Deutsche Bahn (DB) (tel: 01805 996 633; www.bahn.de) is the national service provider. Germany's rail network is modern, extensive and highly efficient. National and international services include high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, which run between major cities in Germany and further afield, InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EC) trains, which serve cities in Germany and Europe respectively, and InterRegio trains, which link different regions of the country. DB offers a number of rail passes, including the Bayern Ticket, valid for one day's travel on local trains throughout Bavaria and on the MVV public transport system.

Munich Hauptbahnhof (central station) is situated at Bahnhofsplatz 2, in the centre of the city. Information on pan-European rail travel is available in English from the EurAide office (tel: (089) 593 889; www.euraide.com), behind the Deutsche Bahn Reisezentrum. Facilities at the station are extensive and include a hotel, shops, travel bureaux, left luggage, cafes, restaurants, bicycle hire, children's museum, Internet cafe, showers, pharmacy, hairdresser, bureau de change, newsagents, bank, chapel and first aid.

Rail services: There is an ICE service daily: from Dortmund via Düsseldorf, Cologne and Mannheim, from Hamburg via Hanover and Kassel, as well as from Berlin via Frankfurt and Stuttgart or via Nuremberg. The ICE Sprinter between Frankfurt and Munich takes 3 hours 30 minutes. A sleeper service, the InterCityNight (ICN), runs between Munich and Berlin or Hamburg (journey time - 8 hours). InterRegio trains run from Dresden to Munich. International services arrive from Vienna, Zurich and Venice via Innsbruck (journey times: 4 hours 15 minutes, 5 hours and 8 hours respectively). The fastest EC service to/from Paris takes just over 6 hours.