Florence to Munich by train

That is a really long trip, with train changes. That doesn't make it impossible at all. But it does raise the question of whether it is the best use of your time in Europe. Because you're likely to route through Venice, one of the most remarkable places in Europe, I question whether your itinerary is ideal.

Have you read our host's general tips for travel, especially trains in Europe? See the links at top left. It's really not hard to buy the tickets in advance (which saves you money, around three months in advance.) But you don't want to lock yourselves into something until you have a clear "big picture." And some people do have trouble with the Trenitalia website, particularly requests for a postal mailing address and the drop-down box of station names. So it's good to read before you book. In that sense, you are determining whether the "best place to book" means "the most simple for novice computer users" or "cheapest" or "best control of the route and seating" or "access to shortest travel time", or what!

I don't know if Rick's current edition of advice tells you that much of the romance of train travel has evaporated. You don't often get the compartments you see in the movies. But you do get an excellent view of much more than you can see from the windows of a car on a superhighway. But for an eight-hour trip, I would consider the luggage fees and annoyances of bargain airlines.

This is a great train ride - we have done it a couple of times. This train has only one change and some beautiful scenery along the way. You can book this easy on https://www.trainline.eu/search/firenze/munchen-hbf/2017-06-07-08:00

Firenze Campo di Marte dep 08:03 ES 8502 EuroStar Italia Direction: Verona Porta Nuova
Global price , Bar , space for wheelchairs

Verona Porta Nuova arr 09:37

Transfer time 1:25 h

Verona Porta Nuova dep 11:02 EC 80 Eurocity Direction: München Hbf
Bicycles conveyed - subject to reservation , Number of bicycles conveyed limited , Bordrestaurant

München Hbf arr 16:25

There is also a daily EC train direct leaving Bologna at 11:52 arriving Munich at 18:27. Bologna is only 35 minutes from Florence by frequent trains.
Tickets at http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

We've taken this train tide too in the opposite direction and I highly recommend it for a relaxing scene filled day, especially from Verona through the Dolomites. We went all the way from Munich to Milan with the train change (1) in Verona. We purchased our ticket in advance for about 39€. Price wasn't the deciding factor for us though, we really wanted a relaxing train filled day and not the stress of another flight.

I agree with Christi (and Mona). Last year I did it the other way around. The part which crosses the mountains between Italy and Austria is one of the best I've ever had.

You can also take a later train:
Firenze S.M.N. (Florence main station): 11.00 - Bologna Centrale: 11.35
Bologna Centrale: 11.52 - Muenchen Hbf (Munich central station): 18.27.
(Personally I would take an earlier train from Florence to Bologna to be on the safe side in case of a delay.)

Tickets can be bought on the website of the Italian railways. Advance-bought, non-refundable tickets come with considerable discount.
Simple and reliable process: payment by credit card and an emailed pdf for printing at home. The Italian railways are particular about spelling. It works with the names I used above.
No need for 1st class. These are comfortable trains.