How To Visit Neuschwanstein Castle In Germany

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As Fairytale castles go, Neuschwanstein castle undoubtedly takes the top spot. Perched high on a hill in southern Bavaria, it’s just princesses and dragons away from being part of a storybook. In fact, the castle is said to have inspired Disney when creating the Sleeping Beauty Castle – the focal point of Disneyland Park. Visit Neuschwanstein Castle and it’s not hard to see why. If you’re in Germany, you really can’t skip this fantastic place.

Where is Neuschwanstein Castle?

Neuschwanstein Castle is in south Germany, almost at the Austrian border, in Schwangau. The entire village nearby seems geared to serving only those visiting the castle – from restaurants to hotels to massive car parks.

From Munich, it will take you a little over 2 hours to reach one of Bavaria’s most desirable of destinations. We stayed in the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and from there it was an hour drive.

The castle really is in the middle of nowhere, and even when you get to the Schwangau area, you’ll still need to make it up the steep hill to this fairytale wonder. More on that later.

Getting tickets to visit Neuschwanstein Castle

Possibly the part of visiting Neuschwanstein more challenging than the hill it sits atop of, is lucking out and getting tickets. Make sure to book your tickets online at least a month or two before you go, especially if visiting anytime between May and September, or on a weekend. Unfortunately my visit coincided with both.

I tried for weeks to get tickets online, but they had sold out. Persistence paid off though and my daily refreshing of their website finally allowed me to nab a couple of tickets for the day I wanted to visit. That was only 3 days before visiting though, so I was definitely cutting it close.

If you are not as lucky and aren’t able to get tickets online, there are a select number of tickets available in person on the day. However you need to arrive really early in order to get them. And it’s a long way to go on the way to nowhere if you don’t succeed.

Option number three to visit Neuschwanstein Castle is booking a day tour that includes your ticket. Day trips from Munich are very popular and allow you both the ease of not having to drive or find parking as well as including a much sought after ticket. If you’re short on time this is a great option, but if you have the time to spare I urge you to stay longer in the smaller Bavarian villages and make one of them your base for a few days of leisurely exploring.

Parking at Neuschwanstein Castle

I’m not going to lie, this could be a little chaotic, but plan it right and you’ll be just fine. We had a 10am time slot for the castle, so arrived around 8:30am before it got too busy. We were able to find spaces in the parking lot closest to the bus, however it was filling up.

There are 4 parking lots in the village. Parking lot #4 is the one from where the bus up the hill leaves. If you plan of taking the bus, this will be the most convenient for you to park in. If your ticket is for later in the day, you may need to park further away.

A parking ticket is 10 EUR for the first 6 hours, and 1 EUR for each hour after (2023 pricing). 6-hours is typically more than enough time, but you don’t pay until you leave the parking lot so no need to worry about running out of time.

TOP TRAVEL TIP: Even if your ticket is for the afternoon I would arrive in the morning. Make a day of it, have lunch there, and allow plenty of time. You won’t spend 6 hours in the castle so that’s still more than enough time for parking.

How do you get to Neuschwanstein Castle?

You’ve managed to snag a ticket (well done), and battled it out for a parking spot (nice work). Now, how do you actually get you’re a$$ up that huge hill to visit Neuschwanstein castle? Standing in the parking lot it looks so far away. But there are options.

Option 1 – Horse and Carriage ride

The most expensive, but maybe also the most regal of options. It’s a fun way to get up the hill, however the horses don’t go all the way to the top, so you’ll still have a bit of the steep hill to walk at the end. Kids will love this option, I’m sure, so if you have any mini wannabe princesses, get ready to ride the horse and carriage.

Option 2 – Walk

Simple, effective, but could leave you a little breathless. Allow around 40-minutes to hike up the steadily ascending road to the castle. There are great views along the way, even the odd snack cart, and think of all the steps you’ll add to your daily counter!

Downside is you could be a little sweaty and not too selfie ready by the time you reach the top. To walk down is about 20-minutes, that’s what I did. A much more enjoyable walk in my opinion.

Option 3 – Take the bus

This was how I got up the hill. There’s a bus that leaves around every 20 minutes from Parking Lot #4. Early in the day (before 10am) you should be able to get on the first bus you see, or maybe the next one. But later in the day prepare to wait an hour as it gets really busy.

The bus is EUR 3 to go up, or 3.50 EUR return. If you decide to take the bus at the top without the return ticket it will be EUR 2, so you save by getting the return ticket from the get go. We opted for the one way and then walked back down, which was a nice way to experience both – without the major sweating.

The bus ride is only about 10-minutes. Like the horse ride, it doesn’t take you all the way, but a bit closer. The bus conveniently drops you off near the turn off for the walk to the Marienbrücke (Mary’s Bridge) which is exactly where you want to be for the epic view of the castle.

TOP TRAVEL TIP: I would suggest getting the first bus you can and doing the bridge walk before the castle. That way, when you’re done the castle you don’t need to backtrack – unless you’re taking the bus back down.

Visit Neuschwanstein Castle – Timed Tickets

Your ticket for the most coveted castle in Germany will come with a ton of rules. Early arrival should not be taken lightly since you’re most likely going to be reliant on public transport not affiliated with the castle.

There are two entry barriers. The first is into the courtyard where you will wait for your timed entry ticket to be announced. You won’t be allowed in here too early as it gets busy. We got there about 20 minutes before our allocated time, but you’ll need to be here at least 5 minutes before your ticket time. Don’t be late.

The second barrier is in the courtyard. A display board will show which group is currently being called and how long until your group will be. When your number is called, scan your ticket’s QR code on the reader and the automatic barrier will let you pass. It’s for this reason you may not be allowed entry after your time has passed – again, don’t be late!

The tour of Neuschwanstein Castle – what you need to know

Your tour will only last around 30 minutes itself. After successfully gaining access through the barrier at your designated time, proceed inside. Here you’ll get a handheld audio-tour device. You don’t have to do anything, the tour guide will activate it at each relevant stop.

TOP TIP: Bring some headphones to plug into the device – it’s easier than holding it up to your ear for half an hour.

There are absolutely no photos allowed to be taken inside the castle. A guide will be with you the whole way ushering you from room to room in what is a very regimented tour. They will soon give you a stern talking to if you’re seen taking photos.

There are some steps involved in the tour, up one of the spiral staircases in a castle turret. Other than this first staircase there are no other real challenges.

Inside Neuschwanstein Castle

What I love most about Neuschwanstein Castle is how colorful it is. The decorations just keep getting better from room to room. From painted murals, to colorful trim around even the most basic of rooms – of which there are few.

The throne room is unbelievably impressive. Lots of gold, lots of statues, and all the apostles leading to the focal point of the room. I don’t even think a photo would do it justice – maybe there really isn’t a point to taking photos anyway. It has to be seen to be believed.

So many rooms have floor to ceiling paintings and murals, depicting everything from daily life to famous religious stories and of course the royalty who lived here. The entire castle is stunningly over the top in the only way a lavish castle perched on top of a hill can be.

You’ll exit the castle at a different place from where you went in, so make sure to take any photos from the courtyard you want before you go in. You’re free to spend as much time as you want around the castle, however the tour itself only lasts around 30-minutes.

Top Tips for a more enjoyable visit to Neuschwanstein Castle

• Book tickets early as they will sell out
• Driving is way better as you will want to make stops along the way – it’s so beautiful around here
• Car Park #4 (Park Platz) is the best one to go for if you’re taking the bus to the top
• Your ticket will tell you to arrive 1.5-2 hours before your time slot, they’re not joking. It will take you a while to make your way to the top of the hill, and the entry rules are very strict and timed
• Visit Neuschwanstein Castle with an early time slot if you can. We had 10am and this was perfect – well before the crowds and tours got in, but not so early that we had to wake up before 7am to get there.

Visit Neuschwanstein Castle – worth the hype or tourist trap?

Both. Definitely both. The sheer number of visitors this places gets is insane. It’s only getting more popular, but one look at it will make you nod your head in blatant understanding.

The best thing you can do to make the trip more enjoyable is take it for what it is. There will be touristy moments, but look past that and you can really appreciate the beauty and scale of the real life castle many of us grew up seeing through Disney.

The effort to get here (scoring tickets, parking and lugging yourself up a huge hill) is all worth it as far as I’m concerned.

Booking an earlier time slot is the key to being a little less rushed, and much less chaos. We left around 11:30am and the queue for the bus as well as the roads getting into the parking lot were all super busy and hectic.

Experiencing Germany’s most iconic castle

One of the most recognizable places in Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle is by far the most popular castle in the country to visit. Picture postcard views, magical fairytale vibes, history and beauty – it really has it all.

If you’re staying in Munich with limited time, or don’t have access to a vehicle, a bus tour is a great way to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. However, the bus tours arrive later in the morning when it’s already swarming with people, so given the choice I would recommend driving and arriving early – or even staying overnight in Schwangau.

The view of Neuschwanstein Castle from the bridge is incredible, one of the best views I’ve seen in a long while. It’s not hard to see why this is such a famous picture. Another benefit of arriving early is that the bridge was not too crowded for us. Later in the day it was much busier.

However and whenever you choose to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, you’re bound to be impressed. A Disney-esque castle built for a Bavarian King is what fairytales are made of, and Neuschwanstein is certainly that.

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Do you want to visit Neuschwanstein Castle? Have you been before? Do you think it’s worth the hype?