1 Perfect Munich to Neuschwanstein Tour

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Greetings Internet Stranger, and welcome to a perfect Munich to Neuschwanstein tour! I’ve definitely met some people who roll their eyes with vigor when they hear about Neuschwanstein Castle.

And I think it’s very important that young girls today understand that they don’t have to like princesses. They can enjoy taking apart computers, playing in the mud, or pulling the wings off of flies just to watch them suffer. (OK, maybe not that last one.)

So keep that in mind when I admit that I happen to adore anything princess-related. Be it castle, tiara, or magical talking animal sidekick, I love them all.

That is why the number one thing I was dying to do in Germany was the Munich to Neuschwanstein tour. There’s just something about an isolated castle built by a mad king in the middle of the woods that makes one feel like the world’s most glamorous princess.

Head on the Munich to Neuschwanstein tour with me for the day on this delightful trip, and I’m sure you’ll soon agree.

You can book this tour for yourself easily by clicking here.

Then get ready for an amazing day of adventure!

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

Where to Stay?

Obviously you’ll start your Munich to Neuschwanstein tour in Munich. As cute as Munich is, remember that it’s also one of the largest cities in Germany and it can be rather spread out. That’s why it’s important to choose your location wisely. I suggest staying somewhere closer to the main attractions of Old Town.

That’s why I recommend staying at the Hotel MIO. It’s got a perfect location in the Old Town, just a short walk from Marienplatz. It’s in a modern building with a great staff, and all the amenities you could want.

If you’d like to book a room in this hotel for yourself, just click here.

If you’d like to explore great deals on tons of other hotels in Munich, just click here to find the best hotel search engine at Booking.com! This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay during your Munich to Neuschwanstein tour. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

Morning: Neuschwanstein Castle Tour

It might be possible to get to Neuschwanstein from Munich without booking a guided tour, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. That’s why I suggest booking a guided tour right here for all your Munich to Neuschwanstein tour needs. There’s absolutely no need to spend a fortune because you can get a great tour to Neuschwanstein with transportation included for a totally reasonable price.

Check rates and availability here.

Our guide was an enthusiastic American named H who was living in Munich because her husband had been transferred there. She shared my love of both history and German gummy candies, so we got along great.

It took us a train and a bus to get from Munich to Neuschwanstein starting in the Hauptbahnhof, and when we arrived we had to cool our heels for a few minutes over a currywurst while H got the tickets for the Neuschwanstein Castle interior tour.

But soon we were on our way up the hill to the famous fairytale castle, while H regaled us with stories of the castle and its creator, the Mad King Ludwig. I am happy to share with you…

Three fun facts about mad king ludwig

1) mad king or fairytale king?

The first thing H told us what that it might not be fair to call Ludwig mad. A better nickname for him might be “The Fairytale King”. Ludwig grew up as the very sheltered oldest son of the Crown Prince of Bavaria, Max. In fact, he spent much time in his childhood in the castle pictured above, Hohenschwangau Castle. 

He had a hard time relating to others and preferred to spend his time thinking about fairytales than living in the real world. That sounds just like my childhood (minus the whole Crown Prince of Bavaria thing). Am I a long-lost relative of the Fairytale King?

2) His love life was tragic

Ludwig II may have loved fairytales, but none of his love stories had a happy ending. He was engaged once to his cousin, Sophie Charlotte. (It was the 19th century, so I guess that made cousin touching okay.) However, Ludwig only loved Sophie Charlotte in a platonic sort of way. You could say that he loved her like a cousin. Eventually Ludwig broke off the engagement, and Sophie Charlotte married someone else.

(Although apparently Sophie Charlotte didn’t love her actual husband either because she’d really fallen in love with the photographer who took her engagement photos back when she was planning to marry Ludwig. But she couldn’t be with the man she really loved because he was just a lowly photographer. Man, 19th century Bavarian court life was full of drama!)

But back to Ludwig. H said that his diaries later revealed that he had been secretly in love with men his whole life. But because of the stigma surrounding homosexuality back then, apparently he never acted on these feelings. That’s too sad, Ludwig! I hope you found all the cute Bavarian princes you wanted in the afterlife. Speaking of…

3) He died under mysterious circumstances

The older and lonelier Ludwig got, the more obsessed he got with building intricate fairytale castles. But of course Neuschwanstein Castle was going to be his masterpiece. But fairytale castles don’t come cheap! They come true, not for free. So as you can imagine, Ludwig was spending a lot of his constituents’ money on his champagne wishes and caviar dreams. This didn’t always make him popular.

One day, Ludwig went out for a walk with his doctor…and was never seen again, alive. The bodies of both Ludwig and his doctor were found in the lake, but no water was found in Ludwig’s lungs.

This means he could not have been drowned. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened to Ludwig. It’s a history mystery! But at least he left us all his beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle to explore.

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

Afternoon: Explore Neuschwanstein Castle Area

Now that H had given us the Ludwig Lowdown, we were free to explore for the rest of the afternoon. There are so many things to see and do around the area, so I’ll give you more help than anyone ever gave poor Ludwig with…

Approximately top 5: Neuschwanstein Castle edition

1) Neuschwanstein Castle Interior

I highly recommend taking the tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle interior. The guide will pick up the tickets for you so you can skip the long line to get them. It’s 15 Euros extra, but I think it’s worth it. How often do you get to visit the castle of a-not-actually-mad king?

Photo taking inside the castle is verboten, so I can’t show you my snaps of the gloriousness of Ludwig’s throne room. Fortunately, Neuschwanstein Castle has been around since the 19th century, so some photos of the interior are in the public domain, like this one:

Ludwig also installed an artificial grotto with an artificial waterfall and a rainbow machine inside the castle because that’s just how you roll when you’re The Fairytale King of the BVA.

Now I AM convinced that Ludwig and I are secretly related because when I was 5 years old, I definitely dreamed of building myself a Disney castle with a golden throne room and a mysterious grotto. (The grotto would have been for the days I felt like pretending I was Maleficent and not Sleeping Beauty.)

Our guide for the Neuschwanstein Castle interior tour was a cartoonishly handsome young German. He looked like a good witch turned Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty into a real boy. At one point he asked us all to come closer saying, “I don’t bite,” and every girl on the tour started to giggle. Was I one of them? I’ll never tell!

2) Neuschwanstein Castle Exterior

As exciting as the interior of Neuschwanstein Castle is, it’s not the best part. After all, Ludwig only got to finish about 15 of the 200 rooms he had planned, so the interior is incomplete. You came to see the outside of this baby. After all, it’s the castle that inspired Disney to create the confection that is the Sleeping Beauty castle. But Neuschwanstein Castle is even better than the Disney castle because it’s in the third dimension.

The only problem with Neuschwanstein Castle is that everyone and their cousin/fiancée is trying to get a good photo of the castle at the same time you are. Here’s my solution to getting a good photo.

Step One: Lure the other tourists to an undisclosed location.

Step Two: Murder them. Or pay someone else to murder them. Tomato, tomah-to

Step Three: Make it look like they accidentally drowned in a lake. Then take a photo of Neuschwanstein Castle that is unobstructed by tourists.

Yay! You did it! And no one will ever know your secret…

3) Views of Hohenschwangau village

Neuschwanstein Castle is located on a hill, and we all know what that means! Amazing view of the surrounding Bavarian countryside and the Hohenschwangau Village. Wander away from the throngs of tourists and pretend you are a simple hiker, trekking through the Southern German mountains all by your lonesome.

Yodelay hee hoo! (Wait, that’s Austria.)

4) Hohenschwangau Castle

Remember that Neuschwanstein Castle is not the only castle game in town. Ludwig strategically placed it nearby his favorite childhood summer home, the Hohenschwangau Castle. Hohenschwangau literally translated to Upper Swan County.

I definitely think when they make a miniseries about the teenage years of King Ludwig, it should definitely be titled Upper Swan County. (“Welcome to the USC, bitch!”)

I didn’t have enough time to go visit the interior of the castle on this trip. (Also, just as with Neuschwanstein Castle, pictures are not allowed inside.) Hopefully you’ll be better organized than I was and purchase admission at the ticket center.

5) Lake Alpsee

Don’t let it get you down if you don’t have time to see the interior of Hohenschwangau castle. Head down to lovely Lake Alpsee and you can get a better surprise!

Yes! It is the Schwans themselves! These swans are wild and wild swans can be dangerous. I think this lady is the corner is making a poor life choice by getting so close to them. If they had attacked her, I would have never stopped laughing.

Also, perhaps my story about Ludwig’s death made you a little squeamish around lakes. Don’t worry, Internet Stranger. This isn’t the lake in which Ludwig was “accidentally” “drowned”.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets I can share with you for now. You’ll have to go ahead and book the tour to find the rest.

Check rates and availability right here!

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

Evening: Dinner at Augustiner Keller

When you arrive on the train back from Neuschwanstein Castle, you’re going to want to have something to eat! Perhaps some of your tour mates will want to join you! H recommended a traditional Bavarian Beer Hall called Augustiner Keller.

I was accompanied by four others from the tour: a Scottish couple, a young Canadian gentleman, and an American ballerina in training. I don’t remember their actual names, so I’ll just dub them Mr. and Mrs. McGregor, Justin, and Angelina.

24 hour treat: obatzda

My new friends and I all ordered a giant pint of Bavarian lager and pretzels the size of a Hohenschwangau. But I added my most favoritest Bavarian food to my dinner: obatzda, I had eaten this delicacy on a previous trip to Germany, and I was excited for the opportunity to share my love with the world.

Obatzda is the greatest invention any dairy lover could experience. It is made by mixing two parts of soft cheese with one part BUTTER. That’s right, fools, I said butter. Then you mix in paprika, salt, pepper, other seasonings as your heart desires, and finally a little bit of beer. I bless the Bavarian who came up with this concoction.

Obatzda is actually certified by the EU with the Protected Geographical Indication. I guess that just means the EU knows good food when it eats it.

The only downside was that the young Canadian had one too many beers and so we all had to group together and put him in an Uber at the end of the evening. (Was the young Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? I’ll never tell…)

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

What to Pack

• A cell charger so you can keep your cell phone charged for a full Munich to Neuschwanstein tour.
• The best travel adapter so you will be able to use American/Australian/British devices in German electrical outlets.
• My favorite guidebook to Germany
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds.
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you how travel can take you on a journey of self-discovery.

Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

How to Get There

Now, I wish I knew where you lived, Internet Stranger, because I could send you a brace of the finest swans. But sadly, I do not, and so I can’t tell you exactly how to get from your home to your Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

But I can tell you that I used a lovely airplane to get from my hometown NYC to Berlin, and I recommend Expedia for the best way to find the cheapest flight to Berlin at the best time of day. I flew a direct flight, which is easy to find from NYC to Berlin. If you don’t live on the East Coast it might be trickier, but I’m sure Expedia can help you find something.

From Berlin, I took a bus to Munich, which was quite easy. You can even use Expedia to rent a car so you’ll be all set when you arrive at your destination. (I can’t drive, but if you can, this must be helpful.)

Just click here to start looking for the best possible deals on your flight, so you can head out to the Munich to Neuschwanstein tour ASAP.

That’s a Perfect Munich to Neuschwanstein tour

What would you do with 24 hours on a Munich to Neuschwanstein tour? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Munich? How do you think Ludwig really died? Should we call him Mad King Ludwig? Or is Ludwig really sane…and it is we who are mad? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should only spend 24 hours on a Munich to Neuschwanstein tour.

You can also check out 24 hours in Berlin. Don’t miss my what to do Berlin day. Add on 24 hours in Munich. Experience a what to do in Hamburg Germany day. Finally, don’t forget 24 hours in Hamburg.