Neuschwanstein Castle, Barvaria, Germany (July 2026)

This year's road trip from Munich was started with the initial goal of seeing this Neuschwanstein Castle that is located only two-hour drive from Munich. From there, I saw that the Dolomites were not too far away and added them to the itinerary. Later, Lake Como was also added. Neuschwanstein Castle became famous and popular after Walt Disney made its emblem based on inspiration from seeing this castle. Do you see the similarity?

We had to buy the ticket in advance, and our entry time was assigned. We had to arrive in the village of Hohenschwangau more than two hours before the assigned time. Our assigned entry time was 12:30 PM. So we had to arrive in the village by no later than 10:30 AM. From the parking area, we could walk up, take a shuttle, or ride a horse-drawn wagon. We chose to take the shuttle. We took a photo of the whole castle from Mary's Bridge and arrived in the waiting area 15 minutes before the entry time. 

 

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside the castle. We followed a tour guide assigned to our group of thirty people, who led us to each floor and room with a brief explanation of the history. After we came out of the castle, we decided to walk down the hill for about 30 minutes. It was not too bad.

An alternative to walking or taking a shuttle was riding this type of horse-drawn wagon.

After we came down to the town center, we visited the Museum of Barbarian Kings. Not all the narration was in English, so we watched many paintings and artifacts, but there was very little reading. 

After this castle, we drove for two hours to a hotel near the Munich International Airport for an overnight stay before we would leave Munich the following day to return home. We had dinner at a boutique restaurant near the hotel and the food was really good. 

 After the river cruise, we did the road trip to the Dolomites, Lake Como, Innsbruck, and Neuschwanstein Castle. All trips start with excitement for the new experience and end with the excitement of returning home. No exception this time. We looked forward to returning home. We enjoyed this trip a lot. - Jeffrey