Neuschwanstein Castle

 

Neuschwanstein Castle is the most visited castle in Germany.  It was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Most people call it the Cinderella castle, though.

We got to the Neuschwanstein Castle after a scenic three-hour drive from Rust, the location of Europa-Park.

 

Beautiful mountains lined one side of the road and gardens and vineyards lined the other.

 

I was thankful for having reserved the Neuschwanstein Castle tickets online before the trip.  Had I not done that, my family would have had to join the long ticket queue and would probably miss the last tour of the day.

There were three choices for going up the hill – Walk up the steep road, take a bus, or take the horse carriage. Since we were going to visit a castle, what better way to start our experience than to ride on a horse-drawn carriage.

After admiring the castle’s stunning exterior, we started our guided tour of the interior. The interior of the castle was everything a castle should be, with its intricate woodwork, gorgeous ceilings and walls, and furnitures and furnishings that were so well-preserved that you could feel the splendour of the castle like as if it was new. The lavish designs by King Ludwig complemented very well with the majestic views of the villages, mountains and the lake that surrounded the castle.  It was unfortunate though that photography was not allowed.

There were quite a number of spiral steps to climb to get from one floor to another. It was certainly not suitable for baby strollers.

 

After the guided tour, we had a nice early dinner at a little cafe near the castle.  The interesting item to try was the thick chocolate drink.  It was very thick, but surprisingly neither too sweet nor too creamy.  After the meal, we waited and waited for the bus or horse carriage to get downhill.  Unfortunately, the last bus/carriage had already come and gone.  Luckily, we were not the only one who did not know that.  In the end, a number of visitors and us walked down the hill together.   The slope was gentle and easy for the kids.

 

Where to stay

We stayed at Aktiv Hotel Schweiger, which was just 8 minutes away. The hotel was very clean and the room was big.  It had a king-sized bed and two single beds.  Other accommodations near Neuschwanstein Castle with accommodations for the family are listed here -> Accommodations near Neuschwanstein Castle (booking.com).

 

Tips on visiting Neuschwanstein Castle

• I highly recommend reserving tickets online to avoid the long queues at the ticket counter.  You can reserve tickets online at www.hohenschwangau.de.  Tickets can be collected at Hohenschwangau.  The path to the castle also starts from Hohenschwangau.
• For those driving, there were many parking lots, but when we were there, it was hard to find an empty one, so do cater for sufficient time to get a carpark lot.
• If you do not want to walk downhill, be sure to check when the last bus or horse carriage leaves.