There are so many castles in Germany.
SO. MANY.
One of the more popular (read: Instagrammable) ones is actually one of the newest – Schloss Neuschwanstein near Füßen (read: Few-sen). This “Disney castle” is set high atop a rocky mount along the southern border of Germany, about a 2-3 hour train ride south through gorgeous countryside from the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) in Munich, depending on if you have to make a transfer or not.
Being hardcore Disney people AND history buffs, it felt only natural to make our visit to King Ludwig’s hangout a day trip. Having our Eurail one-country train passes helped with this a lot – we had preordered them to allow for up to any 3 days of travel in one month, which gave us the flexibility to go anywhere in the country. If you’re interested in a multi-city trip, make sure to read all about taking the train in Germany (coming soon!). Seriously – once you get the hang of it, train travel opens up so many opportunities (and… ahem… upgrading to first class is absolutely worth it)!
Once we arrived in the little town, we had to explore – just look how colorful this bustling street is!
From the train station in Füßen you’ll have to hop on a quick bus to get to Hohenschwangau: the base camp, as it were, for the castles surrounding. This is the only place you can get your guided tour tickets (for 13 euros each!), but you can reserve those tickets online!
The trail up to Schloss Neuschwanstein is more of a hike up a mountain – so unless you’re up for a steep stroll, hopping into a horse-drawn carriage or a shuttle bus is a good option. We decided to walk, dodging raindrops, so that we could pull over at any moment to take photos (and burn some calories!). I couldn’t resist! Perhaps these will help you see why:
Gorgeous view of the town and the See (lake).
I ran out onto the semi-perilous Marienbrücke (Mary’s Bridge), dodging too many tourists, to snap this. Totally worth the high heart rate.
Feels like fall.
It rained off and on, which gave the world a gorgeous color. (Check out Schloss Hohenschwangau in the background!)
Wandering the grounds of the castle won’t cost you (unless you opt for the carriage ride, of course), but if you’re interested in venturing inside, you’ll have to buy tickets at the bottom of the mountain for a guided tour. It’s SO worth it to do this – after all, do you want to miss the main attraction that you’re climbing a mountain for? – you’ll learn a lot about “crazy King Ludwig” and his family’s time on the throne in amidst gorgeous, original, intricate rooms.
Schloss Neuschwanstein is actually one of several castles in and around Füßen. Remember how I said there are SO MANY castles in Germany? They’re practically neighbors. Even the smallest towns have a few hidden in their hills. We traveled south for the day with the intention of only visiting Neuschwanstein, but I would return in a heartbeat to give the others some love, as well.
