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All aboard! City Night Line is the German Railways sleeper train service. This is the Comfortline sleeping-car on the Paris-Munich sleeper train, boarding at the Gare de l'Est in Paris...
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City Night Line is the overnight sleeper train company wholly-owned by Deutsche Bahn (German Railways). This page explains what you need to know about travelling by City Night Line overnight train. They operate on a whole range of routes, many of interest to UK travellers, including:
Paris ► Berlin (Perseus)
Paris ► Munich (Cassiopeia)
Paris ► Hamburg (Andromeda)
Amsterdam/Cologne ► Prague (Phoenix)
Amsterdam/Cologne ► Copenhagen (Borealis)
Amsterdam ► Munich (Pollux)
Amsterdam ► Zurich (Pegasus)
Zurich ► Prague, Copenhagen ► Prague
There are 3 types of accommodation...
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Sleeping-cars = 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments, either economy compartments with washbasin or deluxe compartments with shower & toilet.
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Couchettes = simple bunks in shared 6-berth or 4-berth compartments.
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Ordinary seats = in a 6-seat compartment or (on some trains) reclining seat cars.
Food & drink on board Passengers with special needs Important travel tips
Taking your bike How to buy tickets
Which type to choose?
If your budget allows, a berth in the sleeping-car is the most civilised, comfortable & romantic way to travel, and in a deluxe compartment you even get a private toilet & shower. To be honest, however, there's not much difference between a deluxe and economy sleeper other than the en suite shower and a slightly bigger breakfast, so an economy sleeper is fine, especially as there's a shower at the end of the corridor anyway and often a big price difference between deluxe and economy sleepers. Couchettes are the economy option, simple bunks supplied with sheet, rug and pillow, great for families or groups of friends or individual travellers on a budget. A berth in a less crowded 4-berth compartment is well worth the extra over a berth in a 6-berth compartment, the 4-berth couchette compartments are the same size as the 6-berth rooms, just with fewer passengers per room. Ordinary seats are usually arranged in 6-seat compartments with no lock on the door and no attendant on duty. Travelling overnight in a basic seat is not very comfortable and the best advice is to always book a couchette or sleeper for a safe & sound night's sleep, even if you're on a tight budget. Incidentally, ships have 'cabins', the correct term on a train is 'compartment'.
Sleeping-cars...
This is the most comfortable, civilised & romantic way to travel. The modern 2007-built Comfortline sleeping-cars used on these trains have nine economy compartments with washbasin and three deluxe compartments with private toilet & shower. Each compartment can be used as either a 1-berth, 2-berth or 3-berth room (with upper, middle & lower berths).
Deluxe sleeper with private toilet & shower...
The deluxe rooms are a tiny fraction larger than the economy rooms, but still compact. The main difference is that you get a small private toilet & shower, a complimentary aperitif of red wine or sparkling white on departure and a fuller breakfast next morning, served on proper china. Soap, towels, mineral water & shower gel are provided.
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| Deluxe sleeper. Each compartment can be used as a 1, 2 or 3-bed room. See video of deluxe room | The same deluxe compartment in daytime mode with seats folded out and beds folded away... | Deluxe rooms have a compact private shower & toilet... | Breakfast is served in your compartment next morning. This is the deluxe sleeper breakfast... |
Economy sleeper with washbasin...
The beds and the decor are exactly the same as the deluxe rooms, the only difference is that the compartment floor space is a fraction smaller (though not so you'd notice) and there's a washbasin instead of an en suite toilet & shower. The fare includes a simple breakfast box (roll, butter, juice, croissant, jam, paté) and cup of tea or coffee next morning. Toilets and an excellent hot shower are available at the end of the corridor - take your plastic ving-card key with you as you may need it to unlock the door (no more free showers for couchette passengers from the car next door!). There is shower gel in the shower, but take a towel from your compartment.
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| Economy sleeper set up as a 2-berth, with blind down & washstand open. Each room can be used with 1, 2 or 3 beds. | The same sleeper with berths folded away & seats folded out, washstand closed. Very similar to a deluxe, but without the shower & toilet. | Economy sleeper compartments have a washstand with hot water, fresh towels, drinking water & soap. | Just like a hotel corridor... The corridor in a Comfortline sleeping-car... |
Travelling by sleeper (both economy & deluxe)...
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The sleeping-car attendant will greet you at the door to the sleeper, check your reservation and direct you to your room. He or she will come round shortly afterwards to take your rail tickets, so you will not be disturbed by ticket inspections. Your tickets will be handed back to you at the end of your journey.
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Each compartment is compact, just big enough for a bed and space to stand next to it. There are 12 compartments per 26-metre car, so please don't expect a hotel-room size compartment taking up half the car for just 2 people. The photos above were taken from the doorway and accurately show the size of the compartment. What you see is what you get.
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Each bed has fresh clean sheets, a fluffy pillow, snug duvet, and its own individual reading light.
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The sleeper attendant can provide 'room service' of tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks & light snacks, but feel free to take your own bottle of wine or picnic on board.
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Breakfast is included in the fare, served in your compartment. Passengers in economy sleepers get a simple breakfast box plus tea or coffee (see photo below), passengers in deluxe sleepers get a more extensive breakfast served on proper china (see the photo above).
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There's plenty of room for luggage under the bottom berth, on the racks above the window or in the recess above the door projecting over the corridor ceiling, see the photo below.
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All compartments have 220V power sockets for laptop computers & mobiles (look below the bed near the door).
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For the evening & morning parts of a journey, the attendant can fold the beds away and convert the compartment into a private sitting room with sofa and small table.
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There's CCTV in the corridor for security, and all compartments have a hotel-style 'ving-card' lock with plastic card key plus an additional security deadlock which cannot be opened from outside, even with a staff key, so you'll be both safe and snug. On trains with a bistro car you can lock your room while you go to the bistro.
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Each compartment can be booked for single, double or triple occupancy. Berths can also be booked individually: Passengers travelling alone do not have to pay the fare for a single-berth sleeper (which can be expensive), but can pay for a bed in a 2 or 3-bed sleeper and share with other civilised sleeper passengers of the same sex. Once snug in your berth you cannot see the people above or below you, giving you all the privacy you need.
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If there's a small group of you, ask to book a pair of adjacent sleeper compartments with an inter-connecting door, which opens to make a suite for 2 to 6 persons, with or without shower & toilet.
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The Amsterdam-Cologne-Prague sleeping-car is Czech rather than German, but these new Czech sleeping-cars have been built by the same German factory (Siemens, no less) to the same design as the German version. The sleepers on the Basel-Frankfurt-Prague and Prague-Budapest night trains are also now of this new Czech type.
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See the short video below about these Comfortline sleeping-cars, and read these travel tips...
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| This is the economy sleeper breakfast, included in the fare and served in your compartment... | You keep your bags with you. There's space for a large suitcase up top, above the door, with straps to retain it... | All aboard! One of City Night Line's new Comfortline sleeping-cars... |
Couchettes...
Couchettes are basic, inexpensive but comfortable sleeping accommodation. Couchettes normally have 6 padded bunks per compartment (upper, middle & lower each side of the compartment), but you can choose to pay a slightly higher fare to travel in a less crowded 4-bunk couchette compartment (upper & lower bunks). The extra space and privacy is well worth the extra few pounds. By day, a couchette compartment is an ordinary seating compartment, with two three-a-side bench seats facing each other. At night, the attendant will convert the compartment into a sleeping compartment by folding bunks out from the wall. A pillow, sheet and blanket are supplied, and each berth has its own reading light. Washrooms and toilets are available at the end of the corridor. 360° photo Berth layout & numbering plan. See these travel tips.
The sexes aren't segregated in couchettes, as you don't normally fully undress to sleep, so men and women share the same compartments. However, women travelling alone can ask for a berth in a ladies-only compartment. All couchette compartments have a normal lock and a security lock on the door which cannot be opened from outside, even with a staff key, so you'll be both safe and snug. There's plenty of space for luggage under the bottom bunks, on the racks and in the big recess above the door which projects out over the corridor ceiling.
 A couchette car on the Munich to Paris train... |
 4-berth couchettes... |
 6-berth couchettes. 360° photo |
Ordinary seats...
These night trains also have ordinary seats, usually in 6-seat compartments, though a few specific trains have reclining seats arranged in open-plan saloons including Amsterdam-Zurich, Berlin-Zurich, Hamburg-Zurich, Amsterdam-Munich). However, travelling overnight in a seat, with nowhere to lie down, no attendant on duty and no lock on the compartment door, is not recommended. It's a false economy, always book at least a couchette for a comfortable and safe journey.
 Seats car on the Paris-Munich sleeper train... |
 6-seater seats compartment on the Munich-Paris train. |
 Reclining seats (certain trains only)... |
Food & drink on board...
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On a few routes (but notably not the CNL sleeper trains from Paris or Amsterdam) there's a bistro-bar car serving a late dinner, snacks, drinks and breakfast. When there is no bistro car, sleeping-car passengers are served a light breakfast in their compartments, and can order a limited 'room service' of tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks or light snacks from their sleeper attendant throughout the journey. The sleeping-car attendant will also sell drinks and snacks (or a breakfast) to passengers walking through from the adjacent couchette cars or seats. You're welcome to take your own food and drink on board with you on all routes, indeed I recommend taking some snacks and a bottle of wine! Photo courtesy of Deutsche Bahn... |
Taking your bike...
Most City Night Line sleeper trains have a special bicycle compartment with spaces for several bikes. It's marked with a cycle logo on the side. Spaces must be reserved in advance, and a fee of 10-15 euro must be paid per bike per journey. For more information about taking your bike to Europe by train, see the Europe page.
Passengers with special needs...
Wheelchair-accessible 2-berth couchette: Most City Night Line trains have one wheelchair accessible 2-berth couchette compartment, located next to a wheelchair-accessible toilet. The whole side to the compartment and to the toilet slide aside at the touch of a button. For more information for travellers with disabilities, and photos of this special accessible couchette compartment, see the Europe page.
Travel tips...
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Take a picnic & bottle of wine! Never assume there will be a restaurant car, unless you are specifically told there is. On the early-evening City Night Line departures from Paris or from Amsterdam there is definitely no restaurant or buffet car, so take a picnic and perhaps bottle of wine with you!
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...Or have dinner before you board? In Paris, try the Brasserie Flo inside the Gare de l'Est, near one of the main station entrances in what was once the left luggage office or consigne. In Munich, I can recommend the Mongdratzerl restaurant inside the station, at the end of a middle passageway. In Cologne, try the Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de) 5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de) 10-15 minutes walk away, or the Schweinske (www.schweinske.de) inside Cologne Hauptbahnhof itself.
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First class lounges: In Amsterdam, deluxe sleeper passengers (but not standard sleeper or couchette passengers) can use the NS HiSpeed lounge to wait for the train at Amsterdam Centraal, with complimentary tea, coffee, juice, wine & beer. At German stations such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Cologne, deluxe sleeper passengers (but not standard sleeper or couchette passengers) can use the DB lounges to wait for their train, although they usually close around 21:00. Complimentary tea, coffee, juice, wine and beer are provided. You can also use these lounges if you have a first class ticket for connecting trains to or from other locations. In Zurich, there's also a first class lounge. There is no lounge in Paris.
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What to look for on station departure boards: When arriving at the station and looking at the departure boards, engage brain. For example, at Amsterdam, you'll see '19:01 Copenhagen' on the departure board which is in fact the combined 19:01 City Night Line to Copenhagen, Prague and Warsaw, so don't stand there like a lemon waiting for a separate '19:01 to Prague' to appear! Similarly, in Munich the 22:50 City Night Line to Paris is shown as the '22:50 to Amsterdam' as it runs combined with the Munich-Amsterdam sleeper when it leaves Munich. Printed timetable departure posters at the station will usually confirm the platform, too.
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Where to stand on the platform: These can be long trains! There's usually a train composition poster in a display case somewhere on each platform. This shows the formation of all trains calling at that platform and where the train's various cars will be positioned along the platform when the train arrives. If you're in car 462 and that car is shown on the plan as stopping in 'sector E' go and stand next to the big 'E' sign hanging from the platform canopy. This saves running up and down looking for your car.
How to buy tickets...
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If you book in advance, you can find airline-beating cheap deals on these trains, from as little as €59 including a couchette or €99 including a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. Almost cheaper than a taxi to the airport!
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www.raileurope.co.uk: If you live in the UK you can buy City Night Line sleeper tickets at www.raileurope.co.uk, which can be the cheapest way. However, for some reason www.raileurope.co.uk cannot currently book 4-berth couchettes on these trains. Also note that the child age limits used by www.raileurope.co.uk are designed for French trains and are incorrect for these City Night Line trains. On City Night Line, children under 6 go free, children under 16 travel at the child rate (not, as Rail Europe say, under 4'sfree and under 12 child rate).
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www.bahn.de: You can buy tickets for all City Night Line trains, German domestic trains and many daytime German international trains online using the journey planner on the German Railways (DB) website, www.bahn.de. This can book all accommodation types on City Night Line trains and shows the correct child age limits for these trains. However, for some reason it won't offer a berth in a 3-berth sleeper to solo travellers, whereas raileurope.co.uk will!
More information...
The City Night Line part of the German Railways website is at www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/prices/europe/overnight-travel.shtml. It has more information about City Night Line services, including plans of the sleeping-cars showing berth numbers, and a timetable brochure in .pdf format, plus up to date info on any engineering work or other issues affecting City Night Line trains or reservations.
See the video:City Night Line sleeping-cars...It's a PR video, of course, but this short film shows how good travelling in one of the new City Night Line 'comfortline' sleeping cars can be.
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