Day Trip to Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle From Munich

Some things are popular and touristy for a reason. The day trip to Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein castle is definitely one of those things. For those folks who avoid all things touristy with a 10 metre stick, I strongly suggest that you do not miss this beautiful, Disney movie-like castle. Even the trip to the palace and castle through the Bavarian countryside is simply magical. Our first choice was to rent a car but we decided to immerse ourselves and get the full tourist experience so we booked our trip with GetYourGuide.com. The bus that ferried us was comfortable, the tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable and all in all it was a great experience. However, if you’re looking to explore the countryside a little more and don’t want to stick to an itinerary, renting a car would be a better option.

The Bavarian countryside feels like a complete fairytale. We were stunned by its landscape: a green countryside with rolling hills, lakes, grazing cows, small pretty villages, magnificent palaces and castles are a real treat to the eyes. Bavaria has its own culture and language and is known for its Oktoberfest that happens in Munich.

Our First Stop : Linderhof Palace

We visited The Linderhof Palace in the month of May 2019. Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favour as it rained almost all day. We also didn’t expect so many tourists but to our surprise it was very crowded. The distance from Munich to Linderhof Palace is only 95 kms so its perfect if you’re in Munich and are looking for ways to get away from the city and explore the German countryside.

Linderhof Palace is one of the palaces of the ‘mad king’ of Bavaria, Ludwig II. He was considered to be mad as he build castles to avoid reality (can you blame him?). He was so much in love with the Palace of Versailles that he wanted to create a copy for himself but it did not get built because of financial reasons. Even then, Linderhof Palace is small but has all the grandiosity of the world. The Royal Villa is influenced by French Architecture and modelled on the smaller summer palaces of France.

What caught my eye is the ivory chandelier and the amount of stunning gold paintings and artefacts. The ivory is imported from India and is the most expensive piece in the palace. The Hall of Mirrors is spectacular. The best part of this room is wherever you look there is a reflection.

The ceilings are decorated with colourful frescos and the detailing is mind blowing. The kings bedroom is huge and spectacular. It is truly a masterpiece. One can just sit there and imagine the royal life and admire the work of great craftsmanship that will leave you flabbergasted.

Detailed Information regarding entry timings and admission fees can be found here : Linderhof Palace

Second Stop : Oberammergau

This fairy tale village is situated among the Ammergau Alps and is known for its wooden carvings. The tour stopped for only half an hour for us to explore this tiny hamlet. The village is so pretty that we would have loved to spend some more leisure time. One of the popular stores had the famous German cuckoo clocks which were quite expensive. Instead, we found very reasonable clocks at a store in Triberg in the Black Forest Region of Germany. The village is also a base for lot more places to explore in this region.

Third Stop : Neuschwanstein Castle

Town after town and village after village in the Bavarian countryside is simply magical. We arrived at the parking area of Neuschwanstein castle at around 2pm. It was jam packed with tourists. From the parking area, the walk to the castle is around 45 minutes and consists of an uphill climb. It starts from a village called Hohenschwangau.

The village is very popular and the cafes are super crowded so we went ahead with our walk without grabbing a bite. The walk is steep but very picturesque and the views of misty clouds hovering over the castle, a green countryside surrounded by lakes and stunning views of the snow clad Alps were all a sight to behold.

If you do not wish to walk the whole way there, you can choose to take horse drawn carriages which drop you 450 metres before the castle. However, from here the walk is quite uphill and takes around 10 minutes to the castle. There is also a shuttle bus service available which takes a slightly different route. It drops you 500 metres before the castle entrance and from there it is a 5 minute downhill walk. Both cannot be booked online.

Popularly known as the ‘Cinderella Castle’ it is one of the most iconic castles in the Bavarian region. While the name suggests a classic fairytale ending, the story is actually very sad. The mad king Ludwig II died before the castle was completed and was in huge debt while building it. The castle had to be opened to the public shortly after his death to compensate for the huge debt.

The most famous spot to get a fantastic view of the castle is the Marienbrucke. We took plenty of Instagram worthy pictures and selfies from this spot. There are lots of such spots where you get great views of the Alps and lakes so keep looking out.

The famous Singer’s hall and the magnificent Throne Hall are completely restored and the work is super detailed and mesmerising. Out of the 300 rooms, only 14 are open to the public but the entire experience is totally worth it.

Information regarding admission tickets and booking can be found here : Neuchwanstein Castle

After our road trip to the Black Forest region and to the wonderful city of Koblenz and Berlin we ended our fourteen day’s trip of Germany in Munich. We flew back to India with wonderful memories that we will cherish and treasure for a lifetime.