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London to Munich by train
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Cheapest Price £50.37
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30 days in advance £182.08
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7 days in advance £357.06
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First train05:59
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Last train20:31
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Avg changes1
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Fastest journey8hr 41m
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Distance917 kilometres
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Trains per day31
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Avg. journey time11hr 12m
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Train operators
Going from London to Munich by train
About to set off from London to Munich by rail? Make your journey as seamless as possible with this guide, packed with tips on schedules, route details and how to find the best deals on tickets.
Train cost between London and Munich: point-to-point tickets
Train travellers have two ticket options to choose from: point-to-point tickets and rail passes. Point-to-point tickets are for one-way travel between two cities. Prices for point-to-point tickets on this route start from £50.37, then go to £160, if booked a month in advance, and £383, if booked 7 days in advance.
Cost of travel with European train passes
Passes allow unlimited travel in the covered region and timeframe. Passes, like a Eurail or Interrail Global Pass, cover travel to 33 countries. While passes cost more upfront, they quickly pay off if you plan to travel extensively or don’t have a fixed itinerary. Plus, passes also often offer discounts on local travel, museums and outings. Learn more about the financial benefits of rail passes with our European Rail Pass guide.
Whether you want to purchase a pass or a ticket, Rail Europe has you covered with the best deals and smoothest checkout.
Train schedule for travel between London and Munich
While frequency of trains along this line depends on the day of the week, on average, 31 trains make this journey of 917 kilometres each day. The first weekday departure from London is at 05:59 on weekdays. The last scheduled train during the week departs at 20:04.
During the weekend, 06:31 is the earliest scheduled departure, and 20:31 is the last. Throughout the day, trains typically depart every 21 minutes.
London to Munich train duration
Trains on this route travel a distance of 917 kilometres, with the fastest one completing the journey in 8 hours and 41 minutes.
When are tickets between London and Munich available for purchase?
Tickets for trains between London and Munich can be purchased 10 months before the departure date. Take advantage of the early-bird savings by booking as early as possible.
Learn even more about travelling from London to Munich by train
Need more information on travelling through Europe by train? Head to our help articles for details on everything from booking to navigating stations and understanding different ticket types. Then review the travel ideas we’ve compiled in our city guide: Munich.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the distance from London to Munich by train?
The train route from London to Munich covers 917 kilometres.
How much does it cost to go from London to Munich by train?
The cheapest fare for this route is £50.37. When booking 30 days in advance, tickets cost £160. A ticket bought 7 days before travel typically costs £383.
How far in advance can I book my London to Munich train tickets?
Tickets for this route go on sale 10 months in advance of the departure date.
What’s the travel time from London to Munich by train?
The fastest journey is 8 hours and 41 minutes.
Other journeys to Munich View all journeys to Munich
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From Brussels to Munich From £36.56
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From Cologne to Munich From £16.04
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From Stuttgart to Munich From £13.43
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From Mannheim to Munich From £15.30
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From Amsterdam to Munich From £32.09
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From Nuremberg to Munich From £9.33
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From Hamburg to Munich From £16.04
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From Strasbourg to Munich From £18.28
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From Zurich to Munich From £30.97
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From Frankfurt am Main to Munich From £16.42
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From Berlin to Munich From £16.04
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From Salzburg to Munich From £6.34
Other journeys from Munich
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From Munich to Salzburg From £6.34
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From Munich to Verona From £24.62
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From Munich to Venice From £25.00
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From Munich to Rome From £31.71
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From Munich to Bolzano From £17.91
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From Munich to Vienna From £17.91
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From Munich to Budapest From £34.70
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From Munich to Berlin From £16.04
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From Munich to Füssen From £18.28
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From Munich to Innsbruck Hbf From £11.19
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From Munich to Augsburg Hbf From £6.72
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From Munich to Brussels From £40.30
Other journeys from London
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From London to Nice From £84.32
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From London to Rome From £63.20
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From London to Florence From £69.55
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From London to Turin From £59.70
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From London to Venice From £142.82
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From London to Verona From £129.54
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From London to Milan From £59.32
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From London to Paris From £32.09
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From London to Brussels From £72.76
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From London to Berlin From £50.37
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From London to Frankfurt am Main From £63.43
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From London to Amsterdam From £32.09
Take the Eurostar to Paris and transfer to a TGV to Munich, or board the Eurostar to Brussels and travel to Munich on InterCity Express trains via Frankfurt.
via Paris
Tickets to Munich can be purchased here on Loco2 via either Brussels or Paris. It is the Paris option which we describe below.
Your journey starts with a high-speed run on Eurostar from London to Paris. In the French capital, you change stations from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l’Est. That’s just a short walk. At Paris Est, you join a French TGV train for the onward journey across eastern France and southern Germany to Munich.
This routing using a direct train from Paris to Munich is only available once each day. There are additional options from London to Munich via Paris but these require an extra change of train in Stuttgart, Mannheim or Frankfurt-am-Main.
Tickets for the route to Munich via Brussels only open for sale three months in advance of travel, but that Brussels route can sometimes be cheaper than the Paris option. This is one of those frustrating situations where it’s hard to know whether one should book the Paris route or hang on to see if a cheaper fare might later be available via Brussels.
London to Paris
The first part of the journey from London sweeps through Thameside landscapes and rural Kent to reach the Channel Tunnel. Little more than an hour after leaving London you'll already be in northern France, tracking south through Flanders fields towards Paris.
Remember to factor in at least half an hour for Eurostar's airline-style baggage check prior to boarding your train. There is a luggage and body scan and you'll be asked to show your passport. There are no restrictions on taking liquids on board Eurostar trains.
Paris interchange: Paris Nord to Paris Est
It is an easy ten-minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l’Est in Paris. Or if you have lots of luggage consider a (very short) taxi ride for around €10. There’s really no point going by Métro.
If you’re on foot, exit the station from the main entrance and turn left onto Rue de Dunkerque. Walk along the Rue de Dunkerque, crossing Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis and Rue La Fayette, still continuing on Dunkerque. You’ll come to a T-junction where you turn right into Rue d’Alsace. Follow Rue d’Alsace (you’ll now see the platforms of Gare de l’Est below you to your left) to the flight of pedestrian steps which leads down to the side entrance of Gare de l’Est. Beware of the hustlers who often hang around the steps soliciting donations and offering to carry your luggage.
The route above is the quickest, but for step-free access to Gare de l’Est here’s a slightly longer alternative. Leave the main front entrance of the Gare du Nord and walk straight ahead down Boulevard de Denain (which runs down beside the Café Terminus Nord). Follow Denain to Boulevard de Magenta, turning left onto it. Take the third left onto Rue de 8 Mai 1945 and walk along to the front of the Gare de l’Est.
Paris to Munich
The year-round once-daily direct train from Paris to Munich departs from the Gare de l’Est in Paris and arrives at Munich Hauptbahnhof. A new high-speed line through eastern France opened in 2016, bringing the journey time for the direct Paris to Munich train down to just over five and a half hours. There are several additional Paris to Munich options each day, all requiring a change of train in Stuttgart, Mannheim. Karlsruhe or Frankfurt.
The direct TGV from Paris to Munich tracks east on the high-speed line from Paris towards the German border, sometimes touching 320 kph along the way. After a brief stop in Strasbourg the train crosses the River Rhine and then continues south-east to Stuttgart, where the train reverses. From there it is another two hours with stops in Ulm and Augsburg to Munich Hauptbahnhof, where there is an excellent range of onward connections to destinations in Bavaria, Austria and beyond. The direct train is a French TGV train, with German Deutsche Bahn and French SNCF staff working together on board to ensure the highest levels of customer service.
via Brussels
The journey by train from London to Munich is very easy to organise. Through tickets to Munich can be purchased here on Loco2 via either Brussels or Paris. It is the Brussels option which we describe here.
Your journey kicks off with a high-speed run on Eurostar from London to Brussels. The connection in Brussels onto a German ICE is very efficient. You take the ICE from Brussels to Frankfurt-am-Main, changing at the city centre Hauptbahnhof for the third and final leg of your journey to Munich.
The journey from London to Munich is easily done in a day. It is one big hop across Europe with some decent scenery along the way. You can make more of the occasion by having a meal in the restaurant car which is usually available for the last leg of the journey (from Frankfurt to Munich). The train from Brussels to Frankfurt also offers dining facilities, but that’s a bistro with a more limited menu.
London to Brussels
Board a Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Brussels. Little more than an hour after leaving London you’ll already be in northern France, speeding through Flanders fields towards Lille Europe, where many but not all Brussels-bound Eurostar trains make an intermediate stop. Some trains make up to three additional stops – at Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Calais.
Eurostar trains from London terminate at Brussels Midi station. Trains run every five minutes from Brussels Midi to Brussels Central (for the city centre). Your Eurostar ticket is valid for this short onward hop within Brussels. At Brussels Midi, there are good onward connections with a choice of Thalys or German ICE trains for direct links to Germany, as well as Belgian (or sometimes Dutch) Intercity trains to cities across the wider BeNeLux region.
Remember to factor in at least half an hour for Eurostar’s airline-style baggage check prior to boarding your train. This is a light-touch security scan, and there are no restrictions on taking liquids on board Eurostar trains.
Brussels to Frankfurt am Main
The direct ICE trains from Brussels to Frankfurt am Main take about three hours for the journey. These trains stop five to eight times along the way. In Brussels these services depart from Brussels Midi and then also stop at Brussels Nord. In Frankfurt trains stop first at the airport station, then continue to the city centre station (Hauptbahnhof) where they terminate.
The route east from Brussels initially traverses the flat lands of Brabant to reach Liège-Guillemins station. East from Liège, the train cuts in tunnels through hilly country to reach the German border just before Aachen. Beyond Aachen, the train speeds east to the Rhineland city of Cologne, arriving at the city’s main station (the Hauptbahnhof). From Cologne, the train continues along a new high-speed line to Frankfurt.
Frankfurt am Main to Munich
High-speed ICE trains leave hourly from both Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof and from the airport station (Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof) for Munich Hauptbahnhof. Most trains on this route take about 3 hrs 30 mins for this journey of over 400 kilometres.
Running south-east from Frankfurt, the route followed by most trains cuts through the Spessart Hills to reach Würzburg, where vineyards make a lovely backdrop to one of Germany’s most appealing cities. South from Würzburg there are fine views of the landscapes of Franconia and Bavaria en route to Munich where the train runs into the main station (called Hauptbahnhof). Some trains take a completely different route from Frankfurt to Munich, running via Stuttgart and Ulm instead of Würzburg. That route takes in a nice swathe of Swabian countryside.