Travelling by train during the European Championships is a practical option for foreign guests to visit the various venues or explore the country. Here you find important tips and information if you want to travel through Germany by train for the 2024 European Football Championship.
Germany has a well-developed and efficient rail network that makes it easy to reach many cities and regions. In addition, modern German trains offer a high level of comfort with ample space for luggage and seats, Wi-Fi and catering facilities on board. This makes travelling by train a pleasant and relaxing experience. Train travel is also considered a more environmentally friendly option compared to other modes of transport such as air travel, as it produces fewer CO2 emissions. This is particularly relevant when many people are travelling to a major sporting event such as the European Championships.
Local and long-distance transport in Germany
Local transport focuses on short to medium distances within a region or metropolitan area. Local trains often make several intermediate stops and connect smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas. They are generally slower than long-distance trains and make more frequent stops to allow passengers to board and alight. Typical local trains are regional trains such as the RegionalExpress (RE) and the RegionalBahn (RB), as well as S-Bahn trains, which operate in many German cities.
Long-distance transport, on the other hand, covers longer routes, often between different cities or regions, and can also include international connections. Long-distance trains run less frequently, make fewer intermediate stops and are generally faster than local trains. The main long-distance services are provided by high-speed trains such as the InterCityExpress (ICE) and EuroCity (EC), which offer high travelling speed and comfort.
To summarise, local services are designed for shorter and regional journeys and serve a greater number of intermediate stops, while long-distance services are designed for longer distances and faster connections between larger cities and regions.
These trains are available in Germany
There are many different types of trains in Germany. The exact designations also differ in some cases according to region or railway company. Below you will find an overview of the most common and most important train types.
Long-distance transport
- ICE (InterCityExpress): The ICE is a fast and modern train that runs between Germany's largest cities. It often travels at high speed on special high-speed lines and offers comfort and convenience for long journeys.
- IC (InterCity): The IC is a train that connects different cities within Germany. It is somewhat slower than the ICE, but still offers comfort and convenience for medium to long distances.
- FLX (FlixTrain): FLX is a new type of train operated by FlixTrain. These trains offer a cost-effective way of travelling between different cities in Germany and Europe.
- EC (EuroCity): The EC is an international train that connects different European countries. It offers a comfortable travelling option for longer distances and connects important cities in Europe.
- TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse): The TGV is a high-speed train from France. It runs between France and the German cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe and offers fast travel options for long distances.
Local transport
- IRE (InterRegioExpress): The IRE is a regional train that runs between different cities and regions. It offers a fast connection between larger cities and the surrounding areas.
- RE (RegionalExpress): The RE is also a regional train that runs between different cities and regions. It offers a somewhat slower but still reliable connection between larger cities and the surrounding areas.
- S-Bahn: The S-Bahn is a light rail system that operates in many German cities. It offers fast and frequent connections within the city and to the surrounding suburbs. The S-Bahn is particularly useful for commuters and travellers who want to move around the city.
Train tickets in Germany
Basically, you can buy your train tickets online, on your mobile phone, from a ticket machine or in person at the ticket counter in the station. You can easily save digital tickets on your mobile phone or in the DB app. At www.bahnhof.de you can select a station near you and find the locations of DB travel centres.
There are various ticket offers from the Deutsche Bahn. Some offers, such as the German Rail Pass, are explicitly only valid for people living outside Germany. There are special offers for young people or senior citizens, for groups or for different regions. You can find an overview of all offers on the Deutsche Bahn website .
The Deutschland-Ticket is often referred to as the "49-Euro-Ticket" because of its price. It costs 49 euros per month and can be used for all local transport in Germany.
The Deutschland-Ticket is offered by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's largest railway company. It is usually also valid for regional transport associations. If necessary, ask before departure whether and how you can use the Deutschland-Ticket for your journey. Please note, however, that the Deutschland-Ticket is generally not valid on long-distance trains (e.g. IC, EC, ICE, but also RE trains operated by DB Fernverkehr AG). Furthermore, the Deutschland-Ticket is not valid on means of transport that are primarily used for tourist or historical purposes.
You can find out more about the Deutschland-Ticket for foreigners and tourists in our guide .
Travelling by train between the Euro 2024 venues
The Euro 2024 football matches will take place in the following cities:
- Berlin (B)
- Munich (M)
- Dortmund (DO)
- Stuttgart (S)
- Hamburg (HH)
- Düsseldorf (D)
- Frankfurt (F)
- Cologne (K)
- Gelsenkirchen (GE)
- Leipzig (L)
Travelling by train from Berlin to Leipzig, Hamburg or Dortmund is ideal. These three cities can be reached in less than 4 hours by train. The longest train journey from Berlin is to Stuttgart. Here you need to allow between 5 and 6 hours travelling time.
If you start in Munich, you can ideally use the train to travel to Stuttgart, Leipzig or Frankfurt. The cities in the Ruhr region - Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund - are the longest train journeys from Munich.
From Dortmund, you have ideal connections to the neighbouring cities of Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf and Cologne. You can also reach Frankfurt and Hamburg quite quickly by train. However, the train journey to Munich takes around 6 hours.
If you start your journey in Stuttgart, you can quickly reach Frankfurt, Munich or Cologne by train. For journeys to Leipzig, Berlin or Hamburg, on the other hand, you should allow at least 5 hours for the journey.
Travelling from Hamburg, you can reach Berlin very quickly by train. Dortmund, Leipzig and Gelsenkirchen are also easy to reach. The southern cities of Stuttgart and Munich, however, require a rather long train journey.
Anyone coming to Düsseldorf for a football match can quickly travel on from there to Cologne, Gelsenkirchen or Dortmund. Frankfurt is also easy to reach with a 2-hour journey time. Leipzig and Munich are the furthest away by train from Düsseldorf.
Frankfurt (Main) is an ideal starting point for train journeys to the individual venues. Thanks to its favourable location and good connections, you can reach every other venue in under 5 hours. Cologne and Stuttgart are the quickest to reach, while Hamburg and Berlin are the longest journeys.
If you start your trip to Germany in Cologne and want to continue your journey from there by train, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Frankfurt and Dortmund are particularly quick and easy to reach. The longest journey is to Leipzig.
Gelsenkirchen is located in the Ruhr region and is therefore close to Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne, which you can reach quickly by train. In contrast, train journeys to Leipzig or Munich take longer.
From Leipzig, Berlin is best reached by train. Here you can be there in under 2 hours. For all other European Championship cities, you will need to allow at least 3 hours travelling time from Leipzig. The longest journey is to Gelsenkirchen.
In this table you will find an overview of the approximate journey times between the European Championship venues. Please note that these are average values as well as long-distance trains. If you use the Deutschland-Ticket and only take local trains, you will need to allow more time on almost all routes.
| B | M | DO | S | HH | D | F | K | GE | L | |
| B | / | 4:30h | 3:30h | 5:45h | 2:00h | 4:30h | 4:15h | 4:15h | 4:15h | 1:30h |
| M | 4:30h | / | 6:00h | 2:00h | 5:40h | 5:00h | 3:30h | 4:45h | 5:45h | 3:15h |
| DO | 3:30h | 6:00h | / | 4:00h | 3:00h | 1:00h | 2:45h | 1:30h | 0:30h | 4.30h |
| S | 5:45h | 2:00h | 4:00h | / | 5:30h | 3:00h | 1:30h | 2:30h | 3:30h | 5:00h |
| HH | 2:00h | 5:40h | 3:00h | 5:30h | / | 4:00h | 4:00h | 4:15h | 3:30h | 3:15h |
| D | 4:30h | 5:00h | 1:00h | 3:00h | 4:00h | / | 2:00h | 0:30h | 0:45h | 5:00h |
| F | 4:15h | 3:30h | 2:45h | 1:30h | 4:00h | 2:00h | / | 1:30h | 2:30h | 3:00h |
| K | 4:15h | 4:45h | 1:30h | 2:30h | 4:15h | 0:30h | 1:30h | / | 1:15h | 5:00h |
| GE | 4:15h | 5:45h | 0:30h | 3:30h | 3:30h | 0:45h | 2:30h | 1:15h | / | 5:30h |
| L | 1:30h | 3:15h | 4:30h | 5:00h | 3:15h | 5:00h | 3:00h | 5:00h | 5:30h | / |