Neuschwanstein Castle Info

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE INFO:When’s the best time to see Neuschwanstein Castle?
How can I get there from Munich, and, just as importantly, how can I book a ticket?
This page is here to provide you with all the practical information you need to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. There are also maps and little-known tips on how to jump the ticket queue.

Location of Neuschwanstein Castle:
Neuschwanstein Castle sits at the foot of the Bavarian Alps above the village of Hohenschwangau, south-west of Munich.
It’s about 4kms (2.5mi) away from the larger town of Füssen, which means in German, appropriately, "Feet".

Directions to Neuschwanstein Castle

Getting to the bottom of the hill…

By public transport: It’s a good idea to leave early from Munich to beat the crowds – the train journey takes about 2.5 hours. There are some direct to Füssen, but you may have to change trains in the town of Buchloe.
You can check train connections on the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) English website here, just type in Munich Hbf into the top line and Neuschwanstein into the bottom line.
Remember if you’re leaving after 9am on a weekday and any time on a weekend you can get the dosh-saving Bayern Ticket for €21 single or €29 for groups of up to five.
From Füssen train station, take bus No. 73, 78 or 9651 up to the bottom of the hill where the castles are. There’s the Visitor Centre where you can take care of your tickets.

By car from Munich

The quickest way is to take the A95 south from Munich towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then turn right onto the B2 towards Starnberg.
Follow it all the way down to the village of Peiting where you make a right onto the B17, which takes you to Schwangau. The drive should take just under two hours. Parking costs €4.50 for the day.

View Neuschwanstein Castle info - Directions on a larger map

….and up to the castle

The most obvious way is to walk which takes about 30min. If you want to get a little romantic horse-drawn carriage will take you up there for €6 and back down again for €3.
There’s also a dedicated bus which takes you up the Marienbrücke lookout, from there it’s a 10min walk downhill to the castle (Cost €1.80 up, €1 down). The bus doesn’t run if there’s too much ice or snow.

Neuschwanstein Castle tickets: With over 1.3 million visitors each year it’s no surprise that getting into Neuschwanstein can be a pain. Luckily, there are a few ways to avoid a long wait (read on).
Tour guides can lead you through in English and German and there are audio-guides available for other languages. Photography isn’t allowed inside.
Normal procedure is to buy your ticket from the visitors’ centre, regular tickets cost €12 and concession is €11, under 18-year-olds get in free.
The "King’s Ticket" lets you visit both the castles Neuschwanstein and the nearby Hohenschwangau on the same day, it costs €23 regular, €21 concession.
Combination "Königsschlösser" tickets cost €24 and are valid for the castles above as well as Ludwig’s other creations, Linderhof Palace and Herrenchiemsee.

Queue jumping: You can jump the queue at the visitors’ centre by booking your ticket ahead on the Net here , but you can only book on the day of your visit and there’s a €1.80 surcharge.
Still totally worthwhile if you’re visiting from May to September.
What I did on my last visit was to skip the visitors’ centre all together and head straight up to the castle.
Go into the forecourt and just to the right there’s an office where you can buy a 14-day ticket (€24 single, €40 family/partner).
This ticket give you entry into 40 palaces, castles and other sites across Bavaria, including the Munich Residenz, palaces Linderhof, Nymphenburg and Herrenchiemsee and the Bavaria Statue in Munich.
And the best part is they’ll let you join the very next tour of Neuschwanstein. Royal treatment indeed. The ticket doesn’t cover Hohenschwangau Castle, however.

Neuschwanstein opening hours: The castle is open from 9am to 6pm April to September and 10am to 4pm October to March.
It’s closed on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Phone: +49 (0) 83629 30830
Website: www.neuschwanstein.de

Concerts in the Sängersaal To enquire about concerts contact organisers through their inquiry form on this page (in English), or call +49 (0) 8362.81980.
The German site here has a video of performances, narrated in German.
Are you after any other Neuschwanstein Castle info? If so, write in and let me know and I'll try and find out for you!

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