ICE 3 Velaro

The ICE 3 (designated Class 403 by Deutsche Bahn) is Germany's flagship high-speed train, operating at up to 300 km/h on the country's high-speed lines. Introduced in 2000, it was the first ICE variant able to use the newly built Cologne to Frankfurt high-speed line, which opened the same year. The ICE 3 has since become the workhorse of DB's premium corridor network, running on routes including Frankfurt to Cologne, Frankfurt to Munich, Berlin to Munich, and international services to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

The train has a transparent cab design allowing passengers seated at the front and rear to see through the driver's cabin and look forward along the track, an unusual feature for any passenger train. Standard First Class coaches have leather seats in a 2+1 layout with power sockets at every seat. Second Class has a 2+2 layout with fold-down tray tables and power sockets on most rakes. A Bord Bistro restaurant car serves hot meals, sandwiches, coffee, and alcoholic drinks throughout the journey.

Journey times on key routes are: Frankfurt to Cologne in under 1 hour, Frankfurt to Munich in approximately 3 hours 15 minutes, and Berlin to Munich in 3 hours 55 minutes. The Munich services use the Nuremberg to Ingolstadt high-speed line (300 km/h) and the Augsburg to Munich section, enabling significant time savings over the old line through Augsburg.

Book ICE 3 tickets at bahn.de or the DB Navigator app. Super Saver fares (Sparpreis) are available from as little as 17.90 euros for Second Class if booked weeks in advance. A BahnCard 25 or BahnCard 50 provides 25 or 50 percent discount on most fares. On international services to Paris, coordination with SNCF means tickets can also be booked via Eurostar or SNCF Connect depending on the routing.