Neuschwanstein castle is one of the most visited castles in Europe and is probably one of the most popular day trips from Munich. I chose to come to Munich this summer in part because of the proximity to this castle. Neuschwanstein is very beautiful and that’s why it served as the inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle. It is also extremely popular; so popular, in fact, that we decided to skip the tour of the castle and the lineups associated with it altogether and enjoy its location instead.
We had to travel from Munich to Füssen and then take a short bus ride (#78 or 73) to Hohenschwangau. The best way to travel to Füssen is with the Bayern ticket, which costs 23 euros for one person and 5 euros for every additional traveler (up to five people can travel together). We paid 28 euros for both of us, which covered our trips to and from Füssen, as well as the bus to and from Hohenschwangau. We had to transfer trains on our way to Füssen and then back to Munich in Kaufbeuren, which was a very short layover–about 8 minutes. The trains in Germany are incredibly punctual, so a short layover was no problem at all.
After getting to Hohenschwangau, we followed the signs to Marienbrücke, a bridge near the castle from which the famous shots of Neuschwanstein can be taken. It was a gloomy day with a thick fog all around us, so we couldn’t see anything at all. We were the only people on the bridge and we had no idea how far the castle was from us. I was disappointed as the trail we were about to take up Tegeleberg promised panoramic vistas with the view of Neuschwanstein.
We crossed the bridge and followed the signs and red markings to Tegelberg. It rained during most of our hike and the fog and clouds were so thick that we couldn’t see any of the promised views of the castle and the fields below us. It cleared up at one point on our hike and we were astonished to get the panorama of the foothills and fields below the mountains. We were alone for the most part of the hike.
The hike is not very strenuous, however it probably could not be done without a good pair of hiking boots, especially because parts of the trail are rocky and got slippery in the rain. The first hour of the hike is a pretty steep climb with a number of switchbacks up the mountain. According to the signs, the entire hike from Hohenschwangau bus stop to the part of Tegelberg with the gondola and the pub is about 3.5 hours; it is another hour to the very top of Tegelberg. This last part of the summit is more of a climb than a hike and you will be using cables to help you to the top of the mountain.
It took us about 3 hours to get to the pub atop Tegelberg. It could definitely be done quicker, but we stopped to take a lot of photos and had a quick bite on the trail. Once at the restaurant atop, we took a lunch break and ordered some fries and beers. After some rest, we started our hike to the very top.
This last part was a bit nerve wrecking and I was grateful for all the fog and clouds that obscured from the view just how high we were and how steep our climb was. The very top of Tegelberg is at 1,881 m and the view is spectacular! As the clouds moved around, we saw many other Alpine peaks, some still covered with snow. Coming down was a little scary and one has to be careful when passing others on the small trail along the cable.
After the climb to the top of Tegelberg, we spent some time watching paragliders float of the mountain. Since the clouds have cleared, there were dozens of them soaring above the mountains. You could do tandem there every day!
We used Tegelbergbahn–the Tegelberg gondola–to get down. The cost was 11.90 euros per person for a one way trip. The ride was pretty quick and offered fantastic views of the mountains and the castle as well. It is in this gondola ride that we caught our first glimpse of Neuschwanstein that day.
At the bottom gondola station we decided to give the castle and Marienbrücke another try, since the weather has cleared. We walked along cross country skiing trails towards the castle, which now could be well seen. This was my favourite view of the Neuschwanstein: we were in a beautiful meadow just below the castle with cow bells sounding in the background; there were barely any people around, and the castle could be seen up on its hill framed by the forest and many mountains around it. We passed the shooting range, and then walked along Neuschwansteinstraße towards the castle. We tried to walk through the Poland Gorge, but, unfortunately, that trail was closed.
We had to climb up the hill again. The closer we were to Neuschwanstein, the busier it got. There were so many tourists and lines for everything: to get food, water, take a bus, or even to take a photo. Marienbrücke, which was completely abandoned in the morning, now had a lineup of people waiting to walk across the bridge and take a photo of the castle. All of it was extremely frustrating and I was happy that we chose to hike Tegelberg instead. In the end, we too got to see plenty of Neuschwanstein: we waited in the line for the coveted shot from Marienbrücke, walked just outside of the castle, and saw it from the meadows below; but, we also saw so much more during the day. We took the bus back to Füssen and spent several more hours in the small town having dinner and coffee and exploring it before out train ride back to Munich. The town is so lovely, that it deserves its own post, which I hope to get to soon.
In the end, our day trip from Munich consisted of: a hike through Neuschwanstein to Tegelberg, plenty of exploration atop and a climb to the summit of the mountain, a gondola ride down, a hike back to Neuschwanstein, a dinner in and a tour of Füssen’s old town. We paid no entrance fee to see the castle (you have to get the ticket to tour its interior) and avoided crowds for most of the day. In total, we hiked about 27 km.
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