Munich to Neuschwanstein castle
 

I have only 2 days in Munich and would like to know whether it is possible to use only half a day for the visit to Neuschwanstein castle? Can anyone advise?

I don't think you could comfortably do it in just 4 hours. If half a day is 12 hours then, yes.
I rented a car and drove out, but even so I had to wait for my time to tour the palace.
I know the place looks great from the outside,but except for a few rooms that are lavishly done, the castle was never finished.

If you have a booking in a particular time slot and like walking up steep hills like I do,then get a 7am start and you will be back by lunch into Munich if you just want to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. Just make sure you dont go up the hill in those horse drawn carts - I walked past two of them on the way up to the castle. You will waste an hour with the carts both ways.

And if you don't like walking up steep hills then get the slower, but much easier horse-drawn cart. Frankly, Neuschwanstein looks better on the outside than it does on the inside (certainly worth doing) but Linderhof (nearby) is much more elaborately decorated than is Neuschwanstein.

If you decide NOT to do this trip then I would suggest the Schloss Nymphenberg which is in the city of Munich itself as well as the Residenze...the latter has an extensive collection of the Ludwig carriages that has to be seen to be believed.

With this short time frame I would definitely recommend your having a car for the Neuschwanstein trip.

Definitely need 6-8 hours at least, and be prepared for longer.

Seeing the castle itself requires only perhaps 2 hours; travel time to and from would depend on your mode of transportation.

I did the same trip a couple of years ago and it took probably six or seven hours to get there and back by train. An easy trip, but more than half a day.

There is another one of King Ludwig's palaces on the Herrenchiemsee island in the Chiemsee. It is Ludwig's idea of Versailles. You take the train from Munich to Prien (about 1 hr.)From the station you can walk to Stock and the boat landing dock (about 25min), or take a bus or - in the vacation months -an old steam train.

On the island, it will take you about 10-15 minutes to walk to the Schloss, partly through elegant gardens with fountains etc. You can also take a horsedrawn coach, although the terrain is pretty flat.

The interior of Herrenchiemsee is certainly more interesting than that of Neuschwanstein.

The suggestion of Nymphenburg in Munich is also a good one. It's accessible by streetcar. This is the palace of the members of Bavaria's Wittelsbach monarchy, some of whom are still alive.

Since I haven't seen anyone post this yet, I figured I'd let you know that it takes about 2.5 hours by train each way to get to Fussen, where you then have to take a bus to get to the castles. (this is from munich)

Because of that very reason, my friend and I just took (about 2 weeks ago) a 1 hour train from Munich to Prien, and went to see the Chiemsee castle. It is a mini Versailles and is pretty nice, we had bad weather but on a sunny day the setting is awesome I'm sure.

However, that being said, Neuschwanstein and the castle next to it, Hohenschwangau, are nicer in my opinion (saw em last year).

But then again, you can always leave those as a reason to return to Bavaria in the future!

We went up the hill in the shuttle bus--the horse drawn carts are interesting, but it is slow. I wouldn't hike it unless you are in very good condition. The carts do get you a little closer to the castle. Head for Neuschwanstein a bit early so you have time to check out the scenery (e.g., Marienbrucke) before your tour time.