nygvic0326

We will be arriving from USA at 9:30 am on a Wednesday. We will have that day, Thursday and Friday (total of 3 nights) before we depart.

On Wednesday, plan is just to walk the city in the afternoon and acclimate to arrival. No structured plans. Early dinner.

On Thursday, thinking of doing Schloss Nymphenburg and BMW Museum.

Question is what to do on Friday....thoughts were Garmisch / Mittenwald or perhaps Neuschwanstein Castle. Or does it just make sense to stay in Munich and do other sightseeing ?? Both Garmish or Neuschwantein seem interesting but looks like it would involve / occupy a significant part of day in travel time. Which one would be a better choice if we were to do ??

Train to Mittenwald is 1.75 hours each way, so 3.5 to 4 hours.

Train to Fussen for Neuschwanstein is 2 hours each way + time to castle. So say 4.5 to 5 hours for a castle tour that is how long ??

logandog

I would stay in Munich and visit the art museum and The Deutches Museum.

PalenQ

Dachau is just outside Munich if that type of thing interests you... very sobering but IMO a must see for Munich.

Dukey1

Definitely the Nymphenburg which you can easily reach by tram.

I would also strongly recommend the possibility of the Residenze

http://www.residenz-muenchen.de/englisch/museum/ and be sure to include the Treasury.

Dukey1

And just so you know, The Nymphenburg is far, FAR more interesting in terms of the interior decoration than Neuschwanstein.

konig_ludwig_900

visit of Neuschwanstein is a MUST (because is one of the most beautiful castle in the world)

friday morning you buy the bayern-ticket for 26Eur for (2Per) available from 9am until 3am
so you take the train of 09:53 arrival at 12:13 (Hohenschwangau Castles Village)via Füssen because no direct train to Village just by bus

you go to Ticket Center buy your tickets 44Eur (2per) for both castles Neuschwanstein + Hohenschwangau

buy some sandwiches and coffe to go here

each tour take 30min inside . to neuschwanstein 30min walk . to Hohenschwangau 5min walk
you will finish your tours at 16h ,
go back to Füssen take a look in this smal twon (shops still open until 20h) then take train of 18h or 20h up to you

just watch the videos below , to see how easy to get to Most beautiful castle in the world
How To Get To Neuschwanstein ( From Munich Main Station ) Ep 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKY4Ymdfuog

How To Get To Neuschwanstein ( Füssen Station ) Ep 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0_WFiXy4U4

How To Get To Neuschwanstein ( Hohenschwangau Bus Stop ) Ep 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKY4Ymdfuog

or http://www.new-swan-stone.eu/p/transportation.html

island_breeze

Dachau and worth getting a private tour guide.
Neuschwanstein is wonderful, best to save for next time and incorporate when en route to Switzerland or Austria.

Dukey1

Neuschwanstein is "wonderful" on the outside; the inside is drab. Save your time and money and do that and the Linderhof and Oberammergau, etc., etc., on another trip.

PalenQ

I have the exact opposite take on Neuschwanstein than dukey does - wondrous on the outside and even more wonderful on the inside - a surprise at every turn - no not your typical castle - Ersatz being built from scratch by Mad King Ludwig in the late 1800s as the epitome of a fanciful medieval castle but the inside are anything but medieval looking - the most modern devices for the times - literally a surprise at every turn.

Not your average boring castle inside stuffed with antique furnishings - and take time to walk around the environs like to the Marienbrucke - a bridge over a rover high above the castle (an easy hike) - the spot where the Mad king often sat and pondered the contruction of his fantasy castle which he never lived to see finished and only slept in the unfinished castle a few days before he was assassinated by Bavarian officials before he could further bankrupt the Royal Bavarian Treasury with his castle building mania.

Neuschwanstein - Europe's most famous castle like that or not.

Here are some images of the 'drab interior' of Nueschwanstein Castle:

https://www.google.com/search?q=neus...=1600&bih=1075

Fuessen itself in a nice regional town - stop for a bit on the way back - and if doing the castle be sure to book tour tickets in advance or face a long long wait in line to get into Europe's most popular and well-known castle.

To get to the castles - there is another Ludwig castle there too that few bother going to, which tis a pity - take a train to Fuessen then either do a nice two-mile or so walk on paths thru forests to the castle complex or hop a mini-bus or taxi - once at the lower complex horse carriages can take you up the steep road to the castle entrance or of course you can hoof it.

PalenQ

dukey - are you sure you went to the right castle in Hohenschwangau - and only went in the older castle right buy the main tourist area well below Newuschwanstein, perched high above - what you say would be IMO more true about Hohenschwangau!

treplow

Stay in Munich instead of riding the train for 2 or more hours.

On the second day, take the longer version of the hop-on/hop-off bus. It will take you also to Nymphenburg and BMW. You can then decide whether you want to return the next day, or get off the bus then, skip a couple of busses and visit these two places at that time. That's what I did in Nymphenburg.

At any rate, you will visit on the bus other places in Munich and you can decide what else you want to re-visit more extensively on your own on the last day.

The busses leave across from the main (East) entrance of the Munich Hauptbahnhof (hbf), in front of the big department store. Get a brochure for the bus from your hotel. It gives you schedules and prices. I took the blue bus and was very satisfied.

This way, you will also get a fairly good run-down of what's what in Munich.

I should mentio here that I have lived in Munich for many years when attending the university there and still thoroughly enjoyed the bus itinerary recently.

LSky

Visiting Neuschwanstein is only a must if it's handy to see it or you don't care that it's not a real castle. It's a handy day trip from Munich and if you've always wanted to see it then you should go.

It's in a beautiful area and it's a nice day trip.

I thought that Herrenchiemsee was interesting as a day trip as well.

Grindeldoo

From another long-term Munich resident (15 years in the 80s and 90s and still a frequent visitor) If you're thinking of spending some 4 hours travelling on one of your days I'd recommend going to Passau or Nuremburg as an alternative to Garmisch/Mittenwald or Neuschwanstein. You didn't say what time of year you will be visiting. Neuschwanstein is heaving with tourists during July/August. There is also more to Dachau than a concentration camp - the old town and castle are charming and it is only a short S-Bahn ride from the centre of Munich, with a bus ride to the camp and/or a walk into town.