Welcome to Neuschwanstein Castle
Opening hours
Closed on December 24, 25 and 31 as well as on January 1st.
COVID-19
The castle is now fully open and the visits are COVID friendly. All necessary steps have been taken to ensure that the visit takes place in the best conditions.
Welcome to Neuschwanstein Castle
Located in the German state of Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Castle is visited by more than 1.5 million people every year.
It is the most frequently visited castle in Germany and the most famous one.
You have probably already seen a picture of this castle at least once since it is the castle of Sleeping Beauty in the famous Walt Disney cartoon.
The castle is located in an exceptional setting. The surrounding landscape is simply incredible with mountains, lakes, forests…
The castle is located right next to the town of Schwangau and the city of Füssen.
Tickets and bookings
Buy your tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle
Due to the high number of tourists (1.5 million visitors annually and 8,000 visitors daily during the summer and sunny weekends), it is recommended to buy your tickets beforehand to make sure you have a spot.
How to get there?
Check out our article on how to get to the Castle and where to park. Parking lots in the area are not free.
How to buy your ticket?
Neuschwanstein is a very popular attraction. Find out how you can get your tickets to visit the castle!
Where to sleep?
How to get to Neuschwanstein Castle?
There are two ways to get to Neuschwanstein Castle: by car or by train and bus.
By car
It is quite easy, you can just enter the destination “Hohenschwangau” in your GPS.
You will have to take the exit “Füssen” on the A7 freeway (Bundesautobahn 7 which crosses Germany from north to south).
If you are planning to stay in the region for a few days, please see our accommodation section.
By train and bus
From Munich, take the train to Füssen. The train ride takes a little more than two hours.
You can buy train tickets from Munich to Füssen on internet.
Once in Füssen, take a bus (line 73 or 78) to “Hohenschwangau Neuschwanstein”.
What happens next? How do I get to the castle?
You cannot drive up to the castle.
This means that if you are coming by car, you will have to park in one of the 4 parking lots in the village of Hohenschwangau.
It’s not possible to park closer to the castle. The parking lots in Hohenschwangau are the closest.
It will cost 7€ to park your car there for the day (2020 rate).
There are three ways to get to the castle:
1. Walk up
This is the cheapest and more physical option! You have to walk up a path of 1,6 kilometer, which means about 40 minutes of walking, to reach the entrance of the castle.
2. Take the shuttle
There is no actual schedule for these shuttles. They leave very regularly from the P4 parking lot.
The upward trip costs 2,5€, the downward one is 1,5€ and the round trip costs 3€. You can go up with the shuttle and down on foot for example. It is very flexible.
The tickets are sold directly in the shuttles and you cannot book your ticket or place in advance.
3. By carriage
The starting point is the Hotel Müller (Alpseestraße).
The price is 7€ for the ride up and 3,5€ for the ride down. Tickets are purchased directly at the carriages.
How to buy your tickets to the Castle?
With 1.5 million tourists visiting this castle every year, it is the most visited castle in Europe with up to 8000 tourists visiting every day.
Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle can be tricky because of the limited amount of tickets available every day.
Even though the tour only lasts 30 minutes, the castle cannot accommodate too many people at the same time.
There are two ways to buy tickets to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle:
- On the same day, directly at the Hohenschwangau ticket office. Tickets are only sold on the same day. It is not possible to buy a ticket there for the next day for example. However, this can be risky because sometimes, you have to wait in line for more than 3 hours at the ticket office (and you are not even sure to get a ticket for the same day if you are not among the first ones at the ticket office).
- You can also book a guided tour directly online. This will allow you to buy your tickets in advance and to book the time slot of your choice. This is the best option if you want to visit Neuschwanstein Castle without waiting for several hours or having to postpone your visit to the next day.
The legend that inspired Walt Disney
Neuschwanstein is first and foremost the dream of a mad king who used to reign over Bavaria.
The castle you will see was built in the late 1800s. The construction started in the summer of 1868 on the order of King Ludwig II. He was a rather eccentric king who did not like crowds and wanted to be far from prying eyes.
He had Neuschwanstein Castle built to get away from his subjects and live a private life.
The building was completed by the end of 1873 and King Ludwig II lived there for a few years, but during all the time he lived in the castle, there were renovation works as there were always things that had to be changed.
The landscape surrounding the castle is idyllic! There are mostly forests around the castle which are a beautiful sight in summer and winter.
After the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, the construction of the castle was suspended.
It’s in this setting, at the foot of the Alps, that Walt Disney found his inspiration.
This castle served as a model for the one in Sleeping Beauty.
He visited this fairy tale castle and that’s how he got inspired for the castle you see in Sleeping Beauty. You can also find a reproduction of the castle in Disneyland.
How to take beautiful pictures of the castle?
If you choose to take the shuttle to the castle gates, they will take you directly to Marienbrücke.
Learn more about the story of the castle…
The castle was not built as a royal castle but rather as a retreat where the imagination can run wild.
The paintings you will find on-site are inspired by Richard Wagner’s operas.
The castle’s murals tell of love scenes, penitence, and fights between knights.
Did you know that there is a second castle in the Schwangau region? Hohenschwangau Castle is located just below Neuschwanstein. It was the castle in which Ludwig II lived during his childhood.
The swan, which is a strong symbol of Neuschwanstein, can be found throughout the castle.
The castle was designed and built to be lit by candles.
Ludwig II of Bavaria lived at night: he got up at sunset and went to bed in the early morning.
The king lived alone in his imaginary world.
There are more than 200 rooms in the castle, including a singers’ room dedicated to Percival, the mythical character in search of the Grail.
The most impressive room is without a doubt the throne room, which is entirely decorated in the neo-Byzantine style with its 4 meter-high brass chandelier. Everything was done to impress and show the power of the king.