This page covers distances between German cities, distances to and from Berlin, and distances between Germany and its neighbouring European countries — in kilometres and miles, with flight, rail and driving estimates.
Distance guide covering 61+ routes across 5 cities in Germany. Includes domestic and international connections with flight times and driving distances.
Berlin is the most searched starting point in Germany, and distance works in both directions: the distance to Berlin from any city is identical to the distance from Berlin to that city, because both are the same great-circle line.
Germany also borders nine countries, so a large share of "distance to Germany" questions are really questions about the nearest German city. The routes below use Berlin as the reference point for Germany's neighbours and near neighbours.
Germany is home to 5 major cities in our database, including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Nuremberg. The largest city by population is Berlin with approximately 3,644,826 residents, located in the Brandenburg region.
Within Germany, there are 5 domestic routes connecting cities across the country. The shortest domestic route is Munich to Nuremberg at 151 km, while the longest is Berlin to Munich at 504 km.
Germany also connects to 56 international destinations worldwide. Whether you're planning domestic travel or international flights, this comprehensive distance guide provides all the information you need. All distances are calculated using the Haversine formula for maximum accuracy.
For travelers within Germany, shorter routes under 500 km are often well-suited for driving or train travel. Routes between 500-2,000 km offer a choice between driving and flying, while anything over 2,000 km is typically best served by air travel. Read our guide on estimating travel time for more detailed planning advice.
Great-circle distance is only half the story in Germany. The country has one of Europe's densest intercity rail networks, and on most domestic pairs a Deutsche Bahn ICE beats flying once you count airport transfer, security and boarding. Frankfurt to Cologne, for example, takes barely an hour on the high-speed line — no flight can compete door to door.
Driving is the other realistic option. The Autobahn network runs to roughly 13,000 km, and while around half of it has no general speed limit, the advisory speed is 130 km/h and roadworks plus city ring roads keep real averages well below that. The table below pairs the straight-line distances used on this page with actual scheduled rail times and typical road distances.
| Route | By train | By road |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin → Hamburg | ~1h 45m (ICE, roughly hourly) | 290 km · ~3h on the A24 |
| Berlin → Munich | ~3h 50m (ICE Sprinter via Erfurt) | 585 km · ~6h on the A9 |
| Berlin → Frankfurt | ~4h (ICE) | 545 km · ~5h 30m on the A9/A4 |
| Berlin → Nuremberg | ~3h (ICE via Erfurt) | 440 km · ~4h 30m on the A9 |
| Frankfurt → Munich | ~3h 10m (ICE) | 395 km · ~4h on the A3/A9 |
| Frankfurt → Hamburg | ~3h 40m (ICE) | 495 km · ~5h on the A7 |
| Frankfurt → Nuremberg | ~2h 05m (ICE) | 225 km · ~2h 20m on the A3 |
| Munich → Nuremberg | ~1h 05m (ICE on the Ingolstadt high-speed line) | 170 km · ~2h on the A9 |
| Hamburg → Munich | ~5h 45m (ICE) | 775 km · ~7h 30m on the A7/A9 |
| Hamburg → Nuremberg | ~4h 30m (ICE) | 610 km · ~6h on the A7 |
5 routes connecting cities within Germany, from 151 km to 504 km.
56 routes connecting Germany to cities worldwide, from 97 km to 6,385 km.
Germany's aviation and ground network shapes how the 61 routes on this page actually feel in practice. The flag carrier Lufthansa handles most long-haul departures, while low-cost players such as Eurowings, Condor dominate short-haul leisure traffic. The primary international gateway is Frankfurt (FRA), which also acts as the natural connection point for travelers using one-stop routings to save 20–40% on long-haul fares.
For shorter trips, ground transport in Germany is built around Deutsche Bahn's ICE high-speed trains connecting all major cities in 4 hours or less. On corridors under roughly 700 km, door-to-door rail travel is often faster than flying once airport security and transfers are factored in — a calculation worth running before booking domestic flights inside Germany.
Of the 61 routes covered here, the breakdown is 22 under 500 km, 30 between 500 and 1,500 km, 7 between 1,500 and 5,000 km, 2 between 5,000 and 10,000 km. That mix is why a single travel-time rule never works for Germany: a typical traveler will encounter everything from a 60-minute regional hop to a multi-hour long-haul journey, depending on destination.
The 5 cities in our database for Germany are anchored by Berlin — a metropolitan area of roughly 3.64 million people sitting at 52.52°N, 13.40°E. That position places much of Germany in a cool temperate climate with long mild summers and dark, cold winters, which directly influences both the local travel calendar and how comfortable arrivals from very different latitudes will feel.
Domestic distances within Germany range from Munich to Nuremberg at 151 km up to Berlin to Munich at 504 km. The wider that range, the more critical it becomes to match transport mode to journey length — exactly what the routes table above is designed to help with.
Because of Earth's curvature, the great-circle distances shown on this page are not the same as flight paths drawn on a flat map. Routes between Germany and far-away destinations often track closer to the poles than people expect — read more in our guide on how the Haversine formula works.
Travel costs in Germany sit in the mid-range globally, with significant savings available 6–10 weeks ahead of departure.
Mid-week departures (Tuesday and Wednesday in particular) into and out of Germany are typically 20–30% cheaper than Friday and Sunday flights on the same routes. Red-eye and very early-morning departures usually save another 10–15%. Budget carriers serving Germany apply strict carry-on rules and unbundled fares, so packing light remains the single biggest lever for keeping total trip cost low.
For multi-city trips inside Germany, compare the cost of a single open-jaw flight plus ground transport against multiple point-to-point flights — on routes with strong rail service, the rail-and-fly combination usually wins on both price and total door-to-door time.
Under 500 km: ground transport — driving, coaches, or the rail services described above — is usually competitive with flying door-to-door once airport overhead is included. This band covers many of the shortest routes on this page.
500–1,500 km: the choice gets interesting. In Germany, the high-speed rail network often beats flying door-to-door even at the upper end of this band, particularly if you can travel city-centre to city-centre.
Over 1,500 km: flying becomes the obvious choice. The 56 international routes from Germany above 1,500 km on this page are essentially flight-only journeys; ground alternatives exist only on a handful of specialist sleeper trains or long-distance coaches and aren't time-competitive.
Whichever mode you pick, use the calculator on this site to confirm exact great-circle figures, then add 20–40% for actual driving distance and 30–60 minutes per direction for airport overhead. Browse our travel guides for in-depth advice on flight time, driving distance and trip planning across Germany and beyond.
Berlin → Hamburg: ~1h 45m (ICE, roughly hourly). Berlin → Munich: ~3h 50m (ICE Sprinter via Erfurt). Berlin → Frankfurt: ~4h (ICE). Berlin → Nuremberg: ~3h (ICE via Erfurt).
On most domestic pairs the train wins door to door once airport transfer, security and boarding are counted. Every route in the table is comfortably drivable in a day, so domestic flying in Germany only really saves time on the Hamburg–Munich axis.
We cover 5 cities in Germany, including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Nuremberg.
The longest domestic route is Berlin to Munich at 504 km.
There are 56 international routes connecting cities in Germany to destinations worldwide. The shortest international route is Innsbruck to Munich at 97 km.
All distances use the Haversine formula for great-circle distance — the shortest path between two points on Earth. Flight times assume 800 km/h cruising speed plus 30 minutes for takeoff/landing. Driving times use 80 km/h average with a 30% road routing factor.