I have done much reading and looking at maps etc but want some advice from "experts" who have been as to timing prior to purchasing our tickets. We are visiting in peak summer season so securing our tickets is important.
We are staying the night before 5 minutes drive from the castles and will have a car.
We want to visit both castles and the Marienbrucke. I also want to avoid too much uphill walking so want a route that makes the most sense with the least amount of exertion.
To me it looks like we should take the bus to the Marienbrucke, walk across it for the views and photos then walk downhill to Neuschwanstein. (Taking the carriage after down would be my preference just for the experience, but not necessary)
So questions - do we visit Hohenschwangau first? or Neuschwanstein.
I'm unclear, even after studying the maps, as to what makes the most logical sense for order.
Also looking at tour times, it appears we will only be able to make it work to have an English tour for one of the two castles and will have to do an audio guide for the other - is there one or the other that we are better to make sure we get the live English tour?
I have read we should leave 2 1/2 hours between tour start times - but want to allow the Marienbrucke timing in there as well.
With being 5 minutes away by car from our hotel the previous night - how much time do we need to allow to get there, park our car, pick up tickets, get the bus to whichever castle is first etc. I'm nervous since they are so strict about the start times.
I know this is a lot of questions, but there really is no room for error for this day.
As a side note, after we are done at the castles we will be moving on to Berschtesgaden for the next 3 nights.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5648 posts
The challenge is getting the timed tickets. There is high demand and tickets sell out as soon as they become available. Coordinating both palaces can be a challenge. Even with timed tickets, there are lines. This is an exhausting day, especially in the heat, and the area is spread out. It is a very commercial venture, and crowded. When I was there, the lines for the bus were very long, and there was no protection from the sun - or rain. The bus doesn't cover all the walking required, and only goes to N'stein. Once you get off the bus, there is additional walking to the castle. The N'stein castle tour is only half hour and not very inspiring. Frequently the bridge is closed for maintenance, and if open, is shoulder to shoulder crowded, and sways with anyone's movement. Do a search here for the input of other posters, but I'd spend the time in Zugspitze or have more time in Berchtesgaden instead. (If you are really committed to seeing these sites, perhaps third- party sellers would work better for you.)
Safe travels and have a great trip.
Posted by
OP
58 posts
Thanks for your thoughts - but visiting these two castles is happening. We are in Germany for 15 days and seeing many things.
Commercial or not, we are tourists and this is something we want to do. We will have many moments on our trip with various things and this day is Castle Day. :) I have looked at the official online tickets and they are still available for the day we will be there for all times - so that isn't a problem but also why I want to get this sorted right away.
So anyone able to answer the questions that I have to help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5492 posts
Given the summer crowds, you are going to want to arrive in the village parking area well in advance. It makes more sense to see N'stein first. There may be a delay and long line for the bus up to the bridge. Viewing the bridge is something of a nothing burger, IMO, but it's close to the bus stop and only takes a few minutes. Then walk down to the castle and wait for your tour to be called. Be aware that the path down from the bridge is a bit steep in places. And be aware that some of the rooms in the castle will be closed until sometime in '24 for repairs. After that tour you can walk all the way down to the village, or walk down a short way and then take the horse carriage. After that it's another walk to Hohenschwangau castle for the second tour . Which IMO is the more interesting of the 2, given that people actually lived in it.
Here is a link to a map with estimated walking times: https://www.hohenschwangau.de/en/visitor-information/local-map-and-parking
Posted by
Walnut Creek, CA
619 posts
I sent you a DM but others can read the post about our castle day experience.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/neuschwanstein-hohenschwangau-ticket-timing
It looks like Marienbrucke is now open. It wasn't when we visited. Add 30 minutes+ to your timing.
Get there early. Once the tour buses show up, it will be crowded.
Do not walk up to N'stein. If you decide to walk up the steep incline, add 45-60 minutes .
We stayed at Hotel Waldemann, a 5 minute drive from the visitor center. I recommend this family run hotel.
Good parking there. Breakfast was good. Dinner was good too. We ate there the first night because after our drive from Munich Airport, we were too tired to drive around and find a dinner place.
The hotels nearby give out free bus passes. Just ask. We took the bus, so saved the €8 to park.
Go to N'stein first.
Take the shuttle bus €2.50 uphill, one way. (15 minutes) At the top, where they let you off, hike out to Marienbrucke. Then back to the downhill path to the castle. That path takes about 15 minutes, but you will want to stop and take pictures as you walk towards the castle. If you buy round trip shuttle tickets, you will have to walk up this same hill to get back to the shuttle.
Be at the castle entrance gates, 15 minutes before your entrance time. You will be allowed to enter the main gate and queue up before the electronic entry gates. At the scheduled time, the gates will allow those with the correct entry time to enter. We took the guided tour in English)
After the tour is over, you exit at the bottom of the castle, You can walk over to a viewing area (where there are lockers and bathrooms) and take some more pictures. Then you walk downhill, past a hotel and restaurant. There you can catch the horse carriages down the hill. €3.50 each. Buy from the coachman. or you can walk the 30-40 minutes back down to the visitor center.
Once back at the ticket office/visitor center. Find a place to eat lunch. I can't remember the Hofbrau we ate lunch, but they wanted us to pay cash over credit card. Don't expect outstanding food at any of the restaurants.
We took the horse carriage ride up to Hohenschwangau at 2:00 pm for a 2:30 entry, but it appears that carriage isn't in operation just now, so you will have to walk up. budget 30 minutes walk up the road to get to the entrance.
The tickets are a timed tour. We did the English audio tour and it was fine.
Afterwards, walk down the back stairs (15 minutes) to the visitor center, gift shops,, parking lots, etc.
We took the bus back to the closest bus stop near the hotel, but we could have walked along the nice hiking path to the hotel.
Can't remember where we drove to eat dinner in Horn. We also were thinking of the visiting the Thermal Spa in the evening but we found out it was clothing optional night in the main outdoor swimming pools, (usually only the upstairs saunas are sans clothing )so we skipped it.
Don't let others discourage you from visiting the castles. It was an all day experience for us and we are glad we visited both castles.
Posted by
Green Bay
21218 posts
Mine is a question. We will be staying in Boppard and my plan is to take the train to Bingen and then board a KD cruise and go back to Boppard.
Am I understanding correctly that we will have to switch boats at some point? Are there only certain departure times that will work for this?
I am hoping we can possibly hop off the boat at some towns (still to be determined which ones....open to suggestions) and then get back on the boat and continue .
Is this a feasible plan?
I am posting your question on your own thread to avoid cluttering the other OP's thread.
There are only 4 K-D boats everyday, so hopping on and off is tricky. Only the first and last bosts are through all the way from Binen to Boppard. Here is the 2023 schedule. https://www.k-d.com/fileadmin/KD_Fahrplaene/KD_Fahrplan_2023_web.pdf
Posted by
Paradise
7107 posts
The schedule is tricky to read, Sam. The first boat of the day leaves Bingen at 9:15, but it does NOT go through to Boppard. It ends in St. Goarshausen at 10:45. Then it crosses the river to St. Goar and becomes the southbound boat.
The boat schedule between Boppard and Koblenz, in the same column directly above the schedule I refer to, has nothing to do at all with the schedule below it. You can't be in St. Goarshausen at 10:45 and expect the same boat you are on to depart Boppard at 10:15.
The only boat from Bingen > Boppard directly is at 16:30.
Posted by
OP
58 posts
Thanks Russ...I couldn't make heads nor tails out of that schedule. Figured I would have to go to the local TI office once we arrive to get instructions.
Knowing the only boat going straight through is at 4:30 will allow me to plan that day more throughly ahead of our visit.i had assumed we would head to Bingen in the morning but that doesn't now seem to make sense.
(Also my German is pretty much non existent
...I will be relying on Google translator)
.
Posted by
Paradise
7107 posts
Thanks for your thoughts - but visiting these two castles is happening.
I responded to you previously on another thread you began about the Rhine. Apologies, I have nothing to offer on this question, only a suggestion that you do a little research on two German words... Burg and Schloss. While English uses the word "castle" rather loosely for almost any old impressive building, the German language divides most of what we call "castles" into these two categories - which for them are as distinct as night and day. "Veste" and "Festung" refer to some "castles" for further refinement of meaning. Like cultures/languages that have multiple words for "snow", Germans can get pretty precise about their historical buildings.
Anyway... Neuschwanstein is a Schloss - and so is Hohenschwangau. Their full names are in fact "Schloss Neuschwanstein" and "Schloss Hohenschwangau." In the Rhine Valley, you might visit "Burg Rheinfels" or "Burg Rheinstein" - or the "burg" might end the name... in Cochem the castle's name is "Reichsburg", and in Braubach, "Marksburg". Because the Burg/Schloß distinction matters greatly, no German-speaker would ever refer to Hohenschwangau as "Burg Hohenschwangau". Same goes for N'stein. And German has no super-category to cover both types of building; there is no one word that allows for the blurring of distinctions like our word "castle". Because you'll have a chance to visit both types of "castle", I'd encourage you to keep the categories and distinctions in mind for a more meaningful trip.
And that's my little culture/language lesson for 2023.
Posted by
OP
58 posts
Thanks Russ. I keep reading and learning and hopefully will be much more educated when we arrive in July to when I started planning this trip.
I had a little burg and schloss lesson from my dental hygienist. How one is a residence and one is a fortress. But yes, for us English we tend to overall refer to them all as castles. I wi remember to not make that generalization when in Germany.
Your answers to so many posts on this forum are very helpful...thank you for all your contributions and patience.