Things You'll Need:
- Tickets to get into the castle.
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Step 1
Get to Bavaria, near the towns of Schwangau and Fussen. This area is almost directly east of Zurich, Switzerland and southwest of Munich, Germany. The Austrian border is close by. Your goal is to reach Hohenschwangau, the town directly below Castle Neuschwanstein.
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Step 2
Take a local train to HohenschwengauTo arrive by plane, your best bet is to fly into Munich and then take local trains to reach Hohenschwangau. You can book a flight by finding the cheapest flights using Yahoo Farechase (see Resources below), then book rail tickets at Rail Europe (see Resources below)or just catch the trains without a ticket.
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Step 3
As an alternative you could fly into Zurich, which has more nonstop flights to and from the United States than Munich. Then, you could take trains to the Castle. This could end up costing more in the long run if you have to buy a two-country rail pass from Rail Europe instead of one, for traveling both in Switzerland and Germany.
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Step 4
Make sure to have good hiking shoes if you walk up to the CastleOnce you reach Hohenschwengau, you have to get to Castle Neuschwanstein. The first option is to walk to the castle from Hohenschwengau. This takes about 30 minutes and is all uphill.
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Step 5
If you don't want to walk the entire way to the castle, you can take a horsedrawn carriage, which will cost about $15 round-trip. You still have a five minute walk from the carriage stand to the castle.
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Step 6
Take a bus to Marienbrucke. From there, walk ten minutes downhill to Neuschwanstein, on a steep path not recommended for the feeble. The bus only costs about $5 roundtrip.
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Step 1
You can buy the tickets ahead of time, on the Internet or by placing an international call (see Resources below). If you purchase the tickets ahead of time and have to change dates, you must do so at least two hours before the scheduled tour time. The site for purchasing the tickets is also only in German (but common sense can help you through without knowing much German).
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Step 2
If you don't want to purchase your tickets in advance, you can buy them in Hohenschwengau when you arrive. There is a ticket center in Hohenschwengau. Just make sure you know the hours for the tours so you don't arrive just after the last tour left for the day. It is also possible that tickets will sell out, so arrive early.
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Step 3
The hours generally are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during peak season April to September, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the other months. The cash desk opens an hour earlier and closes an hour before closing. You can't visit on Christmas eve or day, or New Year's eve or day.
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Step 4
The best deal is to buy a ticket that gets you into Castle Neuschwanstein and Castle Hohenschwangau. Both are beautiful.
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Step 5
At the completion of the guided tour of Castle Neuschwanstein, you are allowed to dine at the castle's cafe and bistro. They have coffee and snacks/cakes. If you prefer a full meal, you can go to the Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein, right at the gates of the castle. They offer relaxed dining inside, or faster lunches outside, normally 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Step 6
After visiting the castle, you could hike the area. There are some beautiful landscapes to be seen. You might even want to take the Tegelbergbahn (cable car) to the top of the Alps nearby.
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Step 7
There are some Web sites to find incredible pictures of this castle, listed in the resource section. The first is the official site of Castle Neuschwanstein. The second is a site for attractions in the Hohenschwengau area.
