Paris to Munich, where/how do I make reservations?

RS covers buying train tickets and so does the Man in Seat 61.

You'll need to run the numbers to see if a Eurail Pass will be worthwhile for your situation. It may be cheaper to buy point to point tickets or there are some situations where there are regional passes in Germany.

The basic ticket from Paris to Munich can be purchased on either the French train site, SNCF Connect or on the German train site, Deutsche Bahn. IF your credit card doesn't work you can use the site www.trainline.com but I'd recommend you try the national train sites first. You can download the ticket to your wallet on your phone.

Don't use the "rail Europe" website as they don't give all the trains available. Do use one of the above!

At this time you may be too far out to book for November but you can still get an idea of costs. I'm seeing 57 to 67+ Euro for a train between Paris and Munich in June and 17+ to 27+ Euro for one way from Munich to Salzburg so definitely make sure a pass will work better for you before you purchase it.

Thanks for the information.

We're only going to be there for a week so I guess I was assuming a Eurail Pass was the best bet.
One of my fears is that miss the train in Paris to Munich for some reason (strike, wrong directions, etc.). If that happens, could we even easily get another ticket on the spot without paying a fortune? I assumed with the Railpass it would be somewhat "easier" to just train hop until we get to Munich.

A Eurail Pass will be a waste for only 4 days. As was pointed out, you can buy nonrefundable tickets for Paris to Munich for as little as 85.80 EUR for 2 people. Munich to Salzburg can be done for 36 EUR for 2 people when you are there with a Bayern Ticket you buy out of a vending machine.

could we even easily get another ticket on the spot without paying a fortune?

In case of a strike, nonrefundable tickets are completely refundable.

I think you're right. If I do some quick math, it seems the cost is much less if I buy point-to-point.

However, let's assume my fear comes true. I'm in Paris, I have a scheduled time and train to Munich and I miss it. How easy or expensive would it be to buy two tickets on the spot?

What would you do if you were late for your plane to Paris? Just don't be late. Nonrefundable tickets are fully refundable in case of a strike. If there is a strike, you can't just "hop" another train. When they go on strike, all the trains go on strike. You have to make another reservation and pay for it. Last minute, they may not even let you buy another reservation on the next train, since France can limit the number of pass reservations they sell for a given train. Tickets you buy include all required reservations ith the ticket price.

A train to Munich will require a train change in Mannheim. German trains do not require seat reservations, but you can buy them in advance for 4.50 EUR per seat. You can also pay an additional 22 EUR total and buy 2 1st class tickets ith seat resarvations included all the way to Munich.

The walk up price for Paris to Munich is 310 EUR for 2, 2nd class.

I went to the Bahn.DE website to see how much a ticket for tomorrow costs. It's 155E for a single person from Paris to Munich.

It would be fairly easy to purchase the ticket unless there was a strike and the numbers of trains were limited. November does not have any big holidays that I'm aware of so I don't think it would be an issue.

I am not used to taking trains except in Europe. I know the locals get to the train within minutes of departure but that makes me anxious. I get there about an hour ahead of time. That gives me a chance to walk around a bit (having taken care to be pickpocket proof), check out the overhead signs for destinations, get a pastry and a drink and sit for a bit. I take a taxi from my hotel and ask my hotel front desk person how long to allow for a taxi ride to whichever station from that location.

How easy or expensive would it be to buy two tickets on the spot?

Speaking to the price part, there are two general rules of thumb about long-distance international rail travel in Europe (both of which apply to Paris-Munich):

• Fares vary and they get more and more expensive the closer you are (like air travel)
• Every ticketed passenger must have a seat, i.e. trains can sell out if they are booked (also like air travel, overbooking of planes aside). This is one of, though not the only, reasons that Eurail passes require reservations for long-distance train routes like this.
  • Note: this doesn't always mean you as a passenger can choose your seat; it might be assigned to you automatically

In other words, a last-minute purchase will be expensive. For example, tomorrow's 17:55 direct train from Paris to Munich is €155 per person. The same train on a Saturday three months from now (May 27) is only €85.

That said, it's worth understanding the ticket conditions of your ticket carefully. On SNCF-operated TGV inOui trains, for example, the standard 2nd class ticket condition is:

Billet échangeable (ajustement au tarif en vigueur) et remboursable uniquement avant départ : 19 € de frais dès 6 jours avant départ. Dès 30 min avant départ, billet échangeable 2 fois max (même jour, même trajet) et non remboursable après 1 échange.

This translates to (emphasis mine):

Ticket is changeable (with an adjustment to the fare in effect) and refundable only before departure: €19 fee starting 6 days prior to departure. From 30 minutes prior to departure, the ticket is only changeable twice (for the same day, same trip) and non-refundable after 1 change.

In other words, if you know you're going to miss an SNCF TGV inOui train, you should try to change the ticket -- you will be charged a €19 fee and you will be charged the fare difference, but at least you don't lose the initial value of the ticket. In other words, if you bought a ticket at €85 but now it's €155, you can pay €89 at the last minute, prior to the train's departure, (€155-€85+€19) to change to another train on the same route the same day.