The Fairy-Tale Neuschwanstein Castle

Long after medieval times, Ludwig II of Bavaria had a dream of building the perfect romantic castle. As a huge fan of operas by Richard Wagner, he wanted his new Neuschwanstein (New Stone-Swan) Castle to embrace the style and stories he liked so much.

The construction started in 1869 and was meant to be Ludwig's refuge from society, but since his mysterious death in 1886 the castle was open for paying public as an tourist attraction. This definitely helped Bavaria to get back from the investment in the place, more than 1,3 million people visit the site every year, with over 6,000 people every day in the summer. The place is also notorious from being the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

He sure chose a nice place to build it

How to get there?

The most strategic big city to be for the visitation is Munich, from there you can simply buy a train ticket to the small town of Füssen, it will take you 2 hours to get there.

From the train station in Füssen you have a bus that will take you directly to the castles area, there is always many taxis waiting as well, if you like more space to yourself. The castles are actually in another municipality, called Schwangau. It is a very touristic place, filled with restaurants and organized in a way for you to never get lost.

Did you notice I have been saying castleS? Well, there is another one just "next-door" from Neuschwanstein, called Hohenschwangau. It is not as impressive, but worth a visit. The tickets have a discount if you choose to go to both castles.

Hohenschwangau Castle

After you enjoyed the little town for a bit and went to the "yellow castle", catch a bus uphill. You can't miss the line! It's also possible to go on foot, if you are on a budget or like hikes.

From the bridge you have the amazing view most photos are taken of

When you get off the bus you are free to go straight to the Castle, in there the tour will take a little more than half an hour, and you will know more about Ludwig II and his ideas for the place. After that, no matter how tired you are, be sure to go to the bridge, it is the best view of the building, as in the first photo of this post.

The red brick area is where Ludwig used to live, waiting for the castle to be finished