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Zurich to Munich by Train: Tickets and Arrival

By The Travel FieldbookPublished on Updated on 5 min read
A Deutsche Bahn high-speed train at Munich Central Station.
A high-speed train at Munich Central Station, the Munich arrival point for the rail journey. (Patrick · Pexels License · Edited)

The train from Zurich to Munich takes you from Zürich HB to Munich Hauptbahnhof, with a short local journey at either end between Paradeplatz and Marienplatz. The ordinary EuroCity service is direct, but engineering works can turn it into a train-and-bus journey with a different arrival point.

Choose your fare and your arrival route together. A cheaper train ticket can tie you to one departure, while a replacement bus or coach brings you to Munich ZOB rather than the main railway station. Keep the Zurich access ticket and Munich onward ticket separate from the international fare.

Train or coach?

Ordinary service
SBB and Deutsche Bahn (DB) EuroCity (EC); direct Zürich HB–Munich Hbf
International journey
3 hours 32 minutes
Frequency
Eight direct trains daily, weekdays and weekends
First / last departure
05:35 / 17:32 from Zürich HB, daily
SBB advance fare
From CHF 37 per adult, one way, second class; limited availability

When through trains operate, choose EuroCity for a central arrival and fewer boarding steps with bags or children. This is the ordinary EC service, rather than a separate high-speed train. Choose FlixBus if its available fare or later departure suits you better.

Ordinary EuroCity versus FlixBus, Paradeplatz to Marienplatz

Pros

  • Rail journey components add up to about 3 hours 42 minutes, including local access and arrival, before waiting, boarding and station passage.
  • A direct train avoids an intermediate luggage transfer when through services operate.

Cons

  • FlixBus advertises one-way adult fares from €20.48, varying with travel date, departure time and booking lead time; compare the actual departures rather than the starting fares alone.
  • FlixBus lists a last departure of 20:35, later than the train, but availability depends on your travel day.
  • Using FlixBus’s route-wide minimum of 3 hours 50 minutes, coach journey components total about 4 hours 17 minutes before waiting and boarding; the selected Sihlquai–ZOB departure may take longer.
  • Paradeplatz to Zürich HB: about 4 minutes by local transport.
  • Munich Hbf to Marienplatz: about 6 minutes by S-Bahn.
  • Paradeplatz to Sihlquai coach station: about 12 minutes using tram 13.
  • Munich ZOB to Marienplatz: about 15 minutes via Hackerbrücke and the S-Bahn.

Allow extra time for waiting, boarding and passage through stations on either route. Local tickets cost extra.

Tickets and boarding at Zürich HB

From Paradeplatz, take tram 13 to Bahnhofstrasse/HB for Zürich HB. Enter the station and use the departure display to find your booked Munich service and platform. Match the departure time as well as the destination, rather than boarding any train towards Munich.

The Zurich city adult second-class single ticket costs CHF 4.70 and is valid for one hour, covering either the railway station or Sihlquai. Buy or activate it before boarding. Stamp tickets requiring validation, such as multi-journey tickets, at a ticket machine before your tram journey, but with an app check-in ticket, check in immediately before boarding.

Buy the international ticket through SBB or DB. Saver tickets bind you to the booked day and train, including SBB’s Saver offer and DB’s (Super) Saver Fare Europe. Flexibility depends on the selected fare product. Seat reservations are optional, but useful when sitting together matters.

Have the international ticket and photo ID ready for inspection, and follow its presentation conditions. Mobile tickets are widely accepted, but a printed backup is useful. Keep the local ticket accessible too, as it covers a separate journey.

You may bring up to three easily portable hand-luggage items plus one larger item that you can carry alone, free of charge. Use racks or space under or above seats, keep doors, aisles and safety equipment clear, and supervise your bags. No luggage reservation, weighing or measuring is required.

  • SBB daytime international travel to Germany: children under 15 travel free with someone over 15. Saver and Saver Flex offers allow up to four children per adult.
  • SBB regular offer, Swiss section: free travel for children under 16 requires a Junior Card or Children’s Co-Travelcard and a companion over 16.
  • DB: children under 6 travel free without being listed.

For a family ticket, select the seller and fare product before applying its child rules, because the offers are not interchangeable.

Lake Constance and the replacement-bus change

After boarding at Zürich HB, the journey offers Lake Constance’s eastern shore and the gently rolling Allgäu countryside, rather than a dramatic Alpine crossing. Lakeside views give way to open rural landscapes towards Munich. It is a scenic journey, but the through-train plan changes during engineering works.

Lindau-Reutin is the interchange where affected journeys leave the railway for the onward bus. Keep your luggage ready to take off the train yourself. The station platform and the replacement-service boarding point are separate places, so allow for the walk out rather than expecting a bus alongside the train.

The station’s general replacement-service stop is Bus Stop 4 on Bregenzer Straße, near the roundabout. Leave the platform, go to Bregenzer Straße, turn right and follow the road towards the roundabout. Match the bus destination before boarding.

Name
Lindau-Reutin station
Location
Bregenzer Str. 48, Lindau (Bodensee) Maps
Essential fact
A railway station in mainland Lindau.

Hauptbahnhof and Hackerbrücke to Marienplatz

After the international journey, use the onward route for your actual arrival point. At Munich Hbf (Hauptbahnhof), follow signs for the S-Bahn suburban trains. Take an eastbound service towards Marienplatz, such as the S5.

If you arrive at Munich ZOB by replacement bus or FlixBus, use the pedestrian bridge to Hackerbrücke station, crossing Arnulfstraße and the railway tracks. Board an S-Bahn towards Marienplatz, such as the S2, to complete the journey from the terminal to the city centre.

For step-free access from ZOB, use both lifts: one up to the passage and bridge level, then another from the bridge down to the S-Bahn platforms. You still cross the bridge between them, so keep your bags manageable for the transfer.

An adult single-trip ticket within Munich’s central city area costs €4.20 and covers either arrival route to Marienplatz. Keep it separate from your international ticket. At Marienplatz, follow the exits to the square to finish in the city centre.

Name
Munich central coach station (ZOB)
Location
Arnulfstraße 21, München Maps
Essential fact
Munich’s central coach terminal beside Hackerbrücke station.

Google Street View, 2022-08.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: closures, services, and fares and charges.

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