Train Ticket Prices for Germany and France?

The TGV are the fast train, premium train and they command the highest prices. They make sense if travel is six hours or more because you will save time. Cheapest trains are regional that hit of the stops and take longer. The IC - intercity are in the middle - few stops and therefore faster. The IC can be a good compromise between speed and price.

Do you think it would be alright if I just purchased my Frankfurt to Munich ticket when I get there and find something cheaper? Also, my Munich to Paris trip is $247 and has two connections. The first is on an IC and the other is on a TGV. Do you have any recommendations of sites for cheaper tickets?

I don't know where you are looking at ticket prices (RailEurope?). The highest price from Frankfurt directly to Munich by ICE (there are no TGV on that route) is €91, about $120 today. That's what you would pay at a counter or online from German Rail. And, yes, there are less expensive trains. While ICEs make the trip in 3½ hrs, Eurocity (EC) and Intercity (IC) trains take a little longer (4½ to 5 hrs), but they cost only €73 ($95) for a full fare ticket. Tickets for the above trains are purchasable before you go from the Bahn website. In that case, reservations would cost €2,50 per seat. If you're willing to take regional trains, you can go from Frankfurt Hbf to Munich with changes in Würzburg and Nürnberg in around 6 hours using a local ticket from Frankfurt to Kahl am Main and a Bayern-Ticket. That would cost €27,15 for one person, €21,15 each for two. There are no reservation on regional trains. Bayern-Tickets are always available from automats at the station. Finally, if you buy your tickets online from the Bahn sufficiently in advance (min 3 days, max 92 days), you can get significantly lower prices, as low as €29 per person, each way. These are Sparpreis tickets, and have to be by ICE/IC/EC. Sparpreis tickets are train specific, non-transferable, and only partially refundable before the day of travel. Full fare tickets are transferable, but reservations are not. From the Bahn, you can get a full fare ticket from Munich to Paris for €135 (about $175). This trip takes a little over 6 hours, ICE from Munich to Stuttgart, TGV from there to Paris.

Lee is the German train expert. Follow his recommendations.

Thank you for the info! It is much appreciated!

If you book Munich-Paris well in advance on the German Rail site, you can get a Europa-Spezial Frankreich fare as low as €39. There is a direct TGV that departs at 06:20. At other times of the day you'll have to connect in Stuttgart.

You don't have to get up at dark:30 and catch the 6:20 TGV to get the €39 fare from Munich, although it might help because there won't be much competition for the limited tickets at that time.

Mary, You've received absolutely the best information from Lee and the others. One question though - are you travelling from Frankfurt to Munich as soon as you arrive in Germany? Keep in mind that there's a station right at the airport, and depending on what time you arrive, there may be a direct train available to Munich (I usually prefer direct trains if possible). Which website were you using to obtain the prices you listed? As you've "never done this before", you might find it helpful to read the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door, as that will provide some information on how the trains work in Europe. You'll need to be aware of how to change trains, locating the correct train, etc. You could also have a look at This short video which is a good tutorial on travelling by train in Europe. The video is a few years old, but still relevant. Cheers!