Linderhof Palace as crowded as Neuschwanstein?

I remember Linderhof as less crowded than Neuschwanstein, but still well frequented. A visit to Linderhof is faster than to N-stein as you do not have walk half an hour to ascend to the castle. Still, as all Ludwig castles are to be visited as guided tours, you will have to wait your turn for the next available tour. If you understand German tours are very frequent, a little less in English, in other languages there may be a tour per hour or even less.

I've only visited Linderhof once, whereas when I lived in Germany, I escorted virtually every visitor to my house to Neuschwanstein...

On my one visit to Linderhof, I drove in from Garmsich-Partenkirchen. I was there in July, arrived by 10, and was in the palace by 11. The highlight of Linderhof for me, though, was not the palace (similar to all of Ludwig II's other flights of fancy), but the grotto. This is probably the strangest thing ever constructed by any reigning monarch of Europe, ever.

Oh, the crowds. My arrival time gave me enough of a headstart to walk around the extensive gardens, which I finished after the tour of the palace. By the time I left in the early afternoon, there was a huge line waiting to get in.

and could use the other half day visiting Zugspitze from Ehrwald, Austria as I heard it's less crowd there.

1) It won't matter if the weather doesn't cooperate. Don't try to pigeon hole your ascent in advanced, because there's no point in going up if it's cloudy.

2) Crowds are not an issue in the summer at all. Probably less people ride the cable car from Ehrwald, but we're talking relative figures here. The Zugspitzebahn from GaP has a huge capicty- it transports thousands of skiers in the winter. Your only issue is waiting for the next train, not fighting other tourists for a spot.

Hi Jen,

Been to Linderhof twice and Neuschwanstein twice, all in October. The wait times and crowds were much more at Neuschwanstein. Not bad at Linderhof at all. Loved the interior of Linderhof. Far superior to Neuschwanstein in my opinion. Getting there before 9am is a good idea, or if you know the date you want to tour Neuschwanstein, buy the tickets for the tour and time in advance and skip waiting in line for tickets. We also did the Zugspitze from Ehrwald. Quick and the day we were there, no wait at all. On a subsequent trip, we tried the Zugspitze from Garmisch, but the lines and waits were not worth it for us. It's also more expensive from Garmisch. From Ehrwald, it's one cable car that takes 20 minutes to reach the top.

Paul

Jen, we were recently staying in Oberammergau and visited Linderhof, it was good, we just turned up early morning, short, nice easy drive from Oberammergau. and only had to wait a short time till our allotted guided tour time, we looked around then did the tour. Where as the Neuschwanstein took nearly and hour to drive from Oberammergau and we walked up to the castle ( did not do a tour) just walked up to the viewing bridge ( away from the crowds) and had a good time viewing the castle from the outside only.
After seeing Linderhof inside we didn't want to wait around going inside Neuschwanstein, when Linderhof is complete and very ornate inside.

We just left Rothenburg today after spending 2 days enjoying their festival. it was a fantastic experience. some say the town is too touristy, but I think it is big enough to walk around and find some great spots away from the shops etc and see the old houses etc. we have been to colmar and other french towns nearby colmar, and some of the other towns on the german romantic road and very much liked Rothenburg obt

if i have read your post correctly, I think you plan sounds good. Consider walking the extra 15min past Neuschwanstein castle to the viewing bridge, the views on a good day are fantastic

Hi All, Thanks for all the inputs :)

if i want to book the tickets earlier, could I choose English Tour? I think from what I read, they don't have a pre-determined English Tour schedule. They have to gather the crowds first (of a min 15ppl if I'm not wrong)? I wonder what'd the crowd be like during the opening hour of the ticket booth which is 8am?

This is also my worry if we come there during the opening time of the castle which is 9am, we still would have wait for the other visitors wanting the English tour as well.

Hi Tom,
yes I understand the weather plays an important role for Zugspitze visit and nice to know summer's crowd should be lesser than winter. now, i'm still deciding from which side should i visit Zugspitze in a nice sunny weather, Austria or Germany. I read that Germany is deemed more scenic on the way up but Austria is lesser or even no crowd with cheaper entry ticket

Hi Paul
Thanks so much for pointing out that we could visit Zugspitze from Ehrwald. That's something I wouldn't realize if you don't tell me :D I am thinking of visiting Zugspitze after Neuschwanstein in July so perhaps reaching there by noon. If I could make it before 12 , I might think the crowd would still be OK from Germany side??

Thanks glennlorrainer & asps2 for the inputs. really appreciate it

Cheers All

"they don't have a pre-determined English Tour schedule." English tours are offered all day. Even if there isn't a pre-determined schedule, they offer them very frequently.

"we still would have wait for the other visitors wanting the English tour as well." You won't have to wait long, and remember, the actual Schloss is only part of the attraction of Linderhof. The exentensive grounds and gardens make up a large part of the experience. You can use your wait time to walk around.

"I read that Germany is deemed more scenic on the way up but Austria is lesser or even no crowd with cheaper entry ticket" Again.... crowds are NOT an issue on Zugspitze in the summer. The trains and lifts are designed to handle the much larger numbers of winter skiers. I would guess a larger number of people might use the train on the German side, but the train has a much higher capacity than the cable car on the Austrian side. The only planning consideration is catching the train or cable car at the right time. If you're coming from Linderhof, you would have to drive through GaP anyway, and it's about a 30 minute drive further to Erhwald.

Hi Tom,

I'm not an expert on Zugspitze trips, but we did do it from Ehrwald once in early October. No crowd, no line at all. We tried again in Oct. a couple of years ago in Garmisch. The line for the train was ridiculously long and we simply left. It is less expensive from Ehrwald. Just my 2 experiences.

Paul

Hi,

We're going to skip the cogwheel train from GP and directly drive to Eibsee-Selbahn. What i heard there are only 2 Selbahns and each could only fit 30-40ppl each way.

We're planning to reach Zugspitze after Neuschwanstein. Good to hear that the English Tour is offered all day long especially I'd come during high season, they might just add the English schedules. Do you think i'd better purchase the tix online even if i've planned to go there in the opening hour?

TIA

Jen,

Tom's previous post/advice is thinking you're visiting Linderhof and then the Zugspitze.
You're coming from Oberammergau to Neuschwanstein, correct? Then you want to do the Zugspitze on the way back? If so, Ehrwald is the logical place to catch the Zugspitze.

I would reserve/buy tickets in advance for Neuschwanstein if you are sure of the day. You'll have to leave Oberammergau between 7and 8 am to beat the buses and crowds.
Paul

Ah sorry to confuse u guys. I'm planning to visit Linderhof, the less crowded one, firsthand as from Rothenburg ODT it would be mid noon when reaching Oberammergau area. The next day then i'd go to Neuschwanstein and hopefully the weather permits to visit Zugspitze. Both from GP or Ehrwald is fine since i'd be driving. My next stop would be straight to Berchtesgaden though not going back to Oberammergau.

Ohhh woww the buses even have started to come as early as 7-8am. Okay then i'd rather book it in advanced. Thanks for the advice Paul

Cheers

No Jen,
In our experiences, the buses started showing up closer to 8:30am. Since you have at least an hour drive from Oberammergau to Neuschwanstein, you'd need to leave around 7am. We never reserved in advance, as we were staying less than 10 minutes away in Fuessen. Neuschwanstein draws a crowd though.
Paul

I don't know about July but Linderhof was not crowded today.

"The line for the train was ridiculously long and we simply left. It is less expensive from Ehrwald. " Remember, again... it's a high-capacity train. As soon as the train arrives and loads, the line disappears. Even on the busiest days of the ski season, at peak hours, I've never seen the Zugspitzebahn pull out of the station with anyone left waiting on the platform for the next train.

Noted that Paul

Hi Roy,
perhaps because it's not peak season yet. I'd be there on July but I also read from other tourists' review just visiting the Southern Bavaria. Due to the economy the tourism is also affected, there are a lot of shops getting closed down. the locals said that it's not because of the season but more due to the economy. How is your trip, do you see lots of stores getting closed too?

Noted that Tom

Cheers :)

We all have our own experiences. Neither of us are there everyday to be able to say people are never left waiting. We had a hard enough time finding a parking space that day.

One day we went to Herrenchiemsee in mid October. There were 5 people there. That included the 2 of us. I would never say expect that all the time.

Jen,

Where ever you take the Zugspitze trip from, it's well worth doing.

Paul

I do not type well on an iPad Mini, so I have to keep this brief. Tourism is light this week at Oberramergau as well as Linerhof but I was told to expect that. This is not their peak season. I see no evidence that businesses are closing because of the economy, but most stores have closed twice this week because of holidays. Fussen was virtually shut down today due to a religious holiday but Neuschwanstein was swarming with bus loads of tourists from Munich and other cities. The G 7 conference is making it difficult to reach Ettal and GP from here due to road blocks for I D checks but that won't affect travel in July.

PS:: Be sure to book hotels w/AC if you are coming in July.

Hi Paul,
Thanks a lot for the Ehrwald info. I'd prepare plan as if going from both sides still. the deciding factor is if we could squeeze Salzburg into our itinerary hence the vignettes is well worth it. my hubby asked the rental company if the car we've booked come with the vignettes but there's still no reply.

Hi Roy,
thanks for the update. yes, i've been told too about the G7 but in July it should be no problem. The thing with the aircon is most of the hotels or inns in that area are not equipped with aircon >_<. I live in a tropical country where the temperature could reach 30-40Celcius and very humid. The reason we choose Germany is because its location above the Alps. Other members here told me it should be around 15-20 degrees in summer and they feel I should be more aware if the temperature drops hence it's getting colder for me :D. I wonder if the summer there is even hotter than in US or Australia (I used to live in Australia and the summer there is like hell)

Also I have just received the confirmation of time from Neuschwanstein ticket centre. I still need to pick up the ticket from the Hohenschwangau ticket centre. Just wonder if it's a separate ticket booth with the one for buying on the spot? The location is the same but perhaps they open different booth just for picking up the advanced booked tickets?

Cheers
Jen

You pick up the tickets at the same location, although I can't remember if there's a separate line. Even if you have to wait in line, it will take you much longer to walk up the castle.

Hi Tom,

I just got a reply from the ticket centre. the lady said that it's the same location with buying on the spot ticket centre but there's a special cash booth for picking up the ticket (we still have to pay on spot though we book tickets in advance. they have our credit card number just as a guarantee). She also said that the line of that booth won't be long but hmm fingercross on that. i got to pick up my ticket on 8.20am so i think there shouldn't be too many ppl by that time still.

cheers