Schloss Neuschwanstein

When entering the ground stops to get a timed ticket.

Around the parking lot of the castle there is a museum, some shops, and some restaurants. Because the castle isn't accessible-friendly, these offer an alternative to those who are physically unable to experience the castle.

To get to the castle, it's a 30-minute walk uphill on a paved road unless a shuttle is running, then it just a 10-minute walk uphill from the shuttle drop off point. Once inside the castle, you take the stairs up several floors.

No photos allowed in museum. Audio tours available in English and German (not sure about other languages).

Tour is just over 30 minutes. This is a worthwhile visit if near the area!

This 2nd stop of our 3 castle adventure was the most highly anticipated, perhaps due to all the hype surrounding it. Interestingly, it was also the most disappointing of the 3 for several reasons.
We purchased our tickets for the 2 castles at once & were given a booklet with our tour times written on the front, only to discover the written time was incorrect (granted, we should have double checked the actual tickets)... thankfully, the information desk was willing & able to get us on the next available tour - unfortunately, it meant we needed to kill another hour. Note, these times are EXACT. No early entry and no late (5min+) entry. Having a tour guide was baffling as you listen to a device on the walk-through. It is rushed with little information & even less rooms to visit. No photos permitted. The tour was about 20min.

We opted for the 8 euro carriage ride up. You're given a ticket for half off the return. I'm not sure when they quit running, but they were done before we were. The queue to board was orderly until it was time to board, then it was madness - people who just walked up jumped in, leaving the front of the line standing there confused with nothing to do but wait... again.

In short, this felt more like a money grab than a walk down history lane. I'd recommend walking the grounds and skipping the tour, personally. Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to look at, you just don't really get time to.

The Disney castle in real life was majestic. I highly recommend walking to the bridge for a posterior view of the castle. The views of the landscape even without the castle were stunning. We booked a tour, which I do not think was worth the price as the interior was very unassuming and not at all like other lavish castles and palaces.

If you are planning a trip to Bavaria, no trip is complete without a visit to this fairytale castle!

Easy to get to by train and bus. You'll know you're in the right place because thousands of tourist make this trip every day, every year.

It's free to roam around the castle grounds so no need to pay entrance fee unless you want to see what it is like on the inside. But the grounds and exterior of this castle are its focal point.

Neusweinstein castle has been inspiring all the castle drawings we've known today.

Just know when u get to the castle, you can either trek up the mountain or take a horse and carriage up for a fee.

Best part??
You get two for the price of one castle when visiting here.

This is a gorgeous stop in Germany, said to have inspired the castles from Disney's Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

When we arrived, there was a set time to go to the castle. It was a good distance away, so we had some free time in the town of Schwangau before ascending to the castle. It is a cute little town to explore and also see the Alpsee Lake you can walk down to for a bit.

There is also another castle called Hohenschwangau Castle that you can see from the outside.

Once it was time to head to the castle, we started the steep hike up to Neuschwanstein! I'm a pretty healthy/active person in my 30s, so the hike itself wasn't too bad for me - and we had some older people in our group too who made it just fine - you definitely can take your time!

There are also stops all along the way for the to see see little bits and pieces of the history of the castle and of Ludwig II.

When we arrived, we had a set time that we were allowed into the castle. There is a lookout when you get to the top of the mountain and you can see out onto the valley below, so we did that and had a rest before we were let into the castle.

The interior was very pretty, but you aren't allowed to take photos inside. Once we were done with our castle tour, we headed back down the mountain (lots easier than the way up!)

It was a very full day of activity and beautiful sights to see - I highly recommend it!

To get there from Munich: take train from main Munich Bahnhof (Central City) to Füßen. Direct train is about 2 hours. Cost is about 20€ round trip for one. They run hourly. Some of these trips you will have to switch trains so verify with clerk prior to departure.

Once in Füßen you will take bus 73 or 78 to the castles. It's 5.20€ round trip per person. Bus drivers take cash only.

Tickets online are 17€ plus 2.50€ processing fee for Neuschwanstein Castle. However if you take the chance and get your ticket in town it runs about 15€ for same day. If you are pressed for time this may not work for you. Also check when buying kid tickets as they could be free when purchasing online or in person compared to using a tour agency.

You can take the horses up and down or just one way. Going up is 8€ per person. Kids are probably cheaper. Cash only. We took the horses up and walked down.

Depending on your group size going on your own may definitely be cheaper and you are on your time and not someone else's with a tour company.

Once you get to the castle you will have to wait until your entry time comes up to enter. They have lockers to put bags, coats etc. as they don't allow big bags inside the castle. There is an area to sit. Also a great area to take photos of the entrance to the castle. There's also a shop there to get souvenirs. I also believe they had snacks.

Because I've been here before I expected more from the tour. Now they do the audio guide so there's no question and answers nor any extra tidbit info you would get otherwise from a normal tour guide.

Of course there is a gift shop but at the bottom of the hill before going into the castle there are shops plus shops are in and near the train station. I would browse those before the castle gift store just to know price differences and options.

Castle itself is still beautiful but I hate that you don't actually have a tour guide throughout. So if you are a true history buff and really want to know more recommend doing your research rather than expecting this tour to give you those details.

You will be provided an audio guide and as you enter certain sections there is a worker that will play the recording and tell you to listen.

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most well known castles, as the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland is modeled after it. There are several options for getting to the castle. You can walk, take a shuttle, or go on a horse-drawn carriage. We opted to take the shuttle uphill and walked downhill after.

After getting dropped off, we walked to the Marienbrucke- Queen Mary's Bridge. There was a line, but it moved steadily. Once we got to the bridge, I only managed to walk halfway across before my fear of heights got to me. The bridge provides you with a view of the castle from a distance.

We made our way up to the castle after. We only walked around the outside, as we opted out of the tour. On the side of the castle, I noticed a set of grotesque- uniquely carved heads. On the way down, there is a viewpoint where you can take a photo with the front of the castle in the background. I'm happy that I had the opportunity to come here while I was in Germany!

Well let's start by saying this is a beautiful Castle. But it is not run properly. We arrived at the castle on time but no one is directing you to the turnstile where you scan your ticket. There were 6 of us and one of us scanned the ticket to go through and the rest could not get through because the 4 minute time frame was up..The group we were in was slow in scanning their tickets .We had to go to the information desk where the lady was very rude. We had to wait 30 more minutes to start our tour.
There are a lot of steps in the castle. The first group of steps were 61. The next one had over 30.
Get to the turn stile 10 minutes early.

The tour is 25 minutes and all you see is "3" rooms
This castle was not finished. Mind you the 3 rooms are spectacular...

Waiting for the horse drawn carriage was joke. There was no one keeping people in line so when the buggy arrived it was a free for all.

We used Viator and they spent more time at the palace first and we had too many issues with the Castle

Some people come here and say it's not that impressive...
I ask them then, what castle do you own that you're using for comparison?
This place is ASTONISHING. If you've ever seen Lord of the Rings, Willow, any fantasy movie and thought, "this is really cool" this is where you need to come. The sheer size of it alone, and the setting around it are enough. You could even skip seeing the inside and just use your imagination instead based on the exterior alone. The surrounding area is simply gorgeous as well. This needs to be on your bucket list.

Super amazing from the outside, but pretty far (3 hours by train) to Füssen from Munich and the inside is a quick :30 tour with no photos. Ludwig II created a pretty garish interior in his well-documented mental instability. 5 stars for the castle and 2 stars for the tour.