European trains are often the most economical and convenient means to travel within Europe. Providing riders a scenic excursion over the shared border, train travel from Belgium to Germany is comfortable and straightforward. While travel between certain cities may require additional connections, several trains provide daily commutes to German destinations from Brussels.
Of Brussels’ four train stations, only three host travel to Germany. Europe’s famed, 300 km/h ICE trains zoom daily from two of these: Brussels-Noord and Brussels-Midi. ICE is famous for its lux service, cozy seating, smooth ride and affordable fare to many European destinations, especially Germany. ICE trains connect Brussels to a comprehensive list of German destinations via Koln Hauptbahnhof, Cologne’s central train station. Thanks to high-speed trains like ICE’s, the journey to Cologne takes less than two, trouble-free hours.
Another contender in Europe’s vast train network, Thalys hosts train travel from Brussels to Germany, via Cologne, five times a day. In addition, the journey with Thalys is three minutes shorter than with ICE. Though Thalys seems like the clear victor, its trains accommodate convenience over comfort, and travel to far fewer destinations within Germany. Nevertheless, Thalys provides a quick and simple commute from Brussels to Cologne, where direct connections are plentiful.
If you are traveling to a destination in southern Germany, consider making a transfer in Luxembourg; the tiny country and its capital city share this name. The city of Luxembourg is easy to reach from any of Brussels’ major train stations with an InterCity (IC) or EuroCity (EC) train, which both provide several commutes between cities daily. Luxembourg provides easy access to Koblenz using Regional Express (RE), RegionalBahn (RB) and IC trains; here, connections can be made to most major German cities.
A direct journey from Brussels to any city in Germany is not always possible. If your destination is not a major city, or if it is distant, you will likely need to make a transfer en route from Brussels. Though train travel within Germany is easy, you may want to check which transfers will optimize travel time and price. For example, traveling from Brussels to Munich, Germany, via Luxembourg can cost nearly 200 euros and take 11 hours; meanwhile, a trip from Brussels to Munich with a transfer in Frankfurt costs 170 euros on average and takes only seven hours on comfy, high-speed trains.
