Fussen vs. Schwangau
 

I'm currently trying to decide whether to stay in Fussen or Schwangau. My husband and I are looking to stay at least 2 nights, possibly 3 (leaning more towards 2 nights). We will have been in Munich prior to this stop. I'm having a tough time deciding on which town to stay in. Hohenschwangua gets good raves, but we'd like to be able to walk around (shopping and dining) and then retreat back to the hotel. From what I have been reading Hohenschwangau doesn't have much of a "town" to it.

Any suggestions as to "cute" places to stay. I'm not against staying in a B&B. We will have a car for this trip but it would be nice to enjoy the town and not always have to drive back to where we are staying.

I also have another question not so much related to Fussen vs. Schwangau ...... Since my husband and I will have a car during our whole trip .. is it easy to find parking in places like Fussen, Munich, Rothenburg and various other small towns. I've been finding that some of the hotels let you either park for free or you have to pay a fee each day ... but my husband and I would like to walk around places such as Munich and Fussen so in that instance where would we park? Do these towns and cities have parking lots outside of the city/town?

I also read somewhere that we can park at a meter for something like 1 euro for half an hour. Is that what most visitors do/

Thanks for your help!

We stayed in Hohenschwangau and used it as a base to explore the castles. There isn't really much of a town to it, but it is within 5-10 minutes drive to Fussen. Fussen is easy to explore, and there is an underground parking garage near the entrance to the center of town. We stayed at the Romantic Pension Albrecht, a B&B with a view of Neuschwanstein, and were pleased.

We parked our car near our hotel in Rothenburg but we found it a pain to drive through. In retrospect we would have parked in one of the lots outside of the gates (easy to find) and carried our luggage to our hotel.

We daytripped to Munich from our apartment in Schonau. We got off the autobahn in a suburb of Munich, parked our car and trained into the city. After our dreaded drive through London several years ago, my DH refuses to drive in any large European cities, and I think this is a smart move! We used this map http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/web4archi.../pr_041212.pdf and parked in Ottobrun (due to a recommendation on this board).

Good luck!
Tracy

Tracy, does the Romantic Pension Albrecht have private bathrooms in the rooms. Also, how's their prices?

We will be driving from Munich so I'm guessing we should probably spend 3 nights in that area since I'm sure we'll arrive late since there's a lot to see on the drive from Munich. Or, if we visit the castles when they open at 8:30am should we stay only 2 nights? It souns as if there's quite a few towns to visit from that area.

I also thought of staying in the Tergernsee area, it sounds beautiful, but it's probably too far of a base to visit the castles, or is it? What are your opinions? I hear Fussen, Oberamerrgau arent' that great of towns but that's only 1 person's opinion.

There is only a couple of miles difference between Fussen and Schwangau. I would consider these two places together - like Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is easy to find parking - but you'll probably pay for it, unless it comes with your room. Another option is staying across the border in Ruette, Austria.

Hi Katzen, We stayed at the Hotel Muller in Hohenschwangau for 2 nights about 3 weeks ago. It's a picturesque little spot and very close to the castles - our room had a view of Neuchwanstein - and parking was included, but ... if I had my time again I would have stayed in Fussen. There is NOTHING to do in Hohenschwangau. It's not really a town, just a road with a few hotels on it. If you just want to see the castles, two nights in Fussen is ample. It's only a small town and doesn't take long to see. If you have a car it's only a 5 minute drive to the castles from Fussen.

We also had the car when we stayed in Rothenburg and, again, parking was included. Once you're in Rothenburg you won't need your car but it was hand y to be able to pull up to the front door of the hotel rather than lump our cases in from the city gate.

Yes, the Albrecht has rooms with private baths. Prices in the 60s (euro) double.

http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/index2.html

Looks like we should stay in Fussen or Reutte, can anyone recommend a hotel with parking in one of those areas.

We had a car and stayed in Fussen at Hotel Kurcafe in 2000. Nice town to stroll through and great location for hotel. Don't remember the rate - no trouble parking - the hotel gives a ticket for a parking garage (reasonable rates if I remember).

Wow, thank you for the great responses. Fussen it is!

We stayed at the Kurcafe last summer. Nice, definitely cute, but no a.c.! Parking is no problem there nor in any of the small surrounding towns. I think there is no reason for a car in Munich! Just pick it up there on your way out of town.

We stayed at the Hotel Hirsch in Fussen, very modern, but affordable. It had parking on site. Fussen was one of our "unexpected" finds, I hadn't heard much about it, but it is very nice.
Parking is easy in all the small towns. One tip, that we didn't figure out til the final day - your car will have a timer "wheel" in it, just put it on your dashboard and move the hands to the time you park - sort of an honor system thing - certain lots let you park there if you have a wheel. In the more touristy towns, you will probably have to park in a parking garage or lot outside of the old town, but they are usually an easy walk to the sites. One other parking tip - if you are in a garage, make sure you get a ticket from the machine before you walk out of the garage, sometimes you need the ticket to get back in.

It seems that most people's opinion is to stay in Fussen and not in Hohenschwangau because Fussen is a town and there's nothing in Hohenschwangau. Now, my question is this, the hotels in Hohenschwangau are by a lake and have a view of the castles, isn't that a much better place to stay and then drive to Fussen. Maybe I'm missing something here since I've never been there. Opinions please.

I personally liked staying in Hohenschwangau. Fussen is a nice little town but there isn't that much to do there where I would feel the need to stay in town. When we did visit, it was a very quick (about 5-10 minutes) and easy drive to town. I loved having a view of the castle and the lake is gorgeous. I certainly don't feel that we missed out on anything by not staying in Fussen.

TRacy

Tracy, what were the rates for a double room with private bathroom at The Romantic Pension Albrecht, do you remember. The web site is in German, I hate that, can't tell anything. Also, has anyone heard of Hotel Alpenstuben, just wondering which one to get.

suze, try this link: http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/index2.html. This is a portion of their website that is in English, although not much of it. If I recall correctly, we paid about 60 euros for both of us. The room was nice, large, had a balcony with a great view of the castle, and included a decent breakfast.

Hope this helps!
Tracy

suze--or click on the British flag at the bottom left of this page, and it will take you to the pages that are in English; including the prices page.

http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/

I'm not the OP, but this thread has been great. My husband and I have been trying to decide which area to stay in the Alps - Hohenshwangau sounds perfect for us. Thanks for the hotel recommendations too!

J-Correa, I believe I read somewhere that you are heading to Germany in June/July timeframe? We are going at the end of July into August (mostly August). I've been keeping your posts for future reference.
Have you found airfare?
Thanks!

katzen - Yes we are going in mid-July, just after the World Cup it turns out.

We were able to use FF miles for our airfare, which is terrific. We had originally thought of going to Italy this summer, but since it is such a popular destination, we were unable to use the FF miles for tickets - all the FF seats were already taken. I think for Italy, you have to call the same hour the seats become availible - LOL. So we chose Germany instead. With the state of the airlines, it seemed silly to let all those FF miles sit around unused, they might disappear - LOL.

We are going to Munich, Nuremberg, and the Alps. Hohenschwangau sounds perfect for us at the end of our trip - relax a bit, do some hiking, check out the nearby towns, and of course, the castles. I've wanted to go to Neuschwantein ever since I was a kid - we had a big jigsaw puzzle with a picture of Neuschwanstein on it and I absolutely loved it. Then I leared about Ludwig II and decided I HAD to go there - LOL.

We used FF miles twice to go to Italy, had to call 331 days ahead of time, we could hold the reservations for 2 weeks. I'm going to use FF miles to fly into Frankfurt and out of Munich, it sounds like I won't have to make the reservations that far ahead, is that so?

We made our airline reservations in August or September for mid-July and there seemed to be several choices availible. So it definitely isn't as tight as with Italy. I guess Italy is just a much more popular destination - it seems like a full 30% of posts on this board are about Italy, anyway - LOL.

My wife and I are going to Munich this year for Oktoberfest! We plan on heading to visit the castles and from the posts it sounds like Hohenschwangau will be the best fit for us. However, we plan on taking the train from Frankfurt and we don't plan on renting a car in the area around the castles. I assume based on my limited knowledge of Germany that the public transportation is sufficient to haul us and our luggage relatively close to wherever we stay and subsequently out of Fussen to Munich. Can anyone please advise? Additionally, I was looking at Albrecht or Alpenstuben; any suggestion as to which is better?

Vielen Dank

The train to Fussen is easy and there is a bus from the station in Fussen to Hohenschwangau. Fussen to Munich is also an easy route.

By the way - for our trip last summer, we ended up staying across the border in Reutte Austria rather than Fussen or Hohenschwangau. I loved the hotel where we stayed, but if I were to go again, I think I would stay in Hohenschwangau. It was a magical place with views of the castles and a very pretty lake. I would have liked to be able to be there in the evening after the day trippers had gone.

We had intended to stay in both but after staying in Hohenschwangau for one night, we cancelled Fussen and stayed longer in H. Teeny place but the views were stupendous! Fussen is still worth a trip as it is a lovely town but I would definitely say that H is cuter!

check out
www.bensbauernhof.com
lots of places in both towns reviewed

We stayed at the Albrecht 5 years ago, and it was great. However, some people posted negative reviews sometime after that and it appeared the owner might have been experiencing some difficulties. If those reviews were flukes or the difficulties were worked out, then the Albrecht is great for location, comfort (it does have some nice size rooms with private baths), and views.

I would recommend a car for the area. You can get around by public transportation if need be, but a car is so much quicker and can get you places that are difficult to reach otherwise.

We enjoyed a very nice dinner at Alpenhotel Meier--on the road between Schwangau and Hohenschwangau. Very good Bavarian meals in a nice setting. It could be walked to from either town, but a car or cab would be better.

I have been to the area twice so far (2004 and 2005) and will still go again - and my chosen place will be The Hotel Garni Hartung - at http://www.hartung-hotel.com/
This lies in a small, cosy village named Hopfen am See, which is only 5 km north of Füssen, and has a great placement near a lake with excellent views of the nearby mountains (Tegelberg, Säuling etc) as well as castle Neuschwanstein in the distance.

I have written an extensive travelogue from my 2004 trip (and am working on my 2005 trip) as well as others on my homepage, found at:
http://www.terjenet.com - pictures galore as well :)

For a family with middle school kids - we are debating to stay in Schwangau on a farm - can we get around to castles, luge, gondola, lake area, Tegelberg area w/o car. We could rent bikes? or hike? or is it too far? We aren't renting a car during our trip to Bavaria - planning to take trains so kids can experience that part of Europe.

We stayed in Schwangau and I think it would be perfect with middle school children. Our hotel had bicycles at no charge. We rode to the castles and Tegelberg. We also rode around the lake. There is also a place in the area with pools and hot springs. You would be able to ride to that as well. We stayed at the Hotel Rubezahl. It's very close to the things I mentioned, but I don't think Schwangau is a very big place.

We saw a lot of people out on bikes and it looked really fun. The area is a relatively flat valley stuck between the mountains, so bike riding is a great idea.

<explorefamily> There are some very nice farms within easy walking or biking distance of the castles. Public transportation is not a problem in this area. There are buses departing Füssen Bahnhof to the Royal Castles area fairly frequently depending on the day of the week and time. Here are a few farms near the castles -

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/hansler...aubrunnen.html
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/landhannes.html
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/gaestehauslutzbrunnen.html

Thank you for the suggested farms. I was looking at the landhannes one today but will check out the others as well. My daughter would LOVE that! Our first trip to Europe so many uncertainties still.

Please do not miss out on the luge ride by the Tegelberg Gondola. Buy two tickets each right off, because you'll definitely want to ride again. I'm not a big ride person, but this one was so much fun.

:) we went on the luge thing twice too. It was great.

Wasn't it? I'd love to spend a week in that area. I have a sister living in Munich right now and another is going to visit. I have to make sure she gets down there for more than a day trip.