Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau are, in my opinion, the most famous German castles in the world. These are also, by far, my favourite castles that I’ve visited.
Best visit time:
❄️Winter – when everything’s white, 🍃Spring and Summer – when everything’s green, and 🍂Autumn – when everything’s golden
I’ve visited these castles in Schwangau twice already. The first time was just a few days after I arrived in Germany, during the winter, and the second time was in the summer with my husband. I bet most people knew that Neuschwanstein (new swan stone castle) was the prototype of the Disney castle. It is also known as the fairytale castle. 
To be honest, I was attracted by that fantasy, but then I was more fascinated by its history and the king’s life, which was somewhat miserable yet glorious, to whom the castles belonged.
The Bavarian King, King Ludwig II, spent much of his childhood at Hohenschwangau castle, where he was deeply influenced by the interior paintings, telling the stories about the Knight of the Swan.
These romantic and mythical themes inspired Ludwig II to create Neuschwanstein Castle, in collaboration with other designers and architects. There is a room in Hohenschwangau castle that has a window where Ludwig II could see directly the construction of Neuschwanstein castle. Because of the budget issue, the size of the castle was constantly being cut down from the original marvellous design, and until the death of King Ludwig II, the castle was still not finished. Even now, most of the rooms inside the castle were left undone.
I was so fascinated by the stories of King Ludwig II that I invited my friend Rachel to accompany me. We booked the tickets from their official website, and got the paper tickets at the box office. If you ever want to visit the castles, please see at present if they also use mobile tickets. And beware that if you miss the admission time, you are not going to be admitted – it’s very strict in Germany, which is a good thing.
We walked to Hohenschwangau castle first and found some nice spots to take photos in the snow. As you approach the Alpsee (Lake Alps), you will also see the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. You can also book its tickets from the website above, and I very much regretted that I never had a chance to visit it. Hohenschwangau castle has a very cosy yellow colour and I quite understand why Ludwig II’s mother, Queen Marie liked to stay there most of her life. It is a relatively small castle and the guided tour would introduce the castle’s history and the paintings.
I also like the interior design of the castle and believe it is actually worth taking time to know all the stories of it. There is also a nice small garden with a swan statue standing in the middle of it.
In winter the garden will be closed and the statues will be covered and protected (it happens to all historical statues). At the edge of the castle, you can see the other side of the town and you can also take a small path to go down to the main street.
We visited Neuschwanstein castle afterwards. Since we chose to walk to Hohenschwangau castle, we opted to take a carriage to reach Neuschwanstein. In fact, there are carriages to both castles. How should I describe the feeling on the carriage…Well I had to tolerate the smell of the horses and I was also quite scared by the speed, but it definitely saved us time going up there. It’s just impossible to be like a prince or princess if you are on that carriage.
The castle in my opinion is gigantic – just imagine you and your family live inside. But it is really a pity that it was not completely finished, and with that being said, the inner castle was not much to see. However, I would still say that it is worth a trip to look inside of it and learn about the architecture as well as the intelligence of making this castle basically on a cliff. 
Not very far from Neuschwanstein castle, there is a bridge called Marienbrücke, from where you can see the whole castle from the side. You can reach there by going the path at the backside of Neuschwanstein castle, or going down on the main road and then you make a turn after you see the sign. However, the bridge is at a very dangerous position, so oftentimes it is under maintenance. You have to check online if the bridge is available at the time of visit. There are also other small roads or hiking paths to other hills to see the whole castle, but they come with a certain level of risk.
Rachel and I went there in the cold winter and the snow was so thick that we thought we almost couldn’t get back anymore, because the snow on the path reached our knees. It was a disappointment that the door to the bridge was closed and we didn’t dare to climb through – if one slipped, they would definitely die. It was really quite an adventure.
My husband and I visited these castles again in summer 2022. Everything looked so different from winter. More people in summer, but it’s really not a drawback if you want to enjoy both a hiking trip and see the castles!
Except for Neuschwanstein Castle, later in 2022, I also visited two other palaces that were ordered to be built by King Ludwig II: Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee and Schloss Linderhof. I will talk about them at a later time.
So how to get there?
Supposedly you depart from München/Munich Hauptbahnhof (Main station), you can take the train to Füssen:
You can either take
BRB RB68 directly to Füssen
Or
RB 74 and transit in Buchloe, and then to BRB RB77 to Füssen
After you get to Füssen train station, the bus stop is right next to it and you will find the Bus 78 that takes you to Neuschwanstein Castles, Schwangau
One thing about a popular tourism destination is that you can actually just follow other tourists, and you will not get lost!
Detailed train information can be found on Deutsche Bahn’s website.
You are able to find the trip and purchase the ticket on the DB website or on DB navigator. If you are doing the day trip to the castles, it would be cheaper to get a Bayern-Ticket (Ticket of Bavaria) so you can have access to all the local transportations operated by DB and DB local train or bus services.
⚠️Be careful⚠️: A Bayern-Ticket is normally valid from 9 am to 3 am the next day, and during weekends or holidays, it would be valid from midnight of that day. Also, the best scenario to buy a Bayern-Ticket would be with a group of 2 to 5 people!
If you travel to the castles by other methods, please consult: https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/howtoget.htm
If you ask me how to have a fun and relaxed trip there: It would be better to go one night before and stay in a hotel in Füssen, so you can have a relaxed morning to take the bus to the castles before everyone’s there. Take as many pictures as you can and then head back in the afternoon.
Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau: Exploring Bavaria's Fairytale Castles Through the Seasons
Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau are, in my opinion, the most famous German castles in the world. These are also, by far, my favourite castles that I’ve visited.
Best visit time:
❄️Winter – when everything’s white, 🍃Spring and Summer – when everything’s green, and 🍂Autumn – when everything’s golden
I’ve visited these castles in Schwangau twice already. The first time was just a few days after I arrived in Germany, during the winter, and the second time was in the summer with my husband. I bet most people knew that Neuschwanstein (new swan stone castle) was the prototype of the Disney castle. It is also known as the fairytale castle.
To be honest, I was attracted by that fantasy, but then I was more fascinated by its history and the king’s life, which was somewhat miserable yet glorious, to whom the castles belonged.
The Bavarian King, King Ludwig II, spent much of his childhood at Hohenschwangau castle, where he was deeply influenced by the interior paintings, telling the stories about the Knight of the Swan.
These romantic and mythical themes inspired Ludwig II to create Neuschwanstein Castle, in collaboration with other designers and architects. There is a room in Hohenschwangau castle that has a window where Ludwig II could see directly the construction of Neuschwanstein castle. Because of the budget issue, the size of the castle was constantly being cut down from the original marvellous design, and until the death of King Ludwig II, the castle was still not finished. Even now, most of the rooms inside the castle were left undone.
I was so fascinated by the stories of King Ludwig II that I invited my friend Rachel to accompany me. We booked the tickets from their official website, and got the paper tickets at the box office. If you ever want to visit the castles, please see at present if they also use mobile tickets. And beware that if you miss the admission time, you are not going to be admitted – it’s very strict in Germany, which is a good thing.
We walked to Hohenschwangau castle first and found some nice spots to take photos in the snow. As you approach the Alpsee (Lake Alps), you will also see the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. You can also book its tickets from the website above, and I very much regretted that I never had a chance to visit it. Hohenschwangau castle has a very cosy yellow colour and I quite understand why Ludwig II’s mother, Queen Marie liked to stay there most of her life. It is a relatively small castle and the guided tour would introduce the castle’s history and the paintings.
I also like the interior design of the castle and believe it is actually worth taking time to know all the stories of it. There is also a nice small garden with a swan statue standing in the middle of it.
In winter the garden will be closed and the statues will be covered and protected (it happens to all historical statues). At the edge of the castle, you can see the other side of the town and you can also take a small path to go down to the main street.
We visited Neuschwanstein castle afterwards. Since we chose to walk to Hohenschwangau castle, we opted to take a carriage to reach Neuschwanstein. In fact, there are carriages to both castles. How should I describe the feeling on the carriage…Well I had to tolerate the smell of the horses and I was also quite scared by the speed, but it definitely saved us time going up there. It’s just impossible to be like a prince or princess if you are on that carriage.
The castle in my opinion is gigantic – just imagine you and your family live inside. But it is really a pity that it was not completely finished, and with that being said, the inner castle was not much to see. However, I would still say that it is worth a trip to look inside of it and learn about the architecture as well as the intelligence of making this castle basically on a cliff.
Not very far from Neuschwanstein castle, there is a bridge called Marienbrücke, from where you can see the whole castle from the side. You can reach there by going the path at the backside of Neuschwanstein castle, or going down on the main road and then you make a turn after you see the sign. However, the bridge is at a very dangerous position, so oftentimes it is under maintenance. You have to check online if the bridge is available at the time of visit. There are also other small roads or hiking paths to other hills to see the whole castle, but they come with a certain level of risk.
Rachel and I went there in the cold winter and the snow was so thick that we thought we almost couldn’t get back anymore, because the snow on the path reached our knees. It was a disappointment that the door to the bridge was closed and we didn’t dare to climb through – if one slipped, they would definitely die. It was really quite an adventure.
My husband and I visited these castles again in summer 2022. Everything looked so different from winter. More people in summer, but it’s really not a drawback if you want to enjoy both a hiking trip and see the castles!
Except for Neuschwanstein Castle, later in 2022, I also visited two other palaces that were ordered to be built by King Ludwig II: Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee and Schloss Linderhof. I will talk about them at a later time.
So how to get there?
Supposedly you depart from München/Munich Hauptbahnhof (Main station), you can take the train to Füssen:
You can either take
BRB RB68 directly to Füssen
Or
RB 74 and transit in Buchloe, and then to BRB RB77 to Füssen
After you get to Füssen train station, the bus stop is right next to it and you will find the Bus 78 that takes you to Neuschwanstein Castles, Schwangau
One thing about a popular tourism destination is that you can actually just follow other tourists, and you will not get lost!
Detailed train information can be found on Deutsche Bahn’s website.
You are able to find the trip and purchase the ticket on the DB website or on DB navigator. If you are doing the day trip to the castles, it would be cheaper to get a Bayern-Ticket (Ticket of Bavaria) so you can have access to all the local transportations operated by DB and DB local train or bus services.
⚠️Be careful⚠️: A Bayern-Ticket is normally valid from 9 am to 3 am the next day, and during weekends or holidays, it would be valid from midnight of that day. Also, the best scenario to buy a Bayern-Ticket would be with a group of 2 to 5 people!
If you travel to the castles by other methods, please consult: https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/howtoget.htm
If you ask me how to have a fun and relaxed trip there: It would be better to go one night before and stay in a hotel in Füssen, so you can have a relaxed morning to take the bus to the castles before everyone’s there. Take as many pictures as you can and then head back in the afternoon.