King Ludwig's castles
 

I just did a search on King Ludwig's castles in Germany and WOW! Has anyone ever seen these?

Most certainly, it is no secret - just input the word Neuschwanstein in the above search field and see how many hundreds of mentions there are on Fodors!

Neuschwanstein alone gets 1.3 million visitors per year...

I just was at 2 of them in October- Linderhoff and Neuschwanstein. They are impressive as is the story of the King.

Of course--our first time was 1961 and been back several times since.

Yes - all of them. I enjoy them all but if I had to choose one my least favourite would be Neuschwanstein. Lovely surroundings but the interior far less interesting than the other castles associated with him.

I have climbed the steps at Neuschwanstein more times than I care to count. Every time a new travel companion is with me, I climb the steps again. This next May I'll be doing it again with my son's former girlfriend.

Hi Sa,

Welcome to the forum.

> Has anyone ever seen these?<

No. You are the very first person to mention them, to my knowledge. :)

((I))

Hi all, I am also planning a trip to Munich in May to see the castles. Do you prefer to take the train to the castles or go through a tour operator based in Munich?

To the above question, I always take trains (only once with a rental car). Never with a group!

Also to all, why does my favorite of Ludwig's castles always get left off the list? Maybe it is because you have to take a boat to get to an island, in order to visit it. It is Herrenchiemsee.

The town/train stop is Priem am Chiemsee and worth a couple days' stay on its own.

Yes, I've visited them a couple of times. My favorite time was in October many moons ago when the crowds were quite light.

I first visited with a tour and later with a car.

I was in Munich recently and took a Grey Line tour to Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. It was very well organized. Left Munich at 8:30am on a double decker bus and returned at 6:30pm. Other than being treated like a kindergartener (repeated reminders that the bus will leave at x time but with 83 people I guess that is what you have to do) and the stop to shop at the store the guide recommended it was good. The tour cost 49 euros and then you had to pay 14 euros for the admissions.

We always take the train to the castles. It's easy, cheap, and you are not stuck with the schedule of the tour bus.

The tour might be better is you are nervous with sticking to train/bus schedules. My wife likes the tour guides and listening to someone besides me talking. I like to adventure on my own.

The last two times I've been to the castles I rented a car and enjoyed the freedom. But then you have the hastle of driving in Munich.

Isn't it King Ludwig II?

Sorry, is you = if you. I have a nervous twitch in my posting finger today.

I agree that Herrenchiemsee is my favorite and Neu my least favorite. And we always have always seen the castles on road trips (different castles difernt trips).

But then we almost always do raod trips in Germany - since there are so many cute villages and countryside.

And never take a tour. If you don;t want to drive just hook up with public transit.

Except for the beautiful landscaping and gardens, I find Linderhof the least interesting. Been in Neuschie maybe 10 times, Herrenchiemsee three, Hohenschwangau thrice and inside Linderhof once (but on the ground maybe 5 times). They are all unique and beautiful but their historic significance is minimal. Much more fascinating castles along the Rhine and Mosel.

Ludwig's castles are historically significant within the context of Bavarian history in particular and within the context of the sea change in European society during the 19th and early 20th centuries--moving from the opulent excesses of royalty and the remnants of feudal socities to the development and strengthening of modern nation states. Bavaria and Ludwig's story (as embodied in the creation of those castles) exemplifies what was happening throughout Europe in that period of history.

Keep in mind that many centuries older castles were actually of little historical significance. Frankly, after 50 years of touring European castles, most of the older ones look pretty much the same--while Ludwig's fantastic concoctions are a real change of pace.

We stayed in Schwangau in October and visted Neu, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof. No need to go on an organised tour,but timed entry to all three castles,so get there early in the high season. We loved Linderhof and glad we drove and visited Ettal and Oberamagau the same day. Neu is very beautiful and a 'must do' but it's very busy and had a lot of scaffolding up and not much furniture inside.