Neuschwanstein Castle is known for its fairy-tale like castle which was used as an inspiration by Walt Disney for the castle of Sleeping Beauty. I did a day trip from Munich to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle in Hohenschwangau in September last year.
However, I am sad to say that due to corona virus outbreak, the sights in Hohenschwangau (Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau Castle and Museum of the Bavarian Kings) are CLOSED this year until further notice. Bus and carriage operations are therefore also discontinued.
Getting there by public transport:
1) My first choice is to choose Flixbus.
Why? Because firstly, it is cheap (price from EUR 9.90 one way to Schwangau Neuschwanstein and the return ticket from EUR 7.99 one way back to Munich).
Secondly, the Flixbus bus stop at Schwangau Neuschwanstein is only 200 meters away from the ticket center. See map below:
Thirdly, the bus schedule is perfect. The bus departs from Munich at 8.15am and reach Schwangau around 10.25am. For the return ticket, I booked the bus which departs from Schwangau at 5.15pm and reaches Munich around 7.30pm, so that I could spent one full day at Hohenschwangau.
See below for the location of Munich bus station:
Munich bus station.
How to book: Select the direct bus route “Munich -> Schwangau Neuschwanstein” on the Flixbus website: https://global.flixbus.com/bus/schwangau-neuschwanstein
2) If you're taking a train, you need to take a 2.5 hours train to Füssen first. From Füssen, you need to catch a bus No.78 to Hohenschwangau village, which runs frequently and takes less than 10 minutes to reach Hohenschwangau. It is also worth to consider using the Bayern Ticket if you're travelling by train within the state of Bavaria. But take note that the Bayern Ticket only becomes valid from 9am during weekdays, which means you'll probably reach Fussen around noon.
Getting around:
To Neuschwanstein Castle:
1) By shuttle bus
Prices per person:
Ascent: € 2.50 Descent: € 1.50
Ascent and descent: € 3.00
Children:
0 - 6 years: free
7 - 12 years:
ascent € 1.00, descent € 0.50
ascent and descent € 1.50
Summer last departure: uphill 5.30pm, downhill 6.45pm
Winter last departure: uphill 3.30pm, downhill 5pm
You can buy the bus tickets at the bus ticket office located at the stops or directly from the bus driver (no credit cards).
If you're carrying a baby stroller like me, you'll need to fold it before boarding the bus.
2) By horse carriage (approx. 20 minutes) - Ascent: € 7.00 Descent: € 3.50. You pay the fees on site, directly at the carriage. The carriage also doesn't go directly to Neuschwanstein Castle. From where it stops, it is still a 15-minute walk uphill.
* Take note to allow enough time for possible waiting times at the departure point whether you're taking the bus or horse carriage. It is very important that you are at the entrance to the respective castle at this time of entry. Otherwise your ticket will no longer be valid and cannot be refunded.
3) On foot (approx. 40 minutes) - the respective path is marked with sign post.
To Hohenschwangau Castle:
1) By horse carriage (approx. 10 minutes) - Ascent: € 4.50, Descent: € 2.00
2) On foot - There are two pathways, one with steps all the way to the top (shorter path, approx. 20 minutes) and the other is hiking trail with slopes (longer path, approx. 30 minutes - the horse carriage is using the same path, see picture above). If you are travelling with a child like me, it is recommended to take the longer path.
Map of Hohenschwangau:
Where to buy the tickets?
1) You can reserve the tickets online and collect it on the day of visit at the ticket center. Reservations can be made up to 2 days before your desired visit to the castle. You will pay directly at the ticket center, when you pick up your reserved tickets.
They'll charge processing fees for reservation tickets:
For individual guests, children and school € 2.50 per person and castle
For groups of 15 or more paying people: € 1.50 per person and castle
• No processing fee is charged for the museum.
* If you fail to meet the pick-up time (1 hour before admission time), your reservation will be cancelled automatically and you will be charged the “no-show”-fee to the amount of a double service-fee per ticket!
Visit the official website to reserve tickets: https://www.hohenschwangau.de/430.html
Click here to view or download 2020 ticket price for the castles and Museum of Bavarian Kings.
I bought the combination tickets (2 castles + museum) for € 31.50 + € 5 processing fee per person back in 2019.
2) Buy directly at the ticket center on the day of visit.
Museum of the Bavarian Kings
Since my entry time to Hohenschwangau Castle is 12.55pm, I still had some time to spare and decided to visit the Museum of the Bavarian Kings first.
It is located on the bank of Lake Alpsee, 5 minutes walk from the ticket center.
The museum is open daily from 9am - 5pm. Admission is € 11. There is lockers inside for visitors to store bags.
Official website: http://www.hohenschwangau.de/1062.html
Hohenschwangau Castle
From 1832 to 1836, Hohenschwangau Castle is built by the then crown prince Maximillan of Bavaria from the ruins of the ruined castle Schwanstein. It serves as summer and hunting residence for the Bavarian royal family. It is also the childhood residence of King Luwig II.
Entrance to the castle.
The palace garden. All the fountains in the garden reflect the romantic programme of the palace's rooms. The lion's fountain modelled after an example of the Spanish Alhambra fountain.
The Swan fountain symbolized the local identity and knighthood.
As a child, the later King Luwig II experienced these mountain region and the romantic murals of Hohenschwangau Castle. This was the beginning of his dream to build his own castle - Neuschwanstein.
As soon as the tour number marked on the ticket appears, visitors can pass the turnstile at the yard to enter the castle.
The nemesis of any parent carrying a baby stroller - stairs! There's lots of stairs inside the castle too. There's no place to store the baby stroller, so the only option is to carry it throughout the guided tour.
* Photographing and filming are not allowed once inside the castle.
King Luwig II began building his own castle on the site of old Schwangau fortress, high above his parents' castle in 1869. He often monitor the progress of construction of his castle from his room in Hohenschwangau Castle.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Next, I hiked back down to the bus stop and took the shuttle bus to Neuschwanstein Castle. The bus doesn't stop directly in front of the castle, you'll need to walk a short distance downhill towards the castle.
The view on the way is breath-taking!
The castle was finally in sight!
Map of the castle guided tour. Keep in mind that entrance and exit is at different place. So if you store your bag or stroller at the entrance, you'll have to come back to the entrance to take it.
Entrance interval is at every 5 minutes. Take note of your tour number, you wouldn't want to miss it.
Opening times:
April - September: 9am - 6pm
October - March: 10am - 4pm
You can see the Mary's Bridge and viewpoint from the castle. The wooden railings of the bridge were replaced by King Luwig II during the building of Neuschwanstein by the cantilever construction made of iron.
The tour lasted about 30 minutes.
* Photographing and filming are not allowed once inside the castle.
The palace was far from completion even by the time of King Luwig II's death. In the end, King Luwig II only slept 11 nights and lived in the castle for a total of only 172 days. After his passing in 1886, the construction was paused and the castle was opened to public.
Next, I headed to Mary's Bridge as it is the best spot to take photograph of Neuschwanstein Castle. The queue was long but the crowd moved quickly.
The view of the castle changes due to different seasons.
It's hard to take photograph with no other tourist "photo bomb" my photo on the bridge since it was crowded.
Don't forget to admire the beauty of the waterfall and gorge on the right side too.
Waiting for the shuttle bus at the bus stop.
Had an early dinner at one of the restaurants in town before heading back to Munich.
The dishes were nothing to shout about, we were there for the view, haha.
One last photo before leaving Hohenschwangau. It was a tiring but unforgettable day trip.
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