The Romantic Road and Neuschwanstein Castle are on the bucket list of many a traveller visiting Bavaria. Both can be visited on a day trip by guided tour. If you have more time, they can (but don’t have to) be fused into a joint itinerary. Find out how in this article!
This article is written on the assumption that you are based in Munich. However, all destinations can be accessed from elsewhere in Germany.
What and Where Are the Romantic Road and Neuschwanstein?
Romantic Road
The Romantic Road is, as the name suggests, a road. 460 kms (285 miles) long, it connects 29 towns in Bavaria, leading from Wertheim (near Würzburg) to Füssen, home to Neuschwanstein Castle. The towns along the way are considered romantic by visitors.
When taking a coach tour, „Romantic Road“ typically means a visit to Harburg Castle and to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval town. You do not actually travel along the entire road.
Neuschwanstein
Neuschwanstein is one of several castles built by Bavarian king Ludwig II. What looks like a medieval knights‘ fortress was actually constructed in the 1870s. It is today one of Bavaria’s top tourist attractions. The castle is located just outside the town of Hohenschwangau, near Füssen. It is just a few hundred metres away from the Austrian border in the foothills of the Alps.
Just on the other side of the valley sits castle Hohenschwangau. This castle (which is actually medieval) was purchased and restored by Ludwig’s father. The family spent summers there – that’s how Ludwig came to know the area, and decided he wanted his own castle.
As the area clearly has a strong link to Bavarian royals, it is also home to the Museum of the Bavarian Kings (open daily between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., except December 24/25/31 and January 1).
On a guided coach trip, you will get a guided tour of the castle, which is the only way to enter the building. Depending on your itinerary, you might also visit Linderhof, another of Ludwig’s palaces, and/or the village of Oberammergau.
Visiting by Car
I’m usually a public-transportation kind of person, but having a car will make things easier when visiting the Romantic Road and/or Neuschwanstein. Train connections can be a bit cumbersome. Especially if you want to drive the entire Romantic Road and stop along the way, you will want to have a car.
First Stop: Rothenburg ob der Tauber
If arriving at Munich airport, pick up a rental car there. Drive north on A9 towards Nuremberg, then west on A6, north again on A7, and you’re there. The drive will take around 2-2.5 hours.
If you arrive at Frankfurt airport, you can start the tour from there, too. Drive towards Würzburg on A3, then south on A7. This drive will take 1.5-2 hours.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a medieval town that was not laid out for motorised transportation. Car traffic is banned. You may want to find accommodation on the outskirts of town, or check whether your accommodation in town has parking (hotel residents get a special permit to enter).
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a small place. You won’t need several days to see everything – a few hours will do. Stroll around, visit the Christmas museum, take a guided tour and enjoy the food. I’ve heard from people who really enjoyed the night-watchman tour.
You can download a free audio tour to your phone (and listen to it without using your data) from the Rick Steves website (go to the „Listen“ section).
Going South on the Romantic Road
From Rothenburg, you could drive straight to Neuschwanstein. However, if you have a day or two to spare, it’s well worth taking your time and visiting some of the other towns along the way.
There is more than just romantic places and Harburg castle. For instance, in Nördlingen, you could visit the Crater Museum. The entire area sits in a 24-km-crater left by a meteorite strike. In Augsburg, a small city founded by the Romans, check out the Fuggerei, the world’s oldest social-housing complex.
One of my personal favourites is Schwäbisch Hall. This town is not on the Romantic Road, but is super pretty with lots of half-timbered houses and great restaurants. It has a relaxed atmosphere and an excellent art venue, the Kunsthalle Würth. For a quick photo, check my Instagram account.
You will eventually end up in or near Füssen, where you should overnight.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Two ladies from Portugal once asked me if it was possible to visit Neuschwanstein at all. Of course it is! And lots of people do visit. So before you plan any trip, make sure you check availability and buy your tickets. Especially in the summer season and/or during school holidays, the castle sells out.
Same-day tickets (if there are any) are released every day at 8 a.m. at the physical Ticket Center in Hohenschwangau and online. These tend to go quickly, so don’t bank on this option if you really want to visit the castles!
Note that you must book a guided tour or audio tour in order to enter the castles. You cannot wander around at your own pace. Tours take only about 30 minutes, then you’re back outside.
Also make sure to read the instructions on how to reach the castle carefully. The castle is not actually in Füssen, as many people seem to think, and you cannot drive to the castle. Instead, you have to park in the village of Hohenschwangau, where you should arrive 1.5-2 hours before your tour starts. If you don’t want to walk from the village (approx. 40 minutes), you can take the shuttle bus or a horse-drawn carriage, if and when they are operating. Read especially carefully if you have reduced mobility and keep in mind that while Neuschwanstein may have been the inspiration for the Disney Castle, it was not actually built for accessibility …
If you would like to also visit Hohenschwangau castle, the official recommendation is to allow at least 2.5 hours between the entry times of your booked tours. Getting from one castle to the other will take approx. one hour if you walk (reasonable fast), and may take more if you need the bus to get back to the village.
If you only want to visit Hohenschwangau castle, the recommendation is to arrive in the village of Hohenschwangau at least one hour before the start of your tour.
Allow more time if you have reduced mobility!
On or Back to Munich
On the way (back) to Munich, you may want to consider stopping at Linderhof, another palace built by Ludwig II. To enter the palace, you must go on a guided tour. However, you can explore the gardens without a ticket. According to the website, even if online tickets are sold out, you can usually still get a ticket from the box office.
You could also check out Oberammergau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Germany’s highest mountain Zugspitze, and many others of the places mentioned in my 15 Great Day Trips from Munich.
Visiting by Train
You can do a similar itinerary by train, although it’s a little less straight-forward.
Ideally, download the DB Navigator app to search connections on the go and purchase tickets. There is a lot of construction going on in the train system right now. All the schedule changes caused by planned construction have been fed into the app. Any delays caused by impromptu repairs or other service disruptions may not immediately show in the app.
Train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
From Munich airport, you will first have to get yourself to Munich central station. You can take a taxi, the Lufthansa Airport Bus (regardless of your airline) or an S-Bahn train (S1 or S8). If you’re going by train anyway, S-Bahn makes the most sense.
The trip from Munich to Rothenburg takes at least three hours and at least one change of trains. The connection time at Steinach is only four minutes, but of course the train drivers know that there will be lots of passengers, so they tend to wait.
From Frankfurt airport, most suggested connections include an ICE to Würzburg, where you change to a regional train to Steinach. There are also connections involving only local/regional transportation: bus to Frankfurt Süd, regional train to Würzburg, then to Steinach and finally to Rothenburg. This trip will take about four hours.
From Nuremberg, regional trains will get you to Rothenburg in under two hours.
For the cheapest connection, buy a Bayern-Ticket at the airport, use it for the S-Bahn and take a regional train (RB) out of Munich towards Würzburg.
Once you’ve made it to Rothenburg, explore the town, take a guided tour, visit the Christmas museum and enjoy the food. Spend the night. In my personal opinion, a few hours is enough to see everything.
You can download a free audio tour to your phone (and listen to it without using your data) from the Rick Steves website (go to the „Listen“ section).
Train to Füssen
Good news: you don’t have to backtrack through Munich to reach Füssen. And it is possible to do the trip with just two changes: in Steinach and Augsburg. It will take you 4.5-5 hours.
The train line does not travel along the Romantic Road. If you want to visit any of the towns on the Romantic Road, check on the map app of your choice and/or DB Navigator how to get there. Allow extra days for that.
Once you arrive in Füssen, explore the town. Make sure to choose accommodation that is fairly central, or near a bus stop. You’re in the foothills of the Alps – „just half a mile from the centre“ may mean half a mile uphill.
Visiting Neuschwanstein
I would visit Neuschwanstein in the morning, as early as possible. Not all the tour buses have arrived yet, and the castle guides are not exhausted yet. Keeping in mind that Neuschwanstein is one of Bavaria’s biggest tourist attractions, buy your tickets well in advance. Especially in the summer season and/or during school holidays, the castle sells out.
Note that you must book a guided tour in order to enter the castles. Tours take only about 30 minutes, then you’re back outside.
Also make sure to read the instructions on how to reach the castle carefully. The castle is not actually in Füssen, as many people seem to think. It will take you some time to actually get there: first, you must get yourself to the village of Hohenschwangau (8 minutes by bus to stop „Neuschwanstein Castles, Schwangau“, or one hour to walk), then walk to the castle (approx. 40 minutes). Alternatively, you can take the shuttle bus (Bayern Ticket not accepted) or a horse-drawn carriage, if/when they are operating. The bus does not go directly to the castle, however. You are left with a steep descent of about 15 minutes to reach the castle entrance. Read especially carefully if you have reduced mobility and keep in mind that while Neuschwanstein may have been the inspiration for the Disney Castle, it was not actually built for accessibility …
If you would like to also visit Hohenschwangau castle, the official recommendation is to allow at least 2.5 hours between the times of your booked tours. Getting from one castle to the other will take approx. one hour if you walk (reasonable fast), and may take more if you need the bus to get back to the village.
On to Munich
Most people will take a train from Füssen to Munich. The trip takes about two hours and typically requires a change at Buchloe, although there is the occasional direct train too. Trains leave hourly from Füssen station. They are local trains, so you cannot book a seat.
If you would like to visit Linderhof Palace, it is possible to do that. However, to get there, you will spend 2-3 hours on a number of local buses. The buses are perfectly fine and the scenery is amazing, so no worries there. But it is a bit of a trip. If you want to do it, use „Linderhof Schloss, Ettal“ as your final destination in DB Navigator.
You can do this in one (long) day if you just want to snap a few photos from the outside and then jump on the next bus. However, if you would like to travel at a relaxed pace and tour both castles, or even all three (including Hohenschwangau), I would suggest allowing one full day in Füssen.
From Linderhof, catch a bus to Oberammergau, a train to Murnau and another train to Munich. Murnau is a lovely place, too.
So many options. 🙂
What Train Tickets to Buy?
You can do all the routes described here by using a Bayern-Ticket. This is a one-day ticket that is valid on local and regional trains, S-Bahns and many (but not all) bus lines. It has a fixed price and is especially useful if you are travelling in a group and/or spontaneously. You can book it in the DB Navigator app or buy it from a ticket machine or window. If you have a paper ticket, you must write your name on it. Note: the Bayern-Ticket is only valid after 9 a.m.! If you want to travel on a train that leaves your station before 9 a.m., you must buy a regular ticket.
You cannot reserve seats on local and regional trains.
The Bayern-Ticket is not valid on long-distance trains (IC, ICE, EC, RJ) and certain private trains (e.g., Westbahn). If you wish to take a long-distance train as part of your journey, you must buy a separate ticket.
Train Punctuality
Trains in Germany are often delayed. The list of possible causes is endless.
If you are planning something like „take the train from Füssen with a change in Buchloe – arrive Munich – 20 minutes later, catch train to Paris/Venice/Hamburg“ – please don’t. It’s just too risky. I would very strongly suggest to allow yourself at least one hour in Munich (or any other station from which you want to catch a long-distance train) before any such connection. Two hours to be on the safe side. This is also true if you have a flight to make on the same day.
Train Itinerary Suggestions
Train Itinerary Romantic Road + Castles
- Day 1: Train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Explore Rothenburg in the afternoon/evening. Overnight.
- Day 2: Train to Augsburg, visit Fuggerei. Train to Füssen. Overnight.
- Day 3: Tour Neuschwanstein and/or Hohenschwangau castles. Take lots of photos. Enjoy the scenery, visit the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, have a swim in the lake. Overnight in Füssen or somewhere en route to Linderhof, perhaps in Reutte (Austria).
- Day 4: Early bus to Ettal. Visit Linderhof palace. Bus/train to Munich. Overnight in Munich.
Train Itinerary Castles Only
If you only want to visit Neuschwanstein (and have prepurchased a ticket), or not enter any of the castles, you can simply catch an early train to Füssen and return whenever you are done exploring. For any additional explorations, spending at least one night is recommended.
- Day 1: Train to Füssen. Allow at least two hours between your arrival at Füssen train station and the starting time of your tour, as you must take a bus from Füssen to Hohenschwangau, followed by another bus and a walk OR a 30-40 minute hike uphill to reach the castle. Visit the Museum of the Bavarian Kings or simply explore the area on foot. Overnight in Füssen.
- Day 2: Catch an early bus to Ettal to visit Schloss Linderhof. Afterwards, explore Oberammergau before heading back to Munich.
An Alternative to Neuschwanstein
If you cannot make it to Neuschwanstein, but you are desperate to see one of Ludwig II. palaces, consider Herrenchiemsee. This palace is located on an island in Lake Chiemsee. The mountains are less dramatic than at Neuschwanstein, but you get to go on a boat.
Chiemsee makes a great stopover if you are headed from Munich to Salzburg or to Berchtesgaden. For more details and inspiration, see my list of 15 Great Day Trips from Munich.
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