Neuchwanstein & Hohenschwangau

Hi Kathy, I can't help with buying tickets in advance or for the times of tours, but... I'd suggest visitng both Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. I liked the tour of Hohenschwangau better, as it gave a lot of insight into Ludwig's family and his early years. Linderhof is much better than both Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, in my opinion. Not to be missed. Paul

The tour times aren't set far in advanced because they continually adjust based on the number of people visiting and how efficiently they move through the castles. Pick a time range. I find Neuschwanstein a little more interesting, mainly because of the overt Wagner influences, but each to his own... you're almost sure to receive a reply telling you not to visit Neuschwanstein because it isn't an "authentic medieval castle", which to me, misses the point entirely.

If you can visit all three castles. Neuschwanstein was a model for Disney World Castle. Go to Mary's Bridge. Gorgeous views at Neuschwanstein from there. Being originally from Europe I saw many castles. I think that the scenery around Neuschwanstein is absolutely superb probably the best out of all castles I saw.

You don't say how you are getting from Rothenburg to the castles. If you are using the trains, you can be pretty sure about what time you'll arrive in Fuessen. The bus will be waiting in front of the station to take you to Hohenschwangau. It's no more than a 10 minute walk from the bus stop in Hohenschwangau to the ticket kiosk. If you leave Rothenburg on the 9:06 train, you should be to the ticket kiosk by 2:30 PM. If you go by car, you could get there sooner, but unforeseen circumstances (getting lost or waiting for an accident) could delay you indefinitely. With a car, I would schedule your tours for the last ones of the day, to be sure. This might not be you experience, but I went to one of the castles on each of two trips in 2002, and had a short wait at the ticket kiosk. When I went through Fuessen in Aug, 2009, (to take pictures for my website), the line was also short. If you are staying overnight in Fuessen, it is a short trip to Garmisch the next day and Linderhof is more or less on the way. Unless you need to arrive early in Garmisch, I would do Linderhof that day. Of the three places, Linderhof is probably my third choice, since it was a small residence, just for Lugwig, but I did spend most of a day there.

Thanks for the comments. I didn't realize the tour times change which now makes sense why it's not on their site. We will be travelling there near the end of May on the holiday Monday so I'm worried about driving down without tickets and finding it sold out. Can the tickets only be booked a few days ahead then? It looks like about a 3.5 hr trek from Rothenburg so assuming it's safe to book the tours from 1:30 onwards. Appreciate hearing everyone's comments about the three castles. It sounds like they are all quite different. To us it doesn't matter that they are not "authentic medieval castles" ... as Tom said ... that's not the point.

Lee - We will be driving & are early risers & with it being a holiday Monday, traffic should be light (barring an accident). There won't be alot open that day so I'm wondering if we got down to see both castles maybe 1 or 1:30, we'd be free after 3:30 or so. We are staying overnight in Fuessen and since it will stay light into the evening, wondering if you think we could fit in the gorge (klamm) you mentioned awhile back near there. We will drive to Garmish the next day and will at the very least drive by Linderhof, but I'd like to fit in a short stop in Oberammergau. In Garmish I'd like to visit the gorge there if we don't do the one in Fuessen unless the day is gorgeous and do the Zugspitz. Trying to cover a lot in 2 days, but we're okay with that as the rest of the trip isn't as rushed. We have to go to Munich the following day.

"It looks like about a 3.5 hr trek from Rothenburg so assuming it's safe to book the tours from 1:30 onwards." If you drive at a good clip, more like two hours on A7. Others who drive this stretch more frequently than me can comment if their experiences are different, but for me, this seems to be one of the few long sections of autobahn where traffic really moves.

We troured both Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau and were really glad we did. Hohenschwangau has less of a fantasy feel and more of a lived in castle feel. I'd be hard pressed to pick which one I liked best. I have not been to Linderhof.

We just did this trip 2 weeks ago. We left Rothenburg at 9:00am, stopped an hour in Dinkelsbuhl, had a roadside picnic, visited the Wieskirche, and ended up at Linderhof at 3:30 for the last tour at 4:00. This sounds like a long, busy day. But we were actually just driving & stopping at what looked interesting between Rothenburg & Oberammergau. In Rothenburg we stayed at the Hotel Garni Hornburg just outside the wall. It is my favorite of the 4 places I have stayed there. And very quiet. As stated the Nightwatchman will be giving tours. He had just resumed from his vacation 2 days before we did the tour March 13.
We arrived at Ticket kiosk to castles about 9:30 am next morning. We got tickets for both with no problem. The times of the tours are posted on an electronic sign board there for both castles. It was off season so I am sure the crowds were not as large as summer. And we made it a point to arrive early before the tour busses start arriving.

We were at all three "castles" you refer to in 2010. All three are very different. N is the fantasy-land. H is more like a very wealthy (but otherwise normal) family's retreat. L is the real look into Ludwig's disfunctional mind & where he actually lived much of the time as an adult. It's smaller than you might think, but very interesting - topped off by the Wagner cave! All three are worth seeing, as long as you understand that none of them qualify as "real" castles. They are closer to palaces, but even then, not exactly. Oddities, mostly.

Thanks so much for all the replies. It looks like the travel distance isn't as far as I thought from Rothenburg which will give us plenty of time to do both. I wasn't aware of the grotto at Linderhof, so at the very least we will stop and visit the grounds and decide that morning if we will visit inside as well.

I took the tour of each, and was glad I did. It was interesting to compare/contrast his boyhood home with the castle he would build as an adult, which would lead to his ruin. And, unlike Neuschwanstein which was never actually completed inside, Hohenschwangau was, which gives more of a "home" impression (IF one call call a huge-scale castle, "home!"). If you have time to do both, I certainly would suggest doing so, especially as they are a stone's throw from one another. Enjoy.

I booked our castle tour tickets 2 weeks ago for the date of 29 May. I honestly cannot remember but I think I called the telephone number on the website and booked my six tickets with them. They sent me a confirmation e-mail voucher with instructions on how and where to pick up the tickets. I gave them my CC# and all went smoothly. My pick up time is 15:55 pm as were a coming in late in the day. I think I had problems with the website also and that is why I called them. I was concerned about it being a holiday also. Hope that helps.

Laurie, Thanks ... that's very helpful. We'll be visiting on May 28th. I'll give them a call tomorrow.