A Complete Guide to the Fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle

The king had a strong passion for castles and fortresses, as he had built a lot of them in his short reign. This Neuschwanstein Castle was built so that he could have his own royal life, in an out of the world fantasy space. The nobility at that time could not stand the neglecting and weird approach of Ludwig II towards the kingdom’s affairs. He was declared mad by four government-sanctioned psychologists and was asked to step down. He was even forced to move out of his new under construction castle, the Neuschwanstein. After a few days, the “mad king’s” body was found drowned in Lake Starnberg.

Most say that it was suicide as the king was depressed, but there are a few historians who also bring out a conflicting perspective. They say that it could be very possible that all of it, right from declaring Ludwig II mad, to asking him to step down; was a conspiracy by his government advisors. The “mad king” died about 6 months before the construction of Neuschwanstein Castle could be completed. A few weeks after the king’s death, this magnificent piece of architecture was opened for the general public.

Today, it is considered as one of the most visited castles in the whole world. Statistical data shows that in the year 2017, there were 1.5 million visitors to the Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle incorporates architectural patterns of contemporary sphere known as Burgenromantik, and King Ludwig II’s enthusiasm for the works of the legendary German theatre director-composer, Richard Wagner. Burgenromantik is the German word for the romanticism of castles. In terms of design, the castle can be regarded as something which was typical in terms of its architecture. The basic shapes used are let’s say, simple cuboids, arches of semicircular shape, etc, which were a characteristic of the Romanesque style of art.

Along with this, there are sophisticated abstract embellishments, with slim towers, upward lines, which were a characteristic feature of the Gothic style. Due to the king’s love and passion for German theatre & opera, influences of that can be easily seen on the wall frescos and carvings throughout the castle. The core structure of the Neuschwanstein Castle is built with bricks, and then it is encased in other different rock types to enhance beauty and durability. It is said that during its construction, this place was the leading site of employment in the region. More than 200 workers were required at the site at any given time during the construction.

This magnificent palace is on the tentative German list as a candidate for the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the past few years.

Before visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle, there are certain things which you need to keep in mind. Due to concerns relating to the security of the place, visitors are allowed only for a period of 35 minutes on guided tours. These guided tours are based on specific topics as per the requirements of the visitors.

However, the first step to this is going to be the reservation for such tours. You should make sure that the reservation is made at least 2-3 days prior to your arrival at the Neuschwanstein Castle. By the way, an important thing to realize is that the earlier you book, the better it gets. This is because by booking as early as possible, you get to pick the time slots and tour types of your choice, without having to compromise if it had been a last-minute reservation. If you make a reservation request, you can expect to wait for a considerable amount of time (maybe a few days), as it takes time for requests to be processed. Once this is done, you will receive your reservation details along with your time slot and other information. What happens is that the visitors have to collect their tickets from the ticket office on the same day as your visit, and the tickets have to be collected at least one and a half hours before the scheduled slot of visit.

One can visit the castle as a daytime excursion, and can conveniently reach there from Munich, which is connected by rail. Several trains at one hour intervals depart from Munich’s Hauptbahnhof Station. The train arrives at the beautiful little town of Fussen, which is a 10-minute ride away from Hohenschwangau village (where the castle is).

A suggestion would be to get information about something called the Bayern Ticket. It is a travel pass which applies on individuals who are traveling by trains of German Railways, or buses/ trams, which gives high subsidies and price saving deals on such transportation, in the state of Bavaria. This ticket offers such savings within the state, and to the first stop which may come across the border. Such tickets can be used from 9 am to 3 am the next day. It is better to get Bayern tickets in small groups (of up to 5 people max), as after 25$ for one ticket, additional travelers can be added at 7$. An important piece of information here would be the fact that it would take about two and a half hours for the train to reach Fussen from Munich, and the Bayern Ticket applies only after 9 am. So, you should manage timings accordingly and then plan their visit to the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Upon reaching Fussen, one has to take a short bus ride to reach the village of Hohenschwangau. The route has a lot of scenic views, so one can really sit back and relax. Right after getting out if the train station, the bus to Hohenschwangau can be found; its number is 78. It is pretty distinctly identifiable as most of the tourists can be seen flocking towards it in groups. The ticket line can sometimes get annoyingly long, and one can get to shorter queues for advanced reservation. There is another castle in the vicinity, called the Hohenschwangau Castle, and one can buy package tickets to both of the castles at discounted prices under this combination.

After getting the ticket from the base, one has to go up the hill, on a trek which is around a mile long, to get to the fairytale that Neuschwanstein Castle is. The trek is not very steep, but there are options for getting rides up to the destination. These are in horse-ridden carriages and add to the fairytale vibe, which this place has in abundance. The beautiful views up the hill, the cool breezy weather, the smell of meadows around are all magical beyond words! And getting there with your loved ones or even alone (who says solo trips are bad!), is really something more magical than anything else. It is for this reason that the trek is going to take some time; it is best to reach about one and a half hours before the scheduled time.

The ride uphill ends at a cute restaurant and gift shop which is slightly downhill from the Neuschwanstein Castle. The weather gets particularly cold there, so one can easily grab a hot bite from the restaurant, or kill some time before the time of the visit arrives.

The Neuschwanstein Castle is situated on the foothills of the Alps of Bavaria, and the place has a rugged topography. One can let the breathtaking views sink in by taking a pause and just looking around. What is sad is that cameras and phones are not allowed inside the castle, as no photos are permitted inside. Some visitors say that the journey to the castle and the extravagant views from the outside are more thrilling than the guided tour inside the castle. But, then one should definitely go inside because we don’t get a chance to feel like a prince or princess from a Disney fairytale every day!

Since this castle was built at a relatively later time in history (late 19^th century), it is considered to be a modern ones. The 30-minute tour shows rooms like the dressing room, room of throne, king’s bedroom, etc. However, many rooms are still unfinished, as the king had died. There is a screening room at the end of the tour where a short film of about 15 minutes is shown depicting what the structure would look like entirely if the work had been finished. The film shows graphical 3-dimensional projections of exterior towers and adds details onto the unfurnished rooms to show what they would look like if completed.

The thing which one realizes once on this trip is that having the guided tour inside the castle is just a small part of the magical experience which the Neuschwanstein Castle offers, as there is a lot more to it left. There is a path outside the castle which takes one to a dreamy location that is the Marienbrucke (which translates in English to Mary’s Bridge). This is the point where the most picture-perfect views of the castle can be captured.

The bridge is on a rugged fanciful small valley in the hills and often gets crowded due to its high popularity if one visits in peak season. There’s a chance that if the weather’s bad in winters, the bridge would be closed, either due to the chilly winds or excessive snow. The snow makes the views even more fairytale-like, with picturesque scenes of the magnificent castle on a hill where everything is covered in sheets of white snow.

There are some spots in particular which are really popular on social media platforms like Instagram, and visitors can often be seen looking for those picture-perfect spots. There are some spots from where you can get selfies clicked while sitting on a portion of the hill with the castle in the background. Unless one is using a drone, the perfect way to get amazing aerial shots is hunting for spots in the area, and that effort is surely worth it. You cannot get the front view aerial shots from the hills as the perch of the hill falls opposite to the backside of the castle. After getting tired of all of the walking and trekking, taking a ride down on the horse-carriage is a more viable option. Also, there isn’t much of a crowd while going down, so you can easily get an available ride.

The Neuschwanstein Castle is open from 24^th March to 15^th October from 9 am to 6 pm, and then from 16^th October to 23^rd March from 10 am to 4 pm. The Neuschwanstein Castle remains closed on the Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and the 1^st of January. The guided tours are available in German and English, and there are also audio guided tours in Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, etc. One can take a cable car ride in Hohenschwangau on the Tegelberg Mountain, from the Tegelberg Cable Car. This mountain is a mere 2 km away from Neuschwanstein Castle, and the views on the cable-car ride are utterly spectacular.

If adventure activities are your thing, you could go paragliding over the village of Hohenschwangau and breathe in the glamorous starry-eyed views of the castle and the Bavarian Alps. There are sparkling lakes, lofty mountains, meadows, and a poetic castle. This bird’s eye view can be experienced with the help of service providers like the Fly Royal Paragliding Services, which offers professional, high-quality courses and flights, and has a band of qualified instructors & pilots.

After coming back from the day-long excursion from the castle, what one would crave the most is good hot food. Fortunately enough, there are a lot of options for food in Hohenschwangau, as it has already grown as a major tourist hub. The food options range from street vendors to decently priced mid-range eateries, to fine dining restaurants. What works best while exploring the food near the Neuschwanstein, is that most eateries and bistros have outdoor seating, from where one can enjoy fantastic views on bright sunny days over a delicious cup of coffee. The quick bites which one can grab include pastries, sandwiches, etc. The local German and Italian food is particularly liked by visitors, among others. Apart from local cuisine, most restaurants do offer global food with a variety of cuisines. One can find great seafood joints and places which serve continental or even oriental food.

Regarding stay options near Neuschwanstein Castle, there are numerous choices. Just to give an example, some of them could be Hotel Bergruh or Hotel Aktiv Schwieger. Hotel Bergruh is a quant lodge which is at a 10 min distance from the city center at Fussen. One can choose this place to stay for enchanting views of the Alps and a cozy stay in the laps of mountains. The Hotel Aktiv Hotel Schwieger also is a great stay option. The place puts a lot of emphasis on health and wellbeing, as there are a lot of options for in-house treatments, and they serve healthy food with raw material produced locally. The rooms are simple, yet comfortable. The amenities include a fireplace, bar, terrace. One has to give prior notice to the hotel before arriving if one wants to bring in any pets. A small fee is also charged for that.