Herrenchiemsee

I have only done Herrenchiemsee by car, so can't speak to luggage storage or train times. If you enjoyed Neuschwanstein, you should try to fit in a visit to Herrenchiemsee. It is similar but different and although it is a popular tourist site it isn't even close to as 'visited' as Neuschwanstein so feels somehow more relaxing (maybe because you need to take a boat t get there). We had no trouble fitting in a leisurely visit on our way from Munich to Hallstatt but, as I mentioned, we were traveling by car. Chris

By coincidence, I was just there today. Had you posted this question a day earlier, I could have investigated the luggage storage possibilities at Prien. See my trip report for more info... Anyway, Herrenchiemsee is completely different from Neuschwanstein in style, but similar in the same weird, obsessive manner. The Ludwig II museum on the first floor nicely ties all of Ludwig's building projects together. From what I can see on the Deutsche Bahn website, it takes about an hour to reach Prien from Munich. There's a steam train that takes you from Prien's Bahnhof to the boat docks, and the boat ride is about 15 minutes to Herreninsel. So, it would appear that Herrenchiemsee is a very feasible day trip from Munich.

"I don't know how Chiemsee compares. Has anyone been to both?" Yes. They are vastly different buildings, maybe impossible to compare. Herrenchiemsee also has gardens and a museum, and mid-July through September an art exhibition in one wing. You can see some photos Herrenchiemsee]HERE> Note that access to the hall of mirrors may be restricted through August due to ongoing work. "The Bavarian rail ticket only allows me to travel after 9:00 AM." Does your stay in Munich include either a Sat or Sunday? the 9 am restriction is only in force on weekdays. On Sat or Sun, travel at any hour you wish. Alternatively, you might find time by overnighting the night prior to your visit in Prien instead of Munich. Most hotels will hold your bags if you wish to sightsee within Munich after checking out.

Hi Dani, How many days/nights do you have in Munich and Salzburg? Been to both and I (we) preferred the tour/interior of Herrenchiemsee to Neuschwanstein. We also preferred the interior of Linderhof to Neuschwanstein. That said, we've only been by car and don't know the logistics of getting there by train. I can say that upon reaching the boat dock, it's a 15 min. cruise to the island the palace is on, then you buy your tour tickets. It's then a level 15 or so min. walk to the palace. The tour itself is about 30 or 40 minutes. I'd allow 2.5 to 3 hours total for the visit. We visited in mid October and there was no crowd at all. Actually, it seemed like it was closed, as there were only a handful of people there at all. Our tour was a total of 5 people, including the 2 of us! I guess it's not on everyones list like Neuschwanstein is. Well worth seeing in my opinion. Paul

Thanks for that reminder, Russ. We will be travelling to Salzburg on a Saturday, so we could start out early that day. There is luggage storage at Prien am Chiemsee - that's not a problem according to the DB site. I suppose I am wondering if I could fit in a visit to Herrenchiemsee and still arrive in Salzburg with some time to see something. We have only 2 nights in Salzburg, so my decision must be to either steal time from Salzburg or Munich. We are 3 nights in Munich, but we have been there before, whereas Salzburg will be new for us. I wondered if someone would warn us off from thinking we could spend ONLY a morning at the Palace. The people with cars seem to indicate that it's doable - I don't think taking the train will add much time to the trip.

I've been to both and like the others enjoyed Herrenchiemsee. Have you been to Versailles? That is what Mad King Ludwig modeled it after. I was there in late September and the walk from the boat to the palace was very pleasant. If you saw the recent Three Musketeers movie starring Orlando Bloom they filmed some of it there. There were filming during our visit in 2010. We had a car so don't have information about the logistics. A few hours is plenty of time.

Thanks! We will plan for a visit of around 3 hours and probably head out early on our way to Salzburg. I appreciate all the input.

"Note that access to the hall of mirrors may be restricted through August due to ongoing work." It was open at least as of yesterday.

Open yesterday - good that you got to see it, Tom. But from this warning on the official site it sounds like they may still be doing work of some sort there over the next two months. "Aufgrund von Restaurierungsarbeiten ist die Große Spiegelgalerie zur Zeit leider nur mit Einschränkungen zu besichtigen. Die Arbeiten werden voraussichtlich bis Ende August 2013 dauern. Wir bitten für die Einschränkungen um Verständnis."

From the outside, I could see what may have been scaffolding in one room, but it didn't affect the tour, as far as I could tell. Knowing how long restoration work usually takes at these things, I doubt they'll start anything new between now and August.

Thanks, Lee.
I know it has been a while, but do you recall how much time you spent there? And, do you disagree with Russ that the Bayern ticket can be used earlier than 9:00 on a Saturday?

I did Herrenchiemsee on my way to Salzburg (Freilassing, actually) in 2009 - with a Bayern-Ticket. It is possible. There are lockers on the station platform in Prien opposite track 1. From the station you can walk down the hill to a little kiosk and buy both the boat ticket to the island and the ticket for the steam streetcar to the dock. The streetcar might save you some time, but in my case, I waited long enough for the next boat that I could have walked. "The Bavarian rail ticket only allows me to travel after 9:00 AM." Wrong. You can travel at any time, you just can't use the Bayern-Ticket before 9 AM workdays. You can purchase a point-point ticket to cover any travel before 9 AM. However, in this case it wouldn't be cost effective unless you were with at least 3 people. If you use a Bayern-Ticket for all or part of your travel, you can also get a 10% discount on the streetcar and boat to Herreninsel. There is an RE leaving Munich Hbf at 9:14, arriving in Prien at 10:33. The next earlier train leaves the Hbf at 7:42, arriving at 8:48. If you take the 9:14 train, you can use the Bayern-Ticket the whole way. If you want to go earlier, just buy a regional ticket for Munich to Salzburg for 28,40€. You can make stops with that ticket, as long as you finish your travel that day.

"you just can't use the Bayern-Ticket before 9 AM workdays." In Germany, Saturday is not considered a workday, so the 9 AM restriction does not apply to that day. You can start using the Bayern-Ticket (ie, traveling) at any time on Saturday. Looking at my trip planning worksheet, the trip from Prien Bahnhof to the island took a little over an hour, mostly due to a long wait for the boat. Coming back was more like 40 min because the streetcar left 5 min after the boat arrived. Looks like I actually spent about 3 hours on the island. In that time, I walked from the boat dock to the palace, toured the palace, had lunch on the porch, saw the museum, and returned to the boat dock the long way, down the mall in front of the palace and past the monastery. The schedule for the boat is here. As I remember the streetcar took less than 10 min but wasn't well coordinated with boat times.