Castles, Mountains and More
Great Adventures Just 50 Miles Southwest of Munich
AI Generated Map, Not to Scale
Some of the best places to visit in all of Bavaria are clustered fairly close together, nestled in the Alps near the Austrian border. Although most places described in this article is reachable on a day trip from Munich, if you want to see more than one or two of these, it’s a much better use of your time to check out of your Munich hotel and move down here for a few days.
Day One: The Swan Castles
Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein are just outside the quaint town of Füssen, about 2 hours southwest of Munich. Translated to English, these are the Swan District Castle (Ludwig’s childhood summer home) and the New Swan Stone, built by Ludwig to exactly fit his idea of the perfect knight’s castle.
Both castles are set high up in the mountains, with lots of stairs once you reach the gate.
Unless your family absolutely loves uphill walking, the best way to get to either castle is to take a horse drawn carriage ride from the village. Neuschwanstein also has an electric bus shuttle that is a little faster but probably not as exciting for a kid!
Hohenschwangau was one of the Wittlesbach family’s favorite summer palaces, used for hunting and fishing.
Inside, most of the original furnishings are still there. The Hall of the Swan Knight has marvelous murals telling the story of Longhenrin, who came to rescue a maiden in distress, arriving in a boat pulled by a swan.
Keep your eyes peeled for more statues and pictures of swans while you’re there - you’ll see lots of them!
Construction at Neuschwanstein stopped immediately after King Ludwig’s untimely death, so only 14 of the 200+ planned rooms were actually completed. Each of those is a masterpiece.
Unlike a true medieval castle, Neuschwanstein was built with comfort in mind! Ludwig’s masterpiece was equipped with central heat, running hot and cold water, an elevator for moving goods and furniture, telephones, and flush toilets on every floor.
Sensory: there are a LOT of stairs here, about 90 up and 90 down. They tend to be grouped in sets of 10-20 steps, several sets are spiral steps.
The Marienbrücke (Queen Mary’s Bridge) spans a steep gorge with a waterfall. The castle view from here is fantastic!
It’s about a half mile walk, slightly uphill from the palace, not very difficult.
If you’re taking a day tour from Munich, be aware that tours don’t include the price of admission for inside Neuschwanstein. Only tours that include the OPTION to add this ticket can guarantee you an entry time that works with their tour schedule! This tour allows you to add on the castle guided tour, after which your guide will bring you through the grounds to the Marienbrücke.
If you’re visiting the castles on your own, reserve your tour times well in advance! Both castles are in the little village of Hohenschwangau, a few miles outside the city of Füssen. To go inside these castles, you must join a guided tour, included in the price of your ticket. and lasting about 40 minutes. Including travel time to and from the village, you’ll need about 2 hours total for Hohenschwangau, and 3-4 hours for Neuschwanstein. You can make reservations directly on the official castle website, which also gives clear and detailed logistics information that will be helpful for your visit.
If you have a Bavarian Palace Pass, you have a ticket to enter but will still need to make the tour reservation here, then you will need to purchase a separate ticket for Hohenschwangau.
Day Two: Alpine Peace in Ettal
King Ludwig chose the tiny village ot Ettal, home to his favorite monastery, as the setting for what would be the only palace that he was able to fully complete.
Linderhof Palace is an ornate miniature version of Versaille, and was Ludwig’s favorite castle. King Ludwig admired King Louis XIV and envied kings who ruled in a time when royal power was supreme! Each of the 10 rooms is elaborately decorated in Baroque French style.
On the grounds of the palace, there are numerous outbuildings dedicated to more of Ludwig’s hobbies - an indoor Venus Grotto with then state of the art colored electric lights, a Moroccan pavilion, formal gardens and walking paths.
To go inside the palace, you must take a guided tour, included with your ticket. If you have a Bavarian Palace Pass, you have a ticket to enter but will still need to make the tour reservation.
Ludwig’s dining table at the palace was on an elevator platform from the kitchen so that he could be served his meals in complete solitude, without even servants to bother or observe him!
Ettal Abbey was founded by Benedictine monks in 1330, and has been brewing beer here since 1609.
The baroque interior of the church is spectacular and worth a quick look.
The complex has a wonderful pastry shop, and their beer is absolutely worth investigating!
if you want to visit both Neuschwanstein and Linderhof on a long tour from Munich, here is a highly rated tour that gives admission inside both palaces.
Day Three: On Top of the World at the Zugspitze
Getting to the peak of Germany’s highest mountain takes no athletic ability whatsoever. It’s all about the ride! Board a cog wheel train at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen train station, and ride for about 1 hour and 15 minutes through the mountains until you reach the cable car platform. The cable car has floor to ceiling windows, and takes about 10 minutes to complete your ride to the mountaintop.
The German-Austrian border runs right across the mountain. Each country has its own cable car service up its own side of the mountain, and each has a visitor center at the top. The two visitor centers are connected by a narrow boardwalk. We had a surprisingly good lunch in Germany, walked over to Austria for our dessert, then made our way back down the mountain.
Sensory: If your child is a vestibular sensory seeker, this activity is going to be a huge hit! G loved the rapid change of elevation and would have happily done this every day for a week.
You can easily do this on a day trip from Munich.
More Family Fun Things to Do near the Castles
This region is a very popular vacation destination for Germans - skiing in winter and mountain lakes for swimming and boating in summer. If you have a rental car, you’ll have plenty of time to do more than just the basic high interest attractions.
Near Füssen, you can go for a swim or rent a paddle boat at the Forggensee or the Alpensee. For thrill seekers, the Alpine Coasters in Tegelberg are lots of fun.
Young children will enjoy the Schongau Fairy Tale Forest, a small amusement park with a petting zoo and a splash playground.
Near Ettal, Oberammergau is the quintessential Bavarian town with painted buildings and shops selling woodcarvings and Christmas ornaments. The Wellenburg outdoor pool complex sells day passes, and there is an Alpine coaster in town.
Where to Stay in the Bavarian Castle Region
If you were to drive the full circle from Füssen to Ettal, Garmisch-Partenkirschen (Zugspitze), and return to Füssen, the drive would be a little over two hours. You can base yourself in any of these towns.
We arrived in this area by car, coming from Salzburg, and stayed at the KlosterHotel Ludwig der Bayer in Ettal. We chose this hotel because (1) it would be the shortest drive from Salzburg, (2) it had a pool and (3) it was within 20 minutes of everything we wanted to do except for Neuschwanstein. Bonus: there is a small guest laundry right near the pool.
If you’re determined to avoid driving, stay in either Garmisch-Partenkischen if you want to visit Zugspitze or Füssen if you aren’t interested in the mountain cable cars. Both have decent regional bus and taxi service available, and lots of hotels to choose from. If a swimming pool is on your wishlist - any hotel with large enough property to have a pool will be a cab ride away from the train station in both of these towns.
My next and final post in this series will describe the process of taking trains, renting cars, and driving in Germany, and give a few sample itineraries to help you make the most of an excellent adventure in Bavaria!