Frankfurt to Nuremberg by train

Illustration of a rail line east from Frankfurt to Nuremberg, with a branch drawn in from the airport station.

The direct answer: the fastest ICE does it in 2 hours 1 minute, the average is nearer 2 hrs 30, and there are around twenty-eight trains a day. The important detail is that many of them start at Frankfurt Airport rather than the city — so if you are flying in, you do not need to go into Frankfurt at all.

Fastest2 hrs 01

Typical2 hrs 32

Trains per dayAbout 28

From the airportDirect, no city transfer

RouteVia Würzburg

Change neededUsually none

Why this is the route long-haul arrivals should use

Frankfurt Airport has a long-distance railway station — the Fernbahnhof — underneath the terminal complex, served by full ICE services rather than a shuttle. In practice that means you land, clear immigration, follow the signs down, and get on a train to Nuremberg. No city transfer, no second station, no dragging a suitcase across a concourse.

This is the thing that makes Frankfurt the better gateway even though Munich is geographically closer to Nuremberg and the Munich train is an hour shorter. Munich Airport has no long-distance station; you take the S-Bahn into Munich Hauptbahnhof, which is about forty minutes, and only then begin the seventy-minute train. Add the transfer and the wait and the two options land within half an hour of each other — with Frankfurt usually ahead, and much less hassle. The getting to Nuremberg page has the full comparison.

Insider tip

Check whether your airline sells the train as part of the ticket — Lufthansa and several partners do, under a rail-and-fly arrangement. Booked that way, a delayed flight becomes the airline’s problem instead of a train ticket you have to rebuy at the counter.

The route, and where it can go wrong

Trains run via Würzburg on the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line and then across to Nuremberg. It is a good ride — the stretch through the Spessart and down into the Franconian wine country is one of the better ICE windows in Germany, and Würzburg itself is worth a stop if you have a spare day, being the northern end of the Romantic Road.

The Frankfurt corridor is also one of the busiest bottlenecks in the German network, and it takes a share of the country’s engineering work most years. In 2026 the Fulda corridor north of here saw a summer closure with hour-scale delays. None of that is a reason to avoid the route, but it is a reason to check your specific date on the DB site rather than assuming the two-hour figure, particularly in July and August.

From	Time	Changes	Notes
Frankfurt Airport	About 2 hrs 10	Usually none	Direct from the Fernbahnhof
Frankfurt Hbf	2 hrs 01 fastest	None	The city-centre station
Würzburg	About 55 min	None	Break the journey here if you can
Cologne	About 3 hrs 30	Usually none	Via Frankfurt

Arriving in Nuremberg

Frankfurt trains arrive at Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof, which is directly across the road from the medieval wall. The Königstor and the Handwerkerhof are about two minutes on foot from the main exit; the Hauptmarkt is a twelve-minute walk straight up Königstraße. If your hotel is in the old town, you almost certainly do not need to take anything.

If you have arrived off a long-haul flight and want the first day to require no decisions, a short guided walk is a reasonable use of the afternoon — it is the one activity that works on no sleep, because someone else is doing the navigating.

Daily departure

Or simply walk it yourself; the old town page has the route, and the walking tours page is honest about when a guide is and is not worth the money.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does the train from Frankfurt to Nuremberg take?

The fastest ICE takes 2 hours 1 minute and the average journey is about 2 hours 32 minutes. There are roughly twenty-eight trains a day, most of them direct via Würzburg.

Is there a direct train from Frankfurt Airport to Nuremberg?

Yes. Frankfurt Airport has its own long-distance ICE station beneath the terminal complex, with direct trains to Nuremberg in about two hours and ten minutes. You do not need to travel into Frankfurt city centre first.

Is Frankfurt or Munich the better airport for Nuremberg?

Frankfurt, for anyone arriving from outside Europe. Frankfurt has an ICE station inside the airport; Munich does not, and requires a 40-minute S-Bahn into the city before the train to Nuremberg even starts. Frankfurt is further away and usually faster door to door.

Do I need to book Frankfurt to Nuremberg in advance?

Not to travel — there are trains all day and a flexible fare always works. But ICE pricing is yield-based, so an advance saver fare booked a few weeks out is considerably cheaper than the walk-up price, and a seat reservation is worth having on a Friday or Sunday.