Photos of Neuschwanstein Castle evoke memories of dancing around in a princess dress when I was seven, with my plastic tiara and shoes that were a little too big. Its location, high above the Pöllat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps, is beautiful in every season. It is the castle that inspired the Disneyland Castle, and when you see photos, you can understand why.
The reality of Neuschwanstein’s history is far more tumultuous than many fairy tales, with Ludwig II having lost his right to sovereign rule when he ordered its construction, inhumane deadlines during the build, and a castle which was never completed or lived in.
Despite its history, you can’t deny how picturesque and romantic Neuschwanstein Castle is. Plus, visiting one castle gives you the opportunity to visit two. Just across the way is Hohenschwangau Castle, its beautiful neighbour.
Many people visit Neuschwanstein on a group tour. If this is for you, that’s great! We wanted the chance to control our own timeline, spend some time in the romantic town of Füssen, and let’s be real - a group tour was not in our budget. So how do you visit Neuschwanstein on your own, if you’re staying in Munich?
The Route
Train from Munich HBF to Füssen
The Bayern Ticket is a regional day ticket for Bavaria. With this ticket, you can travel as much as you like in Bavaria for the day. On a weekday, you can travel on the day from 9:00 am to 3:00 am the following day. During weekends and public holidays, this extends earlier, starting from midnight.
The main benefit of this ticket is if you are travelling in a group, as there are heavy discounts for additional people on the ticket.
Regional day ticket for Bavaria second class: EUR 27
Regional day ticket for Bavaria first class: EUR 39.50
It is then only a further EUR 9 per person, all the way up to 5 people. It’s also ideal for a family day trip - up to three children between the ages of 6-14 can travel for free. Seeing as a regular train ticket one way is EUR 24 per person, you’ll be saving quite a bit. You do have to stay together for the transport, so this only works if you’re staying together.
There is a train that departs daily at 9:41am. It’s a two hour ride to Füssen, through the beautiful scenery of Bavaria. This is the first direct train you can take on a weekday using the Bayern Ticket, although there is an earlier option if you are visiting on the weekend.
Füssen is a town worth visiting in its own right. It is the final stop on the romantic road, and has beautiful pastel buildings. If you pick an afternoon tour of Neuschwanstein, you could have lunch in Füssen, go for a wander, and then head onto Schwangau, for the castles.
Getting from Füssen to the castle
From Füssen, you can take a 10 minute bus to the nearby village of Schwangau. The bus station is well sign posted and easy to spot, right outside the train station - plus, it’s where many people from the train will be headed.
If you have the time and want to see more of the scenery, it takes around an hour to walk to the village. The village includes the ticket office, if you have not already purchased a ticket for any of the castle tours.
Heading up to the castle from Schwangau, you have options. You can walk, bus, or go for a horse and carriage ride. It’s about a 15 min walk uphill. If you’re not in the mood for a walk, it’s about four euro for the bus, or eight euro for the horse and carriage (both are cheaper on the way down). You’ll still need to walk a little way at the top, to enter the castle.
Entering the Castle
You can only enter Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles with a guided tour. These can be purchased at the official website.
The Neuschwanstein Castle Tour lasts 30 minutes, while the Hohenschwangau Castle Tour is a little longer, at 45 minutes.
Ticket prices:
Neuschwanstein Castle Tour: EUR 15 (may be discounted due to restoration work, which is anticipated to finish in 2024). Children under age 18 enter for free.
Hohenshwangau Castle Tour: EUR 21. Children under 7 are free, free, ages 7-17 are EUR 11.
If you’re booking a last minute trip and tickets are sold out for your preferred date, there are extra tickets released each morning at 8am.
Getting back to Munich
We’d recommend taking the 5:05pm train from Füssen directly to Munich, although there is a 7:20pm train if you’d like to stay longer. There are also earlier options, if you’re willing to transfer trains in the middle, and a few more options on the weekend. Check the Deutsche Bahn website for your specific dates.
Tips and tricks from our visit
Many say the best time to visit Neuschwanstein is in Autumn, with fewer people and the beautiful changing foliage. We’d love to travel pretty much everywhere in Autumn, but we say the best time to visit is whenever you can plan a trip.
A few notes:
Marienbrücke is often closed in bad weather, particularly during winter - this is the classic view over the gorge. There are other ways to see the vista, but they come with risks and a few “no trespassing” signs, so you can make your own call on that one!
In winter, you cannot stand on the balcony inside Neuschwanstein, due to icy conditions. You can still see out from the window, but your view will be slightly obstructed.
There is ongoing construction inside the castle that is set to continue until some time in 2024.
If you want to see the weather at the castle, there is a live webcam that you can watch.
Transport changes all the time. Our suggestions are based on our experiences when we visited in 2019, and I’ve cross referenced it with the current information online about timetables in October 2023. I’ve written this for our families, who are both visiting Neuschwanstein in the coming months, so I promise I’ve triple checked this is accurate…Get in touch if you want help checking this if this info is still up to date!
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