Salzburg or Castles?

They are such different types of destinations. Ludwig's castles are interesting and pretty unusual. Salzburg has a beautiful old town. I really think Salzburg is worth more than just a day trip, but if I wasn't likely to get back soon to give Salzburg more time, I would probably choose Salzburg as the day trip instead of the castles. There is enough to see there to fill up as much time as you want to give it (old town, the fortress, Mirabell Gardens, Mozart sights...)

Thank you Karen :-)

The Salzburg area castles are genuine castles and offer a more real castle experience. Ludwig's Neuschwanstein is a late 19th-century residential palace with a fake castle exterior; Hohenschwangau and Linderhof are palaces as well. But Hohenwerfen and Hohensalzburg are real castles with defensive infrastructure and have roots going back 1,000 years.

http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/

If you want to use your rail pass elsewhere instead, you can travel to Salzburg and back on a Bayern Ticket - E28 for 2 adults.

https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/offers/national/regional/laender-tickets/bavaria-ticket.shtml

This will be at the end of our trip and we planned on having one "extra" day on the rail pass to do a day trip so the rail is already built into the sightseeing equation. I am really looking for people's experiences and hidden spots on these trips so we can really weigh them. I know (or am reading up on) all of the details and sites. I don't want to simply "flip a coin".

Jim Salzburg is a real city with genuine beauty and history. The castles are on most Americans' must-see list, but take a lot of time to get there and back for the short time you get to actually tour the 19th century reproductions of castles.

Hi Jim,

What may be of help is asking if are you visiting other cities/old towns and/or castles during your trip.
Maybe you've spent a lot of time in cities on this trip?
Maybe you've seen other castles on this trip?

Paul

Dachau is another option for your day trip via rail.

First...thank you to everyone. Second, we are spending some time in Paris and Amsterdam and then coming down the Rhine and Romantic Road. We will be touring Burg Eltz and Rheinfels. I'm thinking now we will see Salzburg. It seems easy and a quick train ride to/from. I'm really looking forward to it either way. Happy travels :-)

Hi Jim,

After Burg Eltz, nearly every other castle may be a "let down". Has to be the best castle, best location for a castle, we've seen. We went on a misty October morning and the less than ideal weather just added to the experience.

Salzburg is an easy old town to see on foot in a day.

Paul

Salzburg and it even has its own castle!

The walled city of Nördingen would be a good desination for a day trip from Munich. It's Rothenburg's little sister, with Fachwerk buildings and a wall you can walk on, but lacking the touristy Christmas shop and irrelevant Crime and Punishment museum. It's about the same time (2 hrs) from Munich as Salzburg or Füssen. Change trains in Donauwörth. If you are doing this as a day trip, without luggage, get off the train 15 minutes before Nördlingen and walk into the town of Harburg. It's a short. flat 1 km walk, but the next ½ km walk up hill to the castle is steep. Harburg is an authentic, never destroyed castle.