Fussen, Germany; Reutte or Innsbruck Austria?

Consider Mittenwald, Germany. Tons of hiking in the Garmisch Partenkirchen area.

I’m confused about your reference to a base in SW Switzerland, Germany or Austria for a stay of two days. I would not play to day trip between these areas. Chose one and explore that area. Switzerland will be more expensive.

Where else will you be traveling. We might be able to recommend some other castles.

Sorry I wasn't clear.

We are traveling SW from Geneva and trying to decide among these 3 towns which one fits our preferences as listed. We wouldn't be going to all 3!

Public transportation can get you to the castles in Fuessen.
About 30-90 minutes quicker to Geneva from Innsbruck

I loved Fussen but not Neushweinstein castle which is really just a palace.

Where in Switzerland will you be staying other than Geneva? What’s your itinerary look like so far?

I would go with Garmsich over Fussen for visiting that area. Not sure that I would use either as a base for Switzerland.

For Switzerland as a whole, I recommend Interlaken, which is near enough to Lucerne and other great places.

I think you have your directions mixed up. SE Switzerland is not near Germany. Neither is SW Switzerland. And Reutte and Innsbruck are not in Switzerland either. It sounds like you mean to travel to SE Germany from Geneva, but not sure.

And dont let the map fool you. Distances are deceiving because of the mountains. It takes a lot longer than you might think to get from Geneva to any of those places.

I loved Fussen but not Neushweinstein castle

Neushweinstein?

It's hard to take a recommendation from someone who doesn't even know the name of the place they are critiquing.

I personally liked Neuschwanstein. No, it's not a real castle, but it is a beautiful edifice and an insight into the life of a romantic, eccentric king.

People visit a lot of fortified palaces that look like castles - Reichsburg (Cochem), "Burg" Hohenzollern, etc. I've visited a lot of "real" castles that weren't as interesting inside as Neuschwanstein.

BTW, look into Pfronten. It's on the same rail line as Reutte, but a prettier town. There are buses all day to Füssen and if you stay in Pfronten, you'll get a pass for the bus.

Another good place to stay if you like hiking would be Oberstdorf. Oberstdorf is Germany 2nd ski area, after Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The German Ski Team trains there.

Right next to Oberstdorf is the beautiful Austrian alpine valley of Kleinwalsertal. Kleinwalsertal has a lot of hiking trains. It's a ski area in the winter, and in the summer they run the lifts so you can take a lift up and hike down.

Unfortunately, it over 2 hours by train via Kaufbeuren to Füssen. There used to be a direct bus to Füssen, but it seems to have been discontinued.

Hello, if you’re using public transport and only have two days, stay in Fussen. If you stay in a hotel there you get a regional transportation card that includes the bus to Lugwig’s castles. Here’s the link to the castle ticket office.
https://www.hohenschwangau.de/
Buy tickets well in advance.
I’m going next month and we’re staying at zum hetchen hotel which I stayed in last time I was there in 2018, it was very nice.
https://www.hotel-hechten.com/en-index.html
Have a great trip
Cheryl

I guess you need to be a spelling bee winner to recommend.😂. Fussen is a nice comfortable place for a overnight stay and the castles are near by. We love looking at the outside of castles but if this is your first time do the whole ball of wax.