If you’re told to close your eyes and picture a castle, chances are the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle is the image evoked. Even if you don’t think you know what it looks like, you’ve probably seen it before. To this day, it remains one of the most searched images on Pinterest and there are hundreds of thousands of posts of the castle on Instagram. This castle’s facade is so breathtaking that Walt Disney himself used it as his inspiration for the castle in Sleeping Beauty and it’s easy to see why.
The castle itself sits above the small town of Schwangau, Germany a few hours outside of Munich. The journey to get there may not be the simplest or the easiest, but man is it worth it! Below is step-by-step guide to getting the most out of your Neuschwanstein experience.
GETTING THERE
With Munich being the closest big city, it makes a great starting point and home base for your journey to Neuschwanstein. The steps below will take you from Munich’s central train station to the steps of the castle!
1. Head to Hauptbahnhof, Munich’s central train station. There you will buy a Bayern ticket to Füssen, the closest train stop to the castle. This regional day ticket costs only €25 roundtrip and is valid from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the following day, allowing you to take any train that works with your schedule during that timeframe.
2. Once you deboard in Füssen, head outside to catch Bus 78 that will take you to Schwangau, where the castle is located. The bus ride will only take 5-10 minutes and it drops you off right outside the ticket center for Neuschwanstein! This bus fare is included in your Bayern train ticket you purchased, so just keep your ticket handy to show the bus driver and you are good to go.
3. So you’ve already taken a train and a bus…but if you think your journey to the castle is over, think again! Once you’ve gotten to the ticket center and picked up your tour tickets (details on that below), you can start on the final stretch of the journey. The last leg is a winding road up through the forest to get to the castle and its entrance. You have three options for transportation here:
Walking: Obviously your cheapest option, but certainly not the easiest. The climb is uphill and can take 30-40 minutes depending on what kind of shape you’re in. We chose to walk and it wasn’t that bad, but we also went in winter so we didn’t have to deal with heat or humidity.
Bus: Yes, another bus. It costs €3 roundtrip and has a line near the ticket center. These don’t run super frequently…we heard it could take 20 minutes between shuttles, so if you’re in a time crunch this probably isn’t your best option.
Horse carriage: You can pay €6 for a horse-drawn carriage to take you up the trail to the castle (it’s only €3 on the way back down). While this is definitely a cute option, and keeping with the whole fairytale theme, I personally don’t love the idea of horses pulling heavy buggies full of people uphill for 20 minutes. But that’s just me!
*Tip: There are plenty of tours you can pay for that will herd you from point A to point B, but the day trip is easily done on your own as well. Doing it yourself is not only cheaper, but will allow you the flexibility to explore the town of Füssen in addition to your castle tour.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT
1. If you are super keen on seeing the inside of the castle, make sure you purchase your tour ticket well in advance! We chose not to do a tour of the inside, but noticed that the tours for the day were sold out when we got up to the tourist center. When buying your ticket (which costs about €14), you’ll choose a tour time but be aware that you will have to pick up your ticket at least 90 minutes in advance of that time. You also have the option of booking a tour of the nearby Hohenschwangau Castle as well. It’s not quite as grand as Neuschwanstein, but you might as well knock it out while you’re there!
2. If you want the best possible photo of the castle, you’re going to want to head over to Marienbrucke bridge. On your way up to the castle, you’ll see a gate off to the right and a trail beyond it that leads up into the forest. This will take you to the bridge and that perfect “money shot” of the castle. When we went, it had been snowing and the bridge was technically closed due to safety issues. Now, I’m not telling you to break the rules and eschew safety concerns buuuut if you REALLY want that photo…it’s not hard to hop over the gate and head up. The trail behind the gate leads you straight to the bridge and takes about another 10-15 minutes.
NOTE: I would like to say that we did not take this lightly. Once we had walked around the castle a bit snapping photos up close, I approached a tour guide and asked about the bridge closure. While she did confirm that the bridge was technically closed, she said that nobody was going to get us in trouble if we happened to find ourselves there. Her little *wink wink nudge nudge* response was enough to encourage us to try.
*Tip: Keep in mind that photos are NOT allowed inside the castle! If you want the best possible shots, you’re going to get them walking up the winding trail to the castle and from Marienbrucke Bridge.
EXPLORING FÜSSEN
1. Take a stroll around the little town of Füssen before heading back to Munich. The cobblestone streets, the colorful Bavarian buildings…it all seems like something out of a Disney movie. It also didn’t hurt that it was lightly snowing when we were there. It seriously made the town feel like a fairytale!
2. Füssen is also a great spot to grab a late lunch after exploring the castle. We found the cutest little restaurant called Herzl am Rathaus, where we stopped for some traditional German/Alpine food. It was delicious and located right across from an old monastery.
*Tip: I would recommend going on a weekday. Saturdays can get super crowded so we went on a Sunday, thinking it would be less chaotic. That was true, but what we didn’t realize was that all the shops are closed on Sundays except for a few restaurants and cafes! So if you’re interested in souvenir shopping in town, it might be best to go Monday-Friday if possible.
And there you have it! While the journey may seem complicated, seeing Neuschwanstein Castle in person makes it all worth it in the end.
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