Barvarian castles or Rhine Valley

It kind of depends on your preferences.

Neuschwanstein was never a functioning castle. It is a fantasy castle created by Ludwig in the late 1800 (same time as the Eiffel Tower and the Brooklyn Bridge). However, it is an icon in Germany. Everyone should visit it once. Hohenschwangau was built about 50 years before Neuschwanstein, from the ruins of a 16th century castle. It was lived in; Ludwig grew up in it.

Other than Burg Eltz, the Marksburg, and Rheinfels ruins, no Rhein castles are authentic. Most were destroyed by French forces around 1800 and rebuilt since as residences and hotels.

I spent five nights on the Mittelrhein and did not run out of things to do. If you run out of thing on the Rhein, there is also the Mosel.

On the other hand, you can see both castles at Füssen in a day. If you go to Füssen, plan to do something else with the rest of your time, and there are a lot of things (Wieskirche, Oberammergau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, and, of course, Munich) to see nearby.

As for biking/hiking, I think you can rent bikes and ride the relatively flat road along the Rhein. From Füssen, you could go to nearby Pfronten and hike to the ruins of Falkenstein, where Ludwig planned to build his next castle, to Reutte in Tirol and several castle ruins.

Another question- where are you coming from? This may make one area more convenient, as they sit a considerable distance from each other.

I spent some days staying in Schwangau-Alterschrofen near Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau. Part of my pleasure in the area was a walk around Schwansee (Swan Lake) and up to the backside of Hohenschwangau. There is also a walk around the lake that is right at Hohenschwangau. Walking was a nice addition to seeing the castles. I was there in the early spring so it was uncrowded.

I was also quite fond of the Rhine Valley. You really can not lose if you flip a coin.

Regards, Gary

Thanks for the responses. I'm coming in from the Benelux area, but planning on going to Switzerland afterwards--so I'm pretty open about where to go. I've been leaning more towards Bavaria, staying in Fussen. Since I'll probably have 3 days there, I was also thinking about going to see Ehrenberg Castle--has anyone had experiences with the bus service from Fussen to Reutte?

I have no experience with the bus service from Reutte to Füssen, but I have experience with other bus service in the area (Pfronten to Füssen), and it's fine, although infrequent (8/9 each way per day). You can find the connections on the
German Rail website.

You can get the schedule for all the buses between Füssen and Reutte here.

You can also take a bus to Pfronten and the train from there to Reutte.

If you're headed to Switzerland after Benelux, then the Rhineland is directly enroute. Seeing the castles at Schwangau would involve a very lengthy detour. Ehrenburg Castle is only worth seeing if you're in the immediate area anyway. It's no different from dozens of other castle ruins scattered throughout Germany and Austria (other than all the Ricknicks it attacts with their Blue Books).

Above Pfronten is the ruins of castle Falkenstein, upon which Ludwig planned to build his next (and perhaps last) castle. The ruins there are from a castle built in 1059. You can hike up to it from Pfronten, but it is very high up.

Ehrenburg castle is "no different from dozens of other castle ruins scattered throughout Germany". Rheinfels, in St. Goar, on the Rhein, is the most interesting castle ruins I have seen. Burg Etlz and the Marksburg are very old and never were destroyed. All other castles on the Rhein and Mosel are restorations of previously destroyed castles.