Nueschwanstein Castle Tour in English

We went with Mike's Bike Tour's out of Munich in 2017. The tour was in English and the day overall was very good, and we normally don't care for tours, FWIW.

You will be required to use one of their tours in the castle. I went to their website and did notice that all the tours seem to be in German in December. They did have an option for an "audio guide" which is available in English. That may be your best option at this time.

I did notice that The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch is offering tours in December during which I assume that they have arranged for an English guide. If you qualify for the Military Hotel there, you might qualify for the tour.

The tour is only 30 minutes and IMHO not worth the standing in all the lines. The acoustics inside the castle are poor, and the guide we had wasn't particularly enthusiastic . There's extended debate here on the Forum regarding how worthwhile this tour actually is. The hike up to the castle might be worthwhile, and the tour of the other castle is actually quite interesting. Often St. Mary's Bridge is closed; this is where many folks take their pix.
Good luck!

Hello Christine. It is possible that the English tours are fully booked for the day(s) that you’ve imputed. Using the official website for castle tickets - https://www.hohenschwangau.de/en - search all your possible dates. For example currently there are English speaking tours on December 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 at 10:45 am. On December 1 & 2 afternoon tours at 1:40 pm are currently available. Hope this helps.

There is also ONE private tour allowed daily BEFORE the castle is open! You would have to book through a local DMC (Destination Mgt Company) to get this access, but it is a unique experience.

It is possible to buy tickets from the official website, but they only open up tickets every few days then they sell out immediately. If you are dead set on a Christmas season date (which I imagine would be fun and prob more popular than now) it might be easier to book it with a tour guide. I was thankfully able to get tickets to go this month, but only after looking regularly and I lucked out and purchased them at like 1am german time when they went up, they were sold out about 4 hours later.

Due to the covid situation they are not selling tickets for months further out --- right now its usually like 3 weeks (if that tops) ahead of when you are looking. It used to be two months or more, but not now. So if they look crossed out or unavailable that is why.

Hi. I don't know if any private tours get you right to the castle door to avoid the climb. It is not too bad, but can be snowy/icy/slick in December - as it was when I did this in 2017. Our group went up in the daylight but discovered that it was dark after the tour and not fun or easy to navigate the walk down.

Myself, I prefer the tour of Hohenschwangau. There is more to see in the interior. Also, check whether the restaurant at the lake is open. In summer, they have a patio: food was yummy and atmosphere relaxing. I like to mosey and explore on my own and am not sure how much of that I could safely have done around Neuschwanstein itself. And, if you have lots of time and interest, you could explore the museum, too.

I side with Pat, who writes,

The tour is only 30 minutes and IMHO not worth the standing in all the
lines. The acoustics inside the castle are poor, and the guide we had
wasn't particularly enthusiastic .

I'll add that our guide on the English tour had an accent that made her talk unintelligible. The tour is overcrowded as well and altogether a marginal experience even if you can skip the lines. Very little ever took place at N'stein; much of the tour is "back story" about the builder, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. So at €13 each / 30 minutes + reservation fee, even with an audio guide in perfect English, I suggest giving it a skip. There are some wonderful walks that you can take in the Füssen / Hohenschwangau area where you don't have to chug up the same trail with the tourist horde.

And if you were expecting to tour a real castle, N'stein isn't one - not if history matters, anyway. King Ludwig II of Bavaria had it built it in the late 19th century as a private retreat that sported flush toilets and central heating. Germans call it a "Schloss" (Palace) because it is just that - a royal residence. The era of castles came centuries before Ludwig was born - in the Middle Ages - and genuine castles were built for entirely different purposes (like the ones you learned about in 7th grade before building your sugar-cube castle.) Germans (who tend to know their castles from their palaces) reason that N'stein doesn't turn into a castle just because Ludwig used fake turrets and other adornments on his mountainside retreat.

They have tours in German? :-o (scnr)

We saw/toured this castle on our first trip to Europe in 2013. I have never been so disappointed in a tour since. The guide was reciting her words almost in a singsong voice and was clearly bored. While seeing Mary’s bridge and the castle from the outside was thrilling, skip the inside tour.

If you have had a long time goal to see this place, go ahead and see it. I had this as one of my priorities when visiting Bavaria several years ago. Somehow it felt like a "must see" sort of like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I found, much like others have stated, that the outside was really the most interesting part of this location. There were some interesting features inside but everything was done by time. You have so many minutes in this room, time is up. You leave and another group comes in. Time is up in the next room and so it continues until you find yourself ending up (not too surprisingly) in the gift shop in far less time than it took to walk up to the entrance.

In retrospect, I would not go on a tour inside again, but perhaps everyone has to see and decide for themselves.

Thanks for your replies. I have also been there twice, agree it does not live up to it's hype but my other family members what to see it. I think because of Disneyland. I will keep checking for an opening. We have only the 17th to see Nueschwanstein. If it's only a half hour tour we still have most of the day for other sightseeing.

half an hour tour plus the (not quick) walk up and the walk down and you need to be ready for the tour before it begins or my memory tells me you don't go even if you paid.... leave enough time

Christine,

This might not be an option if you're travelling there by car, but you could also have a look at Radius Tours from Munich - https://www.radiustours.com/tours-in-english/neuschwanstein-castle/ . The guide will provide a good history of the castle and Ludwig before you venture inside for the actual short castle tour. They take care of all the tickets and reservations, and it's nice to get an overview of the history before even setting foot inside the castle.

As I recall they don't allow photos taken inside the Castle but it is possible to take photos from the Castle looking out. However, they do make sure that tours are funnelled past souvenir stands with lots of colourful photo books on the way out.

Hello Christine!
The English tour must be sold out. I purchased our English tour tickets about a month ago when they first went on sale. I checked almost every day for a couple months! The only English tour was at 10:30am if memory serves me. Sorry.

As I recall they don't allow photos taken inside the Castle but it is
possible to take photos from the Castle looking out.

If you take the fine print on their website literally, you need to get an advance photo permit for practically everything including taking pictures from the outside. Sorry, folks, but we do have such a thing as freedom of panorama in Germany. As long as I am standing on public ground and not using any tools like a ladder or a drone, I can take pictures of any building I like. This law allows for very few exceptions only (the Reichstag building wrapped by Christo was one of those few).

It could be the number of tickets you are looking for- I looked today and on the 17th of December they had 1 English tour ticket available for Neuschwanstein at 1:40pm (which I think is the only time they have been offering this Fall). If your group is large you might think about looking for tickets in groups of 2 or 3 vs trying to go together, or spacing it out on different days.

I was unable when buying my tickets for October, to get tickets for both places on the same day.