Is a car necessary for visiting several South Germany castles?

It very much depends on what "some castles" mean. Some are easy to access by train or bus, some are not.

Here is a discussion about car vs public transport to Neuschwanstein.

It is very easy and less expensive to do by train, but I'll put in my plug to recommend a car for this particular trip from Munich. Yes, you can get there by train but the drive is nice and a car gives you the option to stop along the way at places like Starnberg, Wieskirche, or even venture into the mountains a little. I've done both and honestly I prefer to little breaks we can take in the countryside on the drive up and down.

DJ

A car is generally not necessary to visit Neuschwanstein. Train alone will get you between Munich and Füssen; if you are starting from somewhere else, it depends. After arrival in Füssen you ride a shuttle bus for several minutes to a certain bus stop. Then you walk roughly 30-40 minutes uphill to the entrance or spring for a carriage ride. Cars cannot park near the entrance, so don't think you'll save yourself the walking time with a car. The tour itself is 25-30 minutes long. Expect to spend nearly 5 hours from Munich round trip on trains and buses.

All that said, Neuschwanstein isn't a genuine castle. A lot of underinformed visitors might think so, but it was actually built near the end of the 19th century, several centuries after the castles we normally associate with medieval times, with elements of construction that included central heating and concrete. Germans refer to it as "Palace Neuschwanstein."

There are numerous real medieval castles, some in ruins, some not, that CAN be visited in Germany. One of the better ones in Bavaria is called Burghausen, in the town of the same name. Burghausen does have a train station; I made an outing there myself one year and walked between the station and the castle. Depending on where you are starting from, the train ride might be long or short. From Munich, it's roughly the same distance as Füssen - roughly 2 hours each way. From Landshut, a very attractive smaller town outside Munich, it's about 1.6 hours each way.

Burghausen Castle

Nuremberg is a great city to visit and can be reached by train from Munich in 1-2 hours; the Imperial Castle there is in town and connected to the old town wall which still exists in certain places.

https://www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de/englisch/castle/index.htm

Inexpensive regional day passes will get you to Füssen, Nuremberg, or Burghausen by train on any day of the week. Figure €34/2 persons for freewheeling train privileges on any day of the week with the Bayern Ticket:

http://munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

The best place one-stop area to see/tour genuine medieval castles in southern Germany is the Rhine/Mosel region near Koblenz:

Marksburg
Burg Eltz
Rheinfels

Both the Rhine and Mosel Rivers are known for vineyards, river cruises, old-world towns, and castles.

Thank you for the replies. We plan to be in the Swiss Alps before traveling to Germany.

I liked having a car to tour the area. It's possible to tour the area using public transportation but it becomes harder when you plan several stops each day.

synapse,

I must say I really, really enjoyed my half hour tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle. It may be a newer castle that was never really lived in by royalty, but I was fascinated by the architecture and rooms I did see. Some may not like it or think the time spent to get there is worth it, but I have never regretted it. We are hoping to see the other castle in the area (The name of it escapes me at the moment.) this autumn. There is also a museum about the castles in the area.

You do you!

Traveler Girl

The "other castle in the area (Füssen)" is Hohenschwangau, which was owned by Ludwig's father, and was where Lugwig grew up, longing to build his own castle on the hill above his home, on which stood the ruins of two earlier, real castles.

Hohenschwangau wasn't really a castle either, but a fortified palace, built, I think, in the early 1800s.

Another interesting castle in Southern Bavaria is Harburg (Schwaben), the Schwaben to distinguish the town from Harburg, part of Hamburg.

I think Harburg castle is authentic, having never been conquered or razed.

Getting to Harburg castle is a little complicated. Some might consider a car necessary, but I did it with public transportation, a little backtracking, and a little walking.

The castle itself is on the hill above the town of Harburg. The train station is about 1 km south of town, and there is no public transportation from the station to town. However, in good weather, it is a comfortable, few minute, flat walk from the station into town, then a rather steep but short hike up the hill.

There are no lockers at the Harburg station. I left my bag in a locker in Donauwörth, took the train a few minute to Harburg, saw the castle, then went back the few minutes to Donauwörth to pick up my bag, then went back past Harburg to Nördlingen, my destination for the next night.

Today, there are no lockers in Donauwörth, so I would go to Nördlingen, check in, then go back to Harburg, or spend the night in Harburg and go back the next morning.

Nördlingen, by the way, is one of my favorite towns in Bavaria. It is Rotherburg's "little sister", like Rothenburg, with a Wehrgang you can walk on aroundon the intact wall. All it lacks is a Christmas Shoppe and a Crime & Punishment Museum, things that, I feel, make Rothenburg into a bit of a tourist trap.

And I agree that Burghausen is also a nice and very interesting castle to see.

In my opinion it is better to use a car because you are more flexible.

I also think that Burghausen has a great castle complex - the longest in the world.

I like Neuschwanstein from the outside. From the inside I'm not a big fan because I don't necessarily share King Ludwig's taste :-) What is written about the castle is almost fake because it looks older than it is well .... you know that it's not old and if Ludwig II liked it then that's the way it is. And it doesn't matter whether the king still lived in it or whether he died before it was completed. Actually it only reinforced the myth of the castle that he never lived in.

If the Pöllat Gorge is open, it is worth climbing up to Neuschwanstein Castle through the gorge. But needs to be checked before!

I definitely think Hohenschwangau and Linderhof are worth a visit.

I like Herrenchiemsee Castle which is on a little island in Lake Chiemsee. Although several of the rooms inside are still under construction one should go inside and enjoy the kings fantasy. Another fairy tale castle of King Ludwig II is it supposed to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles. King Ludwig II was a big fan of the French Sun King Louis XIV.

I've never tried it without a car, but I think you need a car. You can get to 1-2 places by public transport, but it's certainly more difficult.

I think you need a car. You can get to 1-2 places by public transport,
but it's certainly more difficult.

Festung Hohensalzburg
Burg Hohenwerfen
Burg Burghausen
Herrenchiemsee
Hohenaschau
Linderhof
Hohenschwangau
Neuschwanstein
Harburg
Marienberg
Kaiserburg
Weikersheim
Bad Mergentheim
Sigmaringen
Hohenzollernburg
Burg Rheinfels
Marksburg
Reichsburg
Wernigerode

Gosh, you could have fooled me. I've gotten to all of the above, plus more, using only public transportation (since 2000, I've spent over 250 days in Germany, Austria, Czechia, and Switzerland, and never rented a car or felt I that needed a car to get anywhere.)

Lee, Thank you for the encouragement, as we would prefer not to rent a car.

Funny thing about castles and Ruine are they are mostly uphill. You usually have a good hike from the train, bus etc. or parking place. Thought this was funny talking to my Uncle years ago concerning a visit.

"...because you are more flexible" Exactly, when you are going out " to the sticks, " those back road areas and the old Prussian villages in the Mark Brandenburg plus various Schloesser in the greater Potsdam area , Märkische Heide and all that, and obviously along the Baltic. Many more to explore than merely Sans Souci.

@Fred

I also see it through the photographer's lens. We often have a lot of photo equipment with us and I wouldn't want to transport all that on trains. And we are even taking our bikes with us from time to time. That's why we travel mostly by car. Of course you could also reach many destinations by train but not all of them.

And I think it's no secret that many Germans complain about the rail and public transport (although it's great) and many simply love driving their cars. If you only drive your car in Munich and the surrounding areas, then it's really fun to drive full speed from Munich to the Baltic Sea. I plead guilty :-) :-)

To make a long story short. I will consider in future that tourists, unlike me, are usually accommodated very centrally and therefore have easy access to a train.

Synapse, your other post mentions you wanting a stay of one week south of Stuttgart and in one base location. A car is more practical for this area if you want to visit several castles, otherwise you'll have to change bases a few times.

If you don't want to drive I think the Rhine/Mosel region is the most practical solution for numerous castle/ruin visits. (I've never been further north than Monschau on one side, Coburg on the other).