There are 12 ways to get from Munich to Cologne by train, bus, night train, rideshare, car train, car, or plane
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Train
best- Take the train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain 47 / ...
4h 10m€35–220Rideshare
cheapest- Take the rideshare from Munich to Cologne552.7 km
6h€22–40Bus via Wiesdorf Leverkusen Mitte Bf
- Take the bus from Munich central bus station to Leverkusenbus N28
8h 22m€45–75Night train
- Take the nighttrain from Muenchen Ost to Koeln Hbfnighttrain Nj
7h 43m€35–110Train via Bonn Hbf
- Take the train from München Hbf to Bonn Hbftrain Drf
6h 40mCar train, drive
- Take the cartrain from München Ost to Fuldacartrain
- Drive from Fulda to Colognecar
7h 8m€130–165Bus
- Take the bus from München, ZOB to Kölnbus Ivano-Frankivsk
11h 25m€85–95Drive 552.7 km
- Drive from Munich to Colognecar 552.7 km
5h 16m€82–118Fly to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Fly from Munich International Airport (MUC) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)plane MUC - CGN
3h 13m€83–259Fly to Düsseldorf International Airport, train
- Fly from Munich International Airport (MUC) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS)plane MUC - DUS
- Take the train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Koeln Hbftrain
3h 57m€98–261Fly to Frankfurt, train
- Fly from Munich International Airport (MUC) to Frankfurt (FRA)plane MUC - FRA
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain
3h 40m€106–312Fly to Münster Osnabrück International Airport, train
- Fly from Munich International Airport (MUC) to Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO)plane MUC - FMO
- Take the train from Münster Hauptbahnhof to Köln Hbftrain
5h 45m€146–376
Munich to Cologne by train
Comparing Your Travel Options
The cheapest way to get from Munich to Cologne is to rideshare which costs €22 - €40 and takes 6h.
The fastest way to get from Munich to Cologne is to fly which takes 3h 13m and costs €80 - €260.
Yes, there is a direct bus departing from München, ZOB and arriving at Köln. Services depart once daily, and operate every day. The journey takes approximately 11h 25m.
Yes, there is a direct train departing from München Hbf and arriving at Köln Messe/Deutz Bf. Services depart hourly, and operate every day. The journey takes approximately 4h 10m.
The distance between Munich and Cologne is 575 km. The road distance is 552.7 km.
The best way to get from Munich to Cologne without a car is to train which takes 4h 10m and costs €35 - €220.
The train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf takes 4h 10m including transfers and departs hourly.
Munich to Cologne bus services, operated by FlixBus, depart from Munich central bus station.
Munich to Cologne train services, operated by Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC), depart from München Hbf station.
The best way to get from Munich to Cologne is to train which takes 4h 10m and costs €35 - €220. Alternatively, you can bus via Wiesdorf Leverkusen Mitte Bf, which costs €45 - €75 and takes 8h 22m, you could also fly, which costs €80 - €260 and takes 3h 13m.
What companies run services between Munich, Germany and Cologne, Germany?
Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC) operates a train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf hourly. Tickets cost €100–220 and the journey takes 4h 10m. Three other operators also service this route. Alternatively, FlixBus operates a bus from Munich central bus station to Leverkusen once daily. Tickets cost €45–75 and the journey takes 7h 20m.
- Website
- lufthansa.com
Flights from Munich International Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €40–290
Flights from Munich International Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €40–280
Flights from Munich International Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 45m
- When
- Wednesday
- Estimated price
- €85–210
Flights from Munich International Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €110–230
Flights from Munich International Airport to Münster Osnabrück International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €60–420
- Website
- lufthansa-city.com
Flights from Munich International Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
- Estimated price
- €40–290
Flights from Munich International Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Friday, and Wednesday
- Estimated price
- €40–280
Flights from Munich International Airport to Münster Osnabrück International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday
- Estimated price
- €60–420
- Website
- eurowings.com
Flights from Munich International Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday to Friday
- Estimated price
- €75–220
Flights from Munich International Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €65–210
- Website
- condor.com
Flights from Munich International Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 55 min
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–200
- Phone
- +49 30 2970
- Website
- Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC)
Train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 10m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €100–220
- Website
- Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC)
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Koeln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 35 min
- Frequency
- 4 times a day
- Estimated price
- €10–21
- Website
- Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC)
Train from Frankfurt to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 52 min
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €30–65
- Website
- Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC)
Train from Münster Hauptbahnhof to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 44m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €28–60
- Website
- Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC)
- Phone
- +32 70 79 79 79
- Website
- Belgian Railways
Train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 43m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €100–160
- Website
- Belgian Railways
- Phone
- +43 5 1717
- Website
- Österreichische Bundesbahnen
Train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 43m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €110–170
- Website
- Österreichische Bundesbahnen
- Phone
- +43 (0) 51717
- Website
- Nightjet
Train from München Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 8h 9m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €35–110
- Website
- Nightjet
- Sleeper Carriage
- €100–110
- Couchette Carriage
- €65–80
- Seating Carriage
- €35–45
Night train from Muenchen Ost to Koeln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 43m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €35–110
- Website
- Nightjet
- Sleeper Carriage
- €100–110
- Couchette Carriage
- €65–80
- Seating Carriage
- €35–45
- Phone
- +49 221 800 20 80
- [email protected]
- Website
- MSM Partyzug
Train from München Hbf to Bonn Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 45m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Schedules at
- MSM Partyzug
- Phone
- +49 (0) 221 800 20 820
- [email protected]
- Website
- Urlaubs-Express (UEX)
Car train from München Ost to Fulda
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 27m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €95–110
- Website
- Urlaubs-Express (UEX)
- Phone
- +49 221 13 999 444
- Website
- National Express
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Koeln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 55 min
- Frequency
- Every 15 minutes
- Schedules at
- National Express
Train from Münster Hauptbahnhof to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 3m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Schedules at
- National Express
- Phone
- +49 9126 301 90 70
- [email protected]
- Website
- TRI Train Rental GmbH
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Koeln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 9m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Schedules at
- TRI Train Rental GmbH
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- [email protected]
- Website
- FlixTrain GmbH
Train from Münster Hauptbahnhof to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 49m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €11–17
- Website
- FlixTrain GmbH
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact DetailsContact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- [email protected]
- Website
- Flixbus
Bus from Munich central bus station to Leverkusen
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 20m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €45–75
- Website
- Flixbus
- Phone
- +38 098-888-11-08
- [email protected]
- Website
- Grand Bus
Bus from München, ZOB to Köln
- Ave. Duration
- 11h 25m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €85–95
- Website
- Grand Bus
- Phone
- +3 318 576 2228
- Website
- BlaBlaCar
Rideshare from Munich to Cologne
- Ave. Duration
- 6h
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €22–40
- Schedules at
- BlaBlaCar
Want to know more about travelling around Germany
Rome2Rio's Travel Guide series provide vital information for the global traveller. Filled with useful and timely travel information, the guides answer all the hard questions - such as 'How do I buy a ticket?', 'Should I book online before I travel? ', 'How much should I expect to pay?', 'Do the trains and buses have Wifi?' - to help you get the most out of your next trip.
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Booking & Getting There
Munich to Cologne bus services, operated by FlixBus, arrive at Leverkusen station.
Munich to Cologne train services, operated by Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC), arrive at Köln Messe/Deutz Bf station.
Yes, the driving distance between Munich to Cologne is 553 km. It takes approximately 5h 16m to drive from Munich to Cologne.
Book your Munich to Cologne train tickets online with Omio.
Book your Munich to Cologne bus tickets online with Omio.
There are 1848+ hotels available in Cologne.
Check out Blablacar's carpooling service for rideshare options between Munich and Cologne. A great option if you don't have a driver's licence or want to avoid public transport.
























