Traveling with my family (me, wife, and 2 kids age 7 and 9) to Germany in last week of June. Our itinerary will include Munich and the Bavarian castles. The guidebook mentions a variety of passes, but I can't figure out the best approach for our plans. We want to visit the Munich Residenz, Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, and Linderhof. N&H together on the same day; the others within the same 1.5 week span. Any advice for what is the best pass or passes to get?
Posted by
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
3101 posts
With kids that young, you want to keep them occupied. The key is that there is a HUGE line waiting for tickets. It can be 2 hours long. Actually getting in the castles may be questionable - the interior of Hohenschwangau is cool, but for a 7 YO? Not so sure.
One time saver is to put one person into the main ticket line, and then the other person goes to the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. We found that you could buy the VERY SAME TICKETS there and the line might have been with 7 people instead of 700. Quite a time-saver. We did the big all-3 ticket. The kids may be less interested in the MotBK, but I thought it was really cool. You can easily do N&H in one day - take the train down, follow the crowds.
It's gonna be pretty crowded for you. Make sure to buy eis for everyone. There is a bus up to the mountain. As to the Mary's Bridge (Marienbrucke), we found it so crowded that we could not get on it.
Kids would probably enjoy dinner at the Chinesichum Turm Biergarten in der Englischer Garten. Especially early in the evening, it's really a fun and relaxing place to eat. Not sure about beer for the 7 YO.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19276 posts
I've been to Füssen/Hohenschwangau six times in 40 years (3x N, 1x H, and 2x just passing through). Only once did I see what Paul described, and that was the last week of Oktoberfest. The last time (Oct 2017) I had reservations, and it was a walkup to the reservation desk, but the other line was definitely not "huge".
The Bavarian "palace" pass includes Linderhof, Neuschwanstein, and the Munich Residenz, but not Hohenschwangau. I'm not sure how you handle reservations for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau together with a palace pass. You can write to the ticket office in Hohenschwangau.