Schloss Neuschwanstein Transportation

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If you are driving, don’t expect to get a parking space in front of the castle; there aren’t any to be had. In fact, don’t expect to get a parking space anywhere near the castle. They are all located at the bottom of the hill and a healthy walk from the start of the tours.

Each time I’ve been to Neuschwanstein (4 times so far), we have driven. Typically we have found parking rather easily in one of the three main parking lots near the ticket area. These three lots can be found at the large intersection before you begin to walk up the road towards the ticket building, accessible from any of the roads leading to Neuschwanstein Castle. They are labeled P1, P2, and P3.

Each time the charge has been €5 for the day per car. In P3 (next to the Café Kainz and Kiosk) and P1 (beside the Café Restaurant Am Park) you pay the attendant before you park. For the P2 lot in between the roads, you need to pay at the machine kiosk in the center of the lot. There is another parking lot up past the ticket building (P4), just below Schloss Hohenschwangau, but I have never used this lot. The castle website has a map of the parking facilities.

Another option would be to park along the road leading to the castles from Füssen. We typically do see many cars lined up along the road, which can then be a much longer walk. On our most recent trip, we paid for a parking lot, but later Hubby had to take me to the train station in Füssen (I was traveling by train with my grandson) and we had to leave our lot. Not wanting to pay another €5 on his return (while waiting for my grandson’s parents to come down the hill from their Neuschwanstein tour), he parked along the road and did not have any issues with it.

On your way back down from the castle, there is a nice side trail that goes through the wooded area next to the paved road. The yellow signs point towards the parking lots. If you do not need to head back into Hohenschwangau or the ticket area, I highly recommend this method of getting back to the parking lots. It actually ends right in P3.

Obviously, during the high tourist season parking can be at a premium. But for such an extremely popular attraction as Schloss Neuschwanstein, I think that €5 for the day is very reasonable. I’ve paid more than that in some cities for two hours!

If you take the train, you would arrive at the Füssen train station and then catch one of the local buses to the castle area. Once in Füssen, catch the RVA/OVG 73 bus in the direction to Steingaden / Garmisch-Partenkirchen or the RVA/OVG 78 bus in the direction to Schwangau, getting off at the Hohenschwangau / Alpseestraße stop. For your return, you would need to catch the bus back to the train station.

The Füssen station is a very small (two platforms) train station that is at the end of the line. Not too many trains go in and out here – at least while I was there I saw one train in an hour before my train arrived. The station provides some benches to sit in and there are bathrooms and a small shop.

Purchase your tickets at the station or online and be sure to hold onto your ticket as you will be asked to show it at some point on your journey (if you should not be able to produce a ticket you will be fined).

Each time I have been to Neuschwanstein Castle (four times so far) we have driven our car and parked at the nearby lots. On my most recent visit, we drove to the castle, but I took the train from Füssen home.

Driving is very simple and the signs clearly lead you to the castles. You will need to get to the towns of Füssen or Schwangau from wherever you are driving from. At that point, look for the brown or blue tourism signs (some will say “Königsschlössler” on them) that will lead you to the castles. Once you are off the Autobahn (A7), the roads are two-lane and, at times, can be heavy with traffic. Allow for traffic and construction delays.

Once you arrive at the castle area in Hohenschwangau, follow the signs for parking.

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From anywhere in (southern) Bavaria take a Bayernticket € 22 for one person and up to 4 more persons for € 4 more for each if you buy at a DB ticket machine, travel anywhere with regional trains in Bavaria from 9 am (and from midnight on weekends) to 3 am the following day. The ticket includes the bus (73 and 78) to the Neuschwanstein ticket office as well as bus, tram and S and U Bahn in Munich and other towns. Before you use it you have to write your name on the ticket. From Munich it´s about 2 hours.
Bus 73 and 78 leave from the Train Station and are € 2.20 if you don´t have a Bayernticket.
The bus to the castle (not included in the Bayernticket) or the horse carriage is well invested money if you are a bit older or don´t walk that well, you will have still a lot of stairs to climb in the Castle.

There are rides of carriages and some are simply wagons to take you to and from the castle. To get up there, the cost is 6 Euro per person and to get down, it is 3 Euro. A steep walk of 15 minutes can save you a buck. Take it at the parking lot area. YOu can pick up a ride by ticket office, or in front of hotels, and near the Hohenschwangau base.

We have parked our Car, and seen about the admission tickets, so now it is time for us to decide which way to climb the hill to the Castle.

Well, as neither of us are what you call "real young," walking up the steep hill really didn't appeal! Walks are signposted and give estimated time of doing the walk, just remember, it is uphill all the way! They estimate 30 - 40 minutes.

Next choice, the Horse & carriage which departed from Hotel Muller. It looked to be quite popular, but we decided against the 6euro up, and 3 euro downhill ride.

All that was left was the Bus, and this was the most popular of the lot. It departed from the Schlosshotel Lisl. We bought a return ticket which cost 2.60 euro's from the booth and then waited with the huge crowd in queues for the Bus. When the Bus arrived, they put as many people on as possible, I mean, 'packed in like sardines.' Lucky the ride was only short, and soon we were at the Bus stop near the top.

I say "near the top" as we were dropped off near Marien Brucke, and there still is a walk to Newschwanstein Castle.

We had paid for our return trip, but decided against it when we realized we would have to walk the same track back to the bus-stop, this meant, up hill all the way! We walked back down the hill, following the Horse and carriages and returning right next to our car park.

*The Bus doesn't run when snow or ice is on the road.*

As we had our own Car, we drove the 5km from Fussen to Hohenschwangau. This is as far as we could go by private car.
On arrival at Hohenschwangau, we noticed a Car Park that was filling. and we wondered if we should park there. Thank-goodness, we decided to drive on as far as we could, to see if any closer car parking was available.
There was, and from this carpark, it was a 5min walk to the booking office, Horse & carriage and the Bus, great! This would not be always possible, because even though we were there and parked at 9.20am, the Car Park was filling very quickly.
Cost of the car park in 2011 was 5 euro's.

You can also take a train to the town of Füssen, then buses 73 or 78 from Fussen to Hohenschwangau.

Neuschwanstein Castle is near the Forggensee in the Allgäu, very close to Schwangau. The path to the castle starts in the village of Hohenschwangau, and this is also your last opportunity to park. You must buy your tickets down here too, before you set off for the castle.

On foot
You can walk to the castle in about 30 minutes.

By horse-drawn carriage
Departure point: Hotel Müller, Alpseestraße in Hohenschwangau. From the carriage stand at the castle it is about 300m - approximately a 5-minute walk - to the castle entrance. Tickets: Uphill journey: 5 € / Downhill journey: 2.50 €.

Bus
Departure point: Schlosshotel Lisl, Neuschwansteinstraße. The bus goes to the Jugend lookout point (Marienbrücke) from where it is about 600m or a 10-minute walk on a steep downhill path to the entrance of the castle. This path is not suitable for the disabled or elderly. Tickets: Uphill journey: 1.80 € / Downhill journey: 1 € / Return: 2.60 €.