Let’s talk about the fairytale castle with the hard to pronounce name! That’s right, you know which one I am talking about- the one in Southern Germany that people often refer to as “the Disney castle”. It is one of the most recognizable buildings around the world, but how much do you really know about it? What if I tell you that it was not the home of a princess and a prince, living happily ever after, not a single glamorous ball took place there, it is not as old as you might think and there is a murder- mystery surrounding it?!
First things first, let’s navigate to the castle. As you can probably guess from every panorama of Neuschwanstein that’s out there, the castle is not exactly in the centre of a city, so you can’t just take the subway to get there. In fact, it’s almost a 2h-drive away from central Munich, which is also the closest German big city. So it’s best to consider renting a car. Conveniently, there is also a parking lot in the village of Hohenschwangau, right next to the ticket centre, which charges 8€ per day. If that’s not an option for you and you decide to rely on the public transport, then you can get a train from Munich to Füssen, which is the closest town to the castle, and then switch for a bus, which drops you in Hohenschwangau, close to the Neuschwanstein ticket centre. If you are already confused with the names, it might be good to clear out here that Hohenschwangau is a small community in the foothills of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castle. It is also where the ticket centre and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings are located.
However, that’s not the end of your Odyssey. You didn’t imagine that an isolated fairytale castle up in the mountains would be easy to reach, right? From the ticket centre you can only see the castle on a cliff in the distance. In order to enter it, you’d have to climb up the hill. There are three options for you to do that: on foot, by shuttle bus or with a horse carriage. Keep in mind that neither the bus, nor the horse carriage are allowed to stop right in front of the entrance, so in any case you’ll have to do a little walking. The shuttle drops you at the lookout point Marienbrücke and from there, you have 10-15min more on foot. But hey, you know those beautiful panoramas of the castle, which capture it from the side in all its glory, along with the beautiful nature surrounding it? Well, those pictures can only be taken from Marienbrücke, so that’s not a bad starting point. If you are in a more romantic mood, you can always try the carriage, which will drop you below the castle and you will have to walk 15min uphill from there. The horse carriages follow a different route than the buses, so it will take you another 15min from Neuschwanstein to Marienbrücke if you want to make beautiful photos of the palace from a distance.
I personally preferred to walk to the castle. Depending on your pace and how many photo breaks you make, it takes 40-50min to reach the peak. Most of the time you are surrounded by a forest and the horse carriages pass you by, which is a great opportunity to take some amazing photos with old-time-vibes. The walk itself feels a bit like a light hike and it is very pleasant, but the biggest perk is that you’ll come across a restaurant halfway up, in front of which there is usually a small stand where they sell Quarkbällchen to-go. Now I won’t go into details about what those are, as this is a whole other topic, I’d just say that these are a type of pastry, which is deep-fried and coated in powdered sugar. The consistency is soft and a bit chewy, they are light and delicious, really inexpensive and definitely worth a try. Another pro in favor of walking to the castle is that when you check your step-count on your smart watch or phone at the end of the day, you’d be grateful and quite satisfied with the displayed numbers. Staying fit on vacation might not be your top priority, but if there is such a convenient opportunity for that, why not?!
You finally got to the castle- you can see it right in front of you, you can even touch it, so now what? There is a platform right in front of Neuschwanstein, close to the entrance, where you can enjoy the view. There are also some souvenir stands on both sides of the road, leading to the entrance. I highly recommend doing your souvenir shopping there, as there is a bigger variety and slightly lower prices. While waiting for your appointment to enter the castle (at the ticket centre, when you receive your tickets, they will tell you the exact time when your guided tour will start), you can also go to the inner court to explore a bit. There is a public toilet there as well.
The visit of the castle can only happen with a guided tour, so you’d find out a lot about the place, but if you are like me and want to know what to expect, I’d like to give you some pointers. It was a mystery to me what the castle looked like on the inside as I had never seen any pictures of the interiors prior to my visit. This is probably because taking photos of the inner rooms is not allowed, with the exception of the royal kitchen and the balcony, where the tour ends. Also, if judging by the size of the castle you expect to see a whole lot of rooms, don’t count on it! The medieval castle is not medieval at all. Its construction started in 1864 shortly after the accession of the young king Ludwig II to the throne, and stopped with his death in 1886. For this reason, a big part of the rooms remain unfinished and are thus not open to the public- 63 rooms to be exact.
But don’t be disappointed, there is still a lot to see and the guided tour provides just the right information, so make sure to listen carefully while there. Your tour will start from the servants’ rooms and you would probably notice how well equipped and comfortable they look- the staff of the castle was well taken care of. Then you will make your way through the throne room, the King's chambers, personal study and library. Ludwig II was well-read and a passionate art admirer, but he also preferred a more intimate environment, which explains his rather small but exquisitely decorated bedroom and study. He also had his personal opera hall inside the castle, which is also a part of the tour. And by personal, I mean exactly that- the king avoided noisy crowds and social gatherings, so the intention was to have private performances just for him. Probably my favorite room of all was a small artificially created cave, which led to a beautiful balcony overlooking the valley in the distance. Can you imagine this- a cave up inside the castle, not a dark underground dungeon, but a beautiful colorful cave!
Inside the castle was also installed the first telephone in Bavaria.
Neuschwanstein’s indoor premises are full of unexpected peculiarities that are better seen and experienced first-hand, rather than talked or written about, so I’ll stop with the overview of the rooms here. But I can’t miss the opportunity to mention probably the biggest mystery surrounding the name Neuschwanstein- the unexplained death of its creator Ludwig II, who enjoyed living in the castle for only 170 days before his passing. His glamorous, ambitious, fairytale project brought the threat of bankruptcy for the state of Bavaria. This, along with the king’s distinctively introverted personality, was not well appreciated by the Bavarian elite and in 1886 the king was declared insane and unfit to rule. He was arrested and shortly after his body and the body of the doctor, who signed the papers declaring his insanity, were found in the lake Starnberg, south of Munich. Apparently they had drowned in less than three feet (90cm) of water. The reason for death was officially declared suicide by drowning...
So what more could one expect from a castle? It seems to have everything- beautiful nature and magnificent architecture, fusing together to offer breathtaking views to everyone who is lucky enough to visit, an unexpected history and even a murder mystery.
For up to date information regarding the trains from Munich to Füssen, check the timetable here.
You can get informed about the local buses from Füssen to Hohenschwangau here.
The shuttle bus from Hohenschwangau to Marienbrücke cost 2.50€ and the return fare is 1.50€. The price for horse carriages is 7€ uphill and 3.50€ on the way back.
The entrance fee for the castle varies between 13-15€, depending on the time of your visit. Updated information you can find here. Visitors under the age of 18 can enter for free. Make sure to book a ticket in advance online, especially in the summer months, or you’re in risk of not being able to enter at all.
What to bring: comfortable walking shoes, a bottle of water, sunscreen, and some cash for souvenirs.