from Munich to Paris

Air Berlin has direct flights from Munich to Paris. We flew the opposite direction a couple of years ago Paris Orly to Munich, and got some very cheap discounted tix by booking early.

I would spend that night in a Munich hotel, actually get a good night's rest LOL, then take a morning train that gets me to Paris in time for lunch. Unless you know you sleep well on N/Ts, the chances of you being an exhausted zombie in Paris are very high :-( This way, you're well-rested! What exact day are you traveling? Must you be in Paris at a certain time, hence your considering renting a car? (All this IF the flight doesn't work out, or you just don't want to bother with it - it could take as long as a 6-hour train ride once you figure in getting to the airport early for security, etc)

Alyce, I'd use the same method as Eileen suggested. Get a good night's sleep and then take a fast train to Paris. It will be MUCH faster than renting a car (NO car can legally travel at 300 kmH), will avoid the high drop-off fees and you'll arrive relaxed and ready to tour. It will also be a much more efficient use of your travel time. There's a train departing Munich Hbf at 06:20, arriving Paris Est at 12:34 (NO changes, travel time 6H:14M, reservations compulsory as it's a TGV). That's likely the one I'd use. Happy travels!

Thank you for this information.....re-thinking the car now. We do arrive in Munich early morning by 9am from us which is why we thought driving would be a good option since the train did not leave until 4 pm!......now it may seem that if we can spend the day in Munich, get a good sleep and get an early morning fast train that would better. the trains are .... I was going to book through RailEuro since seemed to be most efficient way even though some additional fees. Thoughts on what to see for one day/night in Munich? Thanks for the help!!

Book on the German Rail website. It's no less efficient than RailEurope and possibly half the cost. Ticket booked well in advance are as low as €39 pP, although realistically, those lowest tier ticket sell out very quickly. I have seen €59 or €69 fares 2-3 months out.

Alyce, as soon as you mentioned 4 o'clock, I knew you were using Rail Europe; before, I strongly suspected it. They don't come close to showing all of the available trains, and often charge quite a bit more. Book ASAP; the fares quoted by Lee are fantastic! (I suspected they WOULD be from Deutsche Bahn, but couldn't confirm in my earlier post so I didn't want to get you too excited!) You'll probably come out ahead of a N/T fare with a hotel AND a DBahn discount ticket! Again, book these tickets ASAP ( they're 2nd class - 1st class comes with similar savings, but 2nd class is very comfortable, too - and if not non-refundable, then highly restricted).

If you deciide not to stay in Munich overnight, you can leave Munich at 10:25, connect in Stuttgart, and arrive in Paris at 16:34. Book on the German Rail site ASAP (up to 92 days in advance) to get the €39.00 Europa-Spezial Frankreich fare.

Thanks everyone. Though I went to the German rail site and it didn't look like there were any fast trains and most had lots of stops....12 hour rides. Then I was on a site called Voyages-sncf.com (a French site) and did find the TGV for $352 for 2 people. Still very hard to know if this is the right train and if it leaves from the airport etc. Unfortunately, this is why I called RailEurope to help as this is my first times booking trains in Europe and I am totally confused. We will be taking the train from Paris to Avignon and then Nice to Italy.....then Florence to Munich to fly home. I think I need a 4 Country pass to do this right? I can't tell how much more to book w/ RailEurope but seems so much easier. Thanks again for all your help!!

You won't find any long distance trains leaving from the Munich airport. You'll have to take the S-bahn (a commuter train) to the Hauptbahnhof and catch a long distance train there. But, what am I missing here? You're flying into Munich but you really want to be in Paris? Why not fly to Paris directly?

I know seems strange but using UAL mileage and could only get in and out of MUN on the right dates. It's making for a more complex trip planning though!

Couldn't you do Frankfurt instead? Don't you just love those FF miles restrictions. "did find the TGV for $352 for 2 people." Hopefully that is a full fare, refundable ticket. Flights can be late.

After researching all the options on getting from Munich to Paris last summer, we ended up buying round-trip tickets on Air France and only using the Munich-Paris leg. I'd read that round trip fares were sometimes cheaper, and in this case it turned out to be true. Compare air fares before opting for the car rental with the high fuel costs, drop off fees and amount of time spent traveling. (As I recall we paid in the $100-$125 each range and were in Paris in a couple of hours.)

Since you're flying into Munich at 09:00, my suggestion of taking a 10:24 train from the main Munich station won't work. You cannot get there in time. Here's an alternative. Take the S-Bahn from the airport to the Muenchen Hbf in time to catch the 11:50 ICE train to Koeln that arrives at 16:14. If you book well in advance (up to 92 days allowed) on the German Rail site, you can get a Sparpreis fare as low as €29.00 for the entire ride. Make a separate booking on the German Rail site for a Thalys train from Koeln to Paris, departing at 16:42 and arriving at 19:59. If you book well in advance you can get a Smoove fare as low as €29.00. If you book well in advance, you can get discount fares for most of your other rides, too (not Nice into Italy). This can be cheaper than a railpass. If you want more information, just ask. Give us the details of your itinerary (dates as well as routes).