wrenwood

My husband and I will be in Germany/Bavaria/Austria with his sister this fall. My husband and I did the whole tour of Neuschwanstein and found the most breathtaking moments when you saw it from the outside, the inside tour we found a little under-whelming.

So are there other vantage points to see it from? Someone mentioned the Alpsee, the small lake to the south of the two castles. Apparently there is a walk around the shore of the lake with some lovely views back across the water to the both Castles?

And what about Hohenscwangau, is it worth an inside tour?

wrenwood

ttt

indy_dad

Haven't been, but friends of ours were just there. Check out their photos and descriptions to see if that helps.

http://schetzelsintheuk.wordpress.co...-and-salzburg/

michele_d

I preferred the inside of Hohenscwangua to the inside of Neuschwanstein. I liked the paintings throughout Hohen. The lake is lovely to sit and relax by. We brought a small picnic and sat on a bench at this end and relaxed after our visit to the castles.

When we left the castles we drove the road through the open fields that are located to the left of Neuschwanstein. There are some nice distant views of the castle from there but it was a hazy day so I wasn't able to get great pictures. It was pretty though with the fields and cows below the castle.

Mimar

Traditionally, the view of Neuschwanstein from Queen Mary's Bridge (just up above and behind the castle) makes it the best spot to photograph the castle: www.flickr.com/photos/davecio/8218245982/. Don't know if you can see Hohenschwangau from there.

nytraveler

I'm not a fan of Neuschwanstein - recommend Linderhof instead.

november_moon

We toured both N and H - the tour of H was much much more comprehensive. Since it was the actual home of the family, the interiors are decorated for living and there are a lot more interesting stories to go with the tour than there are for N. Plus, since not as many people tour H, the group wasn't as big and the tour wasn't as rushed.

wrenwood

How do you get up on the bridge without doing the Tour? Can we drive up near there or must we walk up?

Linderhof is in the plans for another day. I'm beginning to like the idea of touring Hohenscwangau and just getting photo ops for Neuschwanstein

michele_d what town were you headed towards when you drove the road through the fields?

michele_d

You do not have to do the tour in order to walk up to Mary's bridge. I believe there is also a horse drawn carriage that takes you up there as well as a shuttle bus. Walking up is a bit steep, but coming down is easy. Cars are not allowed up there I believe. You might want to check if construction is going on on Neuschwanstein. We ventured up to Mary's Bridge to get pics of the castle and it was covered in scaffolding on that side. The info booths down below should know where the construction is going on, if any at the time you are there.

We stayed in Schwangau so we were just headed back to our hotel.