Travel to Cologne, Frankfurt and many other cities in Germany with the ICE trainTravel to Germany with the ICE trainICE trains to Germany

On most trains, you can take your pet with you. But rules vary from one rail carrier to another:

"conventional" daytime trains (e.g. Intercity or regional trains) to/from Belgium

• Cats, small dogs and other small pets in a cage, basket or crate of max. 30 x 30 x 55 cm travel free and don't need a ticket. They must be carried on the traveller's lap or as hand luggage;
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap require a specific flat-rate ticket (€6 per trip to / from the Netherlands, €7 from / to the North of France and €3 from / to the Luxembourg or Aachen). This ticket must be issued in the same travel class as that of the accompanying traveller (1st or 2nd class) and is sold online and at our stations selling international tickets;
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle;

ICE and other trains operated by Deutsche Bahn

• Cats, small dogs and other small pets in a cage, basket or crate of max. 30 x 30 x 55 cm travel free and don't need a ticket. They must be carried on the traveller's lap or as hand luggage;
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap require a ticket at 50% of the price of the accompanying traveller, in the same travel class (1st or 2nd class) as the latter. This ticket can be purchased online and at our stations selling international tickets;
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle;

Eurostar between Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands

• Cats and small dogs (less than 6 kg) in a cage or basket (max. 45 x 30 x 25 cm): free of charge and without a ticket
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap: ticket at fixed price of €30 for any journey (in Comfort 1 and in Comfort 2), available on board from your Eurostar train manager.
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free (muzzle compulsory).

Exception: animals are not allowed on board Eurostar Snow and Eurostar Sun.

Eurostar to/from London

Animals are not allowed on board Eurostar trains to/from the United Kingdom. Only guide dogs accompanying a blind passenger are authorised under strict conditions. They must have:

• an electronic chip
• a Certificate of Entry to the United Kingdom (available from the Ministry of Small Firms, Traders and Agriculture)
• a certificate of treatment against ectoparasites and endoparasites (available from the Ministry of Small Firms, Traders and Agriculture)
• a declaration to be filled out by the person taking the animal to the United Kingdom (this document can also be filled in on arrival in London)

A special free ticket is issued for the transportation of a guide dog accompanying a blind passenger.

TGV INOUI

• Cats and small pets (including small dogs) in a cage or basket (max. 45 x 30 x 25 cm): special ticket at a fixed price of €7 (valid in 1^st and 2^nd class);
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap: special ticket for dogs at a fixed price of €20 (valid in 1^st or 2^nd class);
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle
• Max. 2 pets per traveller allowed
• Purchase of the TGV INOUI ticket for your pet:
  • For travel until 09/01/2024: tickets for dogs and small pets are available from the SNCB International Contact Center or at our stations selling international tickets;
  • For travel as from 10/01/2024: buy your own ticket and the ticket for your pet together from another retailer of TGV INOUI products, or go to your TGV INOUI train attendant before boarding on presentation of this document (PDF). Your train attendant will then issue a ticket for your pet for a fixed price of €20.

Overnight trains

• Cats and small dogs in a cage or basket: free
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a lead or on a lap: a 2^nd class ticket, priced at 50% off the adult fare, sold at our stations selling international tickets.
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle
• Note: animals are only allowed in sleeping cars if you have booked a whole compartment yourself.

The booking period differs from one type of train to another. The main international trains at a glance:

• Eurostar: booking possible on average from 210 days before travel, i.e. about 7 months in advance (minimum 157 and maximum 277 days in advance, depending on the period of the year).
• ICE and other Deutsche Bahn trains: booking usually possible 180 days (almost 6 months) before travel.
• Nightjet: booking theoretically possible from 180 days in advance. However, due to frequent works on the German rail network, adjusted timetables for Nightjet trains are often announced late, which unfortunately results in late opening of reservations.
• TGV INOUI, TGV Lyria, Nightjet and Trenitalia trains: booking usually possible 4 months before travel.
• "Conventional" international trains (InterCity or regional trains): buying tickets without booking a seat, particularly to the Netherlands, Lille or Luxembourg, is possible 335 days (11 months) before travel. Unlike the other trains mentioned, there are no restrictions on the various fares on these "conventional" trains, so these are available up to the last minute (except for the Early Bird fare, that offers 25% to 40% discount ont the Intercity Netherlands, which must be purchased at least 7 days prior to travel).

Exceptions:

• Eurostar seasonal services: for Eurostar Snow to the French Alps, booking possible from the end of the summer for the whole ski season. For Eurostar Sun to the south of France, booking possible from the end of the winter for the whole summer season (date to be specified each year).
• TGV early bird sale for travel in winter periods (Christmas and ski season) and summer periods (July and August). For these periods, the date of the early bird sale is to be specified each year.
• Every year in mid-December, different European rail companies simultaneously amend their train services, with new timetables taking effect more or less throughout Europe. On certain rail networks (particularly in Germany), the new timetables for mid-December are only confirmed and published at some point during October. When this occurs, bookings for rail travel from mid-December onwards can also only be made after a given date in October.
• In special circumstances (e.g. in case of engineering works), carriers may be forced to adapt their transport plan more frequently. For this reason, booking periods may momentarily differ from the above rules.

If you have a Bahncard 100 card or an ICE 1^st class Flexpreis ticket for the same day (or a 1^st class ticket for an InterCity train run by Deutsche Bahn), you can use the DB Lounge at your station of departure or your station of arrival, if they have these lounges.

DB Lounges are pleasant relaxing spaces, offering a Wi-Fi connection, meeting rooms, a self-service bar offering hot and cold drinks, along with a selection of international newspapers and magazines.

You can find DB Lounges at the following stations:

Berlin Hbf, Bremen Hbf, Dresden Hbf, Düsseldorf Hbf, Essen Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Flughafen Fernbahnhof (Frankfurt Airport Railway Station), Hamburg Hbf, Hannover Hbf, Köln Hbf (Cologne), Leipzig Hbf, Mannheim Hbf, München Hbf (Munich), Nürnberg Hbf (Nuremberg), Stuttgart Hbf

It depends on the fare paid for the ICE ticket.

If you chose the Flexpreis fare, which is flexible, your ticket is valid on any train on your route during the period of validity stated on the ticket (one day for electronic tickets covering a distance under 100km, two days for electronic tickets with a distance over 100km, and four days for conventional paper tickets issued at railway stations).

If you opted for the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa or Sparpreis Europa saver fares, your ticket is only valid on board the IC or ICE train(s) selected when the ticket was purchased, the train number of which appears on your ticket. However, if you travel on a regional train for part of your journey, your Sparpreis ticket is valid on any regional train of your choice.

The validity of your ticket (as described above) is completely unaffected, whether or not you decide to reserve a seat on board one or more ICE trains.

Generally speaking and unlike most high-speed trains, InterCity and regional trains in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands do not require a reservation. For these trains, when choosing a Flex/Standard ticket, you get an open ticket, valid on any train (at any time of the day) on the date and route mentioned on your ticket. Great flexibility!

Exception: if you travel with a cheaper Early Bird ticket on the InterCity Netherlands train (Brussels and Amsterdam via Breda), your ticket is only valid at the time and on the specific train selected at the time of your purchase.

Similarly, on IC and ICE trains run by Deutsche Bahn, seat reservation is optional. Consequently, most tickets for journeys in Germany do not necessarily show the time either. Remember though, that the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa and Sparpreis Europa economy fares do require you to use the specific train you chose when buying your ticket. In this case, the train number and time of departure are shown on your ticket.