From June onwards, the €9 ticket is intended to encourage passengers to switch to buses and trains. Travel by regional and local transport will cost just €9 per month throughout Germany until the end of August. The Bundestag and Bundesrat approved the bill, which will cost the federal government more than 2.5 billion euros.
But it’s not just passengers who can benefit from the ticket. The super-super-economy price is also attractive to day tourists and weekend travelers. Holiday destinations across Germany can be reached quickly and easily with the regional train. Many regional rail routes also catch the eye: they pass through picturesque valleys, along long stretches of coastline or connect known and lesser-known cities and towns in Germany.
Sylt, in particular, is currently being mentioned as a potential travel destination on social media. But the Federal Republic offers much more. We’ve put together the most beautiful (unknown) train routes and some insider tips for a cheap trip for nine euros.
To the wild Rhine and its waterfalls
Let’s start in Hesse: Right in front of Frankfurt’s gates, the Sektkellerei Henkell invites you to visit. The large German sparkling, wine and spirits company is based in Wiesbaden. The factory exit and visitor center are about a ten-minute walk from the Wiesbaden-Biebrich train station. There you can participate in daily tours and champagne tastings. The station is on route RB10 from Frankfurt to Koblenz.
The Sektkellerei Henkell in Wiesbaden: Photo: Frank Röth
Last year it was still possible to travel further south from the Badischer Bahnhof in Basel to Ulm in three hours without having to change trains. Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg were connected in close succession. But with the time change, that connection ended. Now the regional train needs to be changed in Friedrichshafen. Railway lovers will surpass it, because the route offers unique landscapes: the wild Rhine with the waterfalls near Schaffhausen, Lake Constance with the Alps as a backdrop, and Upper Swabia with its historic towns and baroque buildings. At the end of the nearly 300-kilometer route is one of the tallest religious buildings in the world, the tower of Ulm Minster Church, 162 meters high.
The nearby Free State of Bavaria, which can be easily reached with the regional train from the border town of Ulm, also has many attractive train connections – for example, the route from Freilassing to Berchtesgaden with the national park or the Mittenwaldbahn, which passes through the Karwendel Mountains. The route from Munich to Füssen is no less beautiful. The BRB leaves once an hour in the direction of Königsschlösser. The journey through the postcard-perfect landscape takes almost two hours, at the end of which tourists can choose between several options: walking on the Lechweg or visiting the “Kini” in Neuschwanstein. Ludwig II’s palaces can be reached by train. An insider tip is Hohenschwangau, which lies in the shadow of Neuschwanstein, where the Bavarian king grew up and spent his youth.