Pack Your Bags: Neuschwanstein, Germany



Munich is a fun city…
And while it does offer some really exciting things,
I prefer to use the stay there as a base camp
for day trips away from the city.

Plus, I get to go to the train station in Munich more this way...
and I love the train station in Munich.

It has, like, eight bakeries in the main terminal.
No joke.


But back to the top of day tripping from Munich.
One of the best day trips from Munich is to Neuschwanstein….
Ah, yes, the “Cinderella Castle.”

It’s two hours away from Munich,
And fills up the majority of a day.

It takes you from the city center of Munich
and deposits you at the beginning of the alps…

Almost straight across the Austrian border.

Visiting the castle feels a bit touristy, 
and at some points a bit generic….
But, oh my goodness, it really is breath taking.

You have to go once just to see the castle in person.

Here's how you do it.

Take the train to Fussen from Munich.
The trains run pretty much ever hour.
 It’s right at a two-hour journey there.


 Once you arrive in the tiny & charming town of Fussen,
 you’ll buy €4 for a return ticket on the bus parked outside the station.
Take either the Bus 73 or Bus 78.
Either one will take you to the castle.
Well, almost to the castle.

It will drop you in the tiny town of Hohenschangau 
where you buy your tickets from the ticket office.

 The ticket will be for an assigned tour time in your language, 
as you aren't allowed to enter except for in a tour group. 

 
When you realized you have over an hour or more to wait,
 you can fill your time with grabbing something good to eat 
from one of the many restaurants in town.


After you’ve wiped the mustard off your chin and are ready to go, 
you’ll have three options on how to get up to the castle:


1.     Hoof it. It’s about a thirty minute walk. It’s beautiful. It’s what most people do.

2.     Hoof it. Well, take a horse-drawn carriage and let them do the hoofing. 
It’s not a romantic couples carriage covered in fake roses.
 It’s a large cart with as many random groupings can fit it.


3.     Take the bus up. This cost €2.60 for a return ticket. It takes you up past the castle to the overlooking bridge, but as it runs every 20 minutes and is very popular, can lead to a long wait.

We walked it. It was fun, and I got to stop and take pictures…. which you can’t do in the carriage or bus. Plus, after sitting for so long- it felt nice to walk.

Up we went...



When you arrive, 
you can spend a bit of time overlooking the valley below...

 
perusing the gift shops for various trinkets...


playing with any puppies you find leashed up around the castle...

 
or taking silly pictures.


 
About five minutes before your tour starts, 
head through the castle gate and wait in the courtyard
until your tour number is posted.

They'll take it over from there...

The historically-light tour may have you feeling a bit under-informed as you leave,
but upon exiting the castle, take a left.

This path will take you up to the bridge above the castle
and offer brilliant views that round out your day in Neuschwanstein perfectly.




The views of the lake & castle are stunning.
Absolutely breathtaking.

You'll feel like you are looking at the box lid to a puzzle at your grandma's house.

 From there, you can take the bus down
{just buy your ticket directly from the bus driver}.

You can also walk back down to the castle to hop a carriage or walk down.

Before you leave, spend a little time in the base town of Hohenschwangau.

Grab a drink to enjoy on the deck in the sunshine
or maybe polish off your day with something sweet.



Then work your way back to Fussen via the bus.

The return trains run almost every hour,
so you'll be fine whenever you leave.

You may even want to spend some time wandering Fussen.
It's a perfectly German village with plenty of shops & restaurants.

But whatever you do,
don't forget to look out the window on the way back.



*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

17 comments:

  1. I am so enjoying your travel photos these days!
    I visited that castle once... I mostly remember that the country side on the way over there was spectacular!

    Keep those glorious photos coming!
    xo

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  2. I've been wanting to go to Germany forever! I went when I was in 2nd grade & remember nothing (except my mom informing me I had given her chicken pox. Oops). It looks like you guys are having so much fun.

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  3. magical :) i'd love to go see this! not sure if h would be on board.. why dont men get excited about castles?!

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  4. Looks amazing...adding to my must-go-to list daily as I follow your travels.

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  5. This post brought back the most wonderful memories. Munich was the first place I ever went in Europe and the Munich train station was my first experience with big city, European train stations. And Neuschwanstein...lord, I was SO underwhelmed by the actual tour itself, but the tiny town with all of the yummy food, and the hike up to the castle, and the beautiful views of the Alps? TOTALLY worth it!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)

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  6. Gorgeous! Ok, I'm definitely adding this to my "must see" bucket list!

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  7. You went to the Cinderella CASTLE?!!!!!! I can't... I can't believe I have never known it really existed. I am flipping out right now! That's a total dream of mine after seeing Ever After. Sigh, I am a princess freak at heart.

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  8. I went the Neuschwanstein like 5 years ago when I was travelling around Europe with my brother. The best deal I found for visiting both castles in Hohenschwangau was to book a romantic castle tour... with my brother. And we stayed at the hotel in the background of one of your pictures. It was fun, but slightly awkward to have everyone keep referring to my brother as my "husband." And the romantic horse-drawn carriage ride just put it over the top. LOVE your pictures. :)

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  9. I want to see this castle someday, so bad!!!

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  10. I have wanted to go here for some time. So incredible, and seeing it covered in snow? Even better. I want to do an entire castle tour in Germany. So cool!

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  11. Amaaaaazing! Le sigh... THIS ciderelly will have to wait a few years to visit the castle herself. Adding to wanderlist.

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  12. I saw Neuschwanstein in the summer (which ps is the most difficult spelling ever), but your pictures are making me want to go back and see it with snow. It looks so romantic!

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  13. I looooved the Neuschwanstein castle when I went on my study abroad trip. But the worst part was hiking up the mountain in 80 degree weather and having to constantly avoid all the carriage horses' droppings on the road - complete with flies that would fly up when a car randomly zoomed by. Be thankful you went in the winter!! :)

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  14. i've always wanted to see this in person!

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  15. wow. absolutely breathtaking!! john and i are definitely planning this day trip for when we will be in munich in june. can't wait. and all your info is SOOOO helpful. so thank you!! xoxo
    and GORGEOUS pictures, as always!

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  16. ah this looks AMAZING! I feel like this post was written for me! We are currently planning a trip to Munich & Neuschwanstein in July with my brother-in-law and his wife! I will definitely be bookmarking this post :) Looks like a dream.

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  17. WOW!!!!!!! WOW, WOW, WOW... this is Beautiful!

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