Munchen/Munich earlier you will need to change trains.

The optimum 4 x connections per day are the journeys of less than 5hr 35min that involve changing trains at Stuttgart.

We say 'optimum' but the trains from Paris are scheduled to arrive in Stuttgart less than 15 mins before the departure of the ICE train on to Munchen/Munich.
There is 1 x ICE train per hour between Stuttgart and Munchen/Munich.
So ideal IF the train from Paris arrives on time.

If it arrives too late, then tickets/reservations can be transferred free of charge to a subsequent departure on from Stuttgart.
However, due to the reconstruction currently taking place at Stuttgart station, the Reisezentrum travel desk, where the tickets can be swapped, is some distance from where the trains will arrive and depart.

An option is to book with DB Bahn and increase the 'Duration of Transfer' between trains, but do that and you will be committing to arriving in Munchen/Munich an hour later.

There also alternative connections available at Mannheim or Karlsruhe, but they also have similarly tight connecting times between trains, so the journey will be longer, no cheaper and not any more convenient.

4 x connections per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

This is a journey on which it can pay off to compare prices across the agents.

Look for the connections that have 1 change and a journey time of under 5hr 40mins.

If you want to book with DB Bahn we recommend allowing a minimum of 30mins to make the connection at Stuttgart station; how to do so is explained here

Rail Pass Users:

You will need to pay a reservation fee boarding the DB-SNCF service to Stuttgart, but not on the connecting trains between Stuttgart and Munich/Munchen; though the availabilty of seats can't be 100% guaranteed on the ICE trains on from Stuttgart if you don't reserve.

What is unusual about the rail pass reservations on the DB-SNCF trains, is that rail pass fees are priced according to distance; so they may be cheaper than on the*alternative direct train from Paris to Munchen/Munich.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €49

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

SNCF Connect from €49

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

Trainline from €49

Trainline Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Stuttgart

This journey is showcase for European international train travel.

Between Paris and Strasbourg the train travels at up to more than 300 km/h on the fastest high speed line in France.

Between Strasbourg and Germany, the train travels on conventional tracks through an urban area, see if you can spot when the train has crossed the border, it won't be announced on the train.

Then once the train has travelled for around 15 mins in Germany it briefly joins another high speed line before calling at Karlsruhe.

Yet another high speed line is used for most of the final 25 mins of the journey, as the train approaches Stuttgart.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Munchen Hbf

All trains also call at: Ulm and , Augsburg

Most trains also call at: Munchen-Passing

All of the advertised connections involve taking an ICE train between Stuttgart and Munchen/Munich.
If you need to take an alternative train on from Stuttgart you could be taking an IC or EC train.

Final Destination: Munchen Hbf

All trains also call at: Ulm, Augsburg

Most trains also call at: Munchen-Passing

All of the advertised connections involve taking an ICE train between Stuttgart and Munchen/Munich.

If you need to take an alternative train on from Stuttgart you could be taking an IC or EC train.

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