High-speed route
Berlin – Munich
The ICE Sprinter spine of the network, Berlin to the Alps in about 4 hours
Route
Berlin Hbf
Leipzig Hbf
Optional stop — Germany's newest big-city rail hub
Erfurt Hbf
Thuringia's medieval old town, 10 minutes' walk from the platform
Nuremberg Hbf
Change point for Würzburg and the Romantic Road
Munich Hbf
What you'll see
- The Berlin–Munich high-speed line opened in December 2017, cutting what used to be a 6-hour trip to about 4
- Long viaducts and tunnels through the Thuringian Forest between Erfurt and Nuremberg — this stretch alone has over 20 tunnels
- A brief glimpse of Leipzig's vast glass-roofed Hauptbahnhof, one of Europe's largest terminal stations
Stopover ideas
- Leipzig — Bach's Thomaskirche and the Panometer
- Erfurt — Krämerbrücke medieval bridge lined with shops
- Nuremberg — old town and Christmas market (late Nov–Dec)
Practicalities
- Trains
- ICE Sprinter (a handful of direct non-stop-pattern departures daily) and hourly ICE services calling at Leipzig, Erfurt and Nuremberg
- Duration
- about 4 hours on the ICE Sprinter; about 4h15–4h30 on regular hourly ICE trains
- Best time of year
- Year-round; the Sprinter runs a limited daily schedule so check bahn.de for exact departure times before you rely on it
Which ticket?
A Sparpreis booked weeks ahead is usually cheapest for a single one-way trip. If you're combining this with several other long ICE journeys in the same trip, a German Rail Pass Flexi day covers it in full without booking a specific train.
Plan the exact connection on the journey planner or work out whether a rail pass pays off on the trip planner.
Source: Deutsche Bahn long-distance and regional timetables (bahn.de). Checked on 4 September 2026.