On our second-to-last day of our 3-week Europe trip we are renting a car in Munich. Our plan is to drive the Romantic Road ("RR&quot that day northward and spend our last night in Frankfurt, 10 or less miles from the airport (for our 10:30am flight the next morning).

Since the South to North path of the RR pretty much starts out in Fussen where the main attraction is Neuschwanstein Castle, considering our time constraints (to see Dinklesbuhl, Rothenburg, and Wurzburg et al.), would it be any travel travesty if we merely viewed NC from from Mary's Bridge/Marianbrucke ("MB&quot outside and passed on the inside tour? I understand the wait can be lengthy. And, considering we'll have a car, where would we park it and how much time would it take to hike to MB for that view?

Thank you kindly.

The tour itself isn't worth the tourist horde, the wait, or the money.

Glimpse it if you must from a road down in the valley below and move along. That is a substantial detour from the towns to the north, however!

I'd also suggest limiting your stops on the RR. Rothenburg is probably a must. Nördlingen is very good. Würzburg's Residenz is very special, but with your limited time I wouldn't bother with much else there.

If at all possible stay in Würzburg on your final night. It's only 1.5 hours by train to the FRA airport, 29-34 euros depending on availability of cheap tix. You can rent for one day that way and drop the car in Würzburg. A good number of hotels are within walking distance of the W'burg train station.

Note: I've suggested W'burg for better atmosphere on your last night - it's not a bad place for a good meal or some time at one of the wine bars or beer gardens near the river - and because it will cost you more to drop the car at the airport than at W'burg's train station. Of course, if you leave FRA at 8 am, this may not be an option.

That is quite a trip, even if you just look at Neuschwanstein from the outside.
The hike uphill/ downhill from the central parking lot takes about 30min each direction. There is a bus if you don't want to walk.

I wonder if one can do Munich-Neuschwanstein- RR (slow traffic)- Dinkelsbühl- Rothenburg- Würzburg- Frankfurt all in ONE day.
I think I would rather take A7 motorway from Füssen/Neuschwanstein to the North for some 200km, and exit for Dinkelsbühl, take RR from there to Rothenburg, and later Würzburg. Driving the actual RR is neither scenic nor feasible if you plan to arrive in Frankfurt same night.

By the way: You do not pay a surcharge when you drop off a rental car at the airport, only when you pick it up at an airport (or at a train station).

There is no lengthy wait if you make your reservations in advance, on-line. And the tour is only about 30-40 minutes. As to the worthiness of the inside of Neuschwanstein, it depends on your interests.

17th through 19th Century European history interests me very much, so Neuschwanstein was an absolute must see for me. Plus, it is very different from other castles you see in Europe--not room after room of dusty armor and banners and rough-hewn furniture. Unique, to put it mildly.

Touring the castle really got me into more in-depth study of some of the smaller kingdoms and principalities of Europe, like Bavaria, and their relation to the massive 19th century socio-political movements that changed Europe forever.

The excesses of rulers like Ludwig (sane or mad) that helped spark those movements are exemplified by such sights as Neuschwanstein--exterior and interior. Not to mention the sheer bizarre nature of his fascination with Germanic mythology and everything Wagnerian, again as exemplified by the interior and exterior of Neuschwanstein. Plus, even though not all of the rooms in the castle were completed, those that were have some fabulous workmanship.

mbresso,

You certainly have your sights set on some pretty impressive sites. Still, given your itinerary, you'll only be able to give each place a cursory glance, and that'll be a shame.

Rather than heading south from Munich to see a couple King Ludwig castles (the nearby Hohenschwangau, by the way, is more tour-worthy than Neuschwanstein), why not slow down just a bit, head to Rothenburg and enjoy a half-day there.

Rothenburg is best after dark, when all the tour buses and daytrippers have departed, and yet you'll still enjoy strolling this medieval walled town. But you'll need a minimum of a half-day. Take the 90-minute guided walking tour offered by the tourist office, see St. Jakob's Church and the wonderful Riemenschneider Altar of the Holy Blood, and don't miss the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum. Also, if you enjoy Christmas-related shopping, don't leave Rothenburg without visiting the Kathe Wohlfart shop. It'll put a smile on even the most Scrooge-like traveler.

If you feel you must have one more stop before heading north to Wurzburg and its Residenz, consider seeing another wunderbar altarpiece by Riemenschneider at Herrgottskapelle (close to Rothenburg, just outside Creglingen). Alternatively, and as a way of avoiding the tourist crush at Neuschwanstein, see Wieskirche which is perhaps Germany's most impressive Baroque church. It's situated just outside Rottenbuch.

Best of luck.

Ok, not what you want to hear but IMO if you haven't done the Residenze IN Munich you should, including the carriage collection.

For the MOST elaborately decorated and largest of ALL the Ludwig builds, go to Herrenchiemsee...easy to drive to Prien-Stock where you catch the boat across the lake.

The inside decoration is a tribute to Louis XIV and the Hall of Mirrors is even bigger than the one at Versailles.

What time of year are you traveling? We rented a car in Munich and drove directly to Rothenburg, stayed overnight and drove to Fussen the next day. We drove in snow in September on our way to Fussen. It may be something you want to plan extra time for if it is in the fall months.

If it were me, I would either go to Fussen and enjoy the castles in that area or go to Rothenburg and enjoy that area.

We stayed in Ruette when we went to Neuschwanstein.

Hi M,

Fuessen is too far out of your way to bother with just driving by the castle.

You will be adding at least 2 hr to your trip.

Save Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof for another visit.

One poster above mentions that he is very interested in 17th to 19th century history so it was important to go inside. I can't understand this viewpoint in this case though.

Ludwig died before Neuschwanstein was ever used. More than half the rooms inside are still not completed. All they did was decorate the rooms that they take the hordes of tourists through, and they did most of this in very recent times. Remember, this castle was built only 50 years before the Empire State Building! There is basically no real history here at all. It's hardly any more real than the Disney castles.

The outside of the building is impressive, but I would most definitely skip the tour.

Hohenschwangau however is a real castle, I would tour that instead.

After comming off a 3 week tour of Europe do you really want to rush throught all those stops in Germany?

Neuschwanstein: Outside is the best! Marianbrucke is the 'Money Shot"!

Then take the drive to Rothenburg and try and STAY in that town for the night! I have made my connection to Frankfurt many times from Rothenburg. (Granted I am an early riser) But it can be done.

Different strokes for different folks

To me the inside of Neuschwanstein was one of the most incredible fantastic things i've done in four decades of European travel

A surprise at every turn in this not your usual boring european castle

Read up on Mad Ludwig and his castle, which he only managed to stay in a few days i believe before being drowned let he should further bankrupt the Bavarian State Treasury with his castle building follies, and this makes the castle all the more interesting

I can see where folks expecting the traditional European castle - with all old furnishings, staid portraits, etc. will be sadly disappointed here for sure

If you are so pressed for time that you're wondering whether you should take a tour or just stop for outside pictures, I wonder if you even have enough time to smell the roses anywhere on your entire trip.

I'd cut out 1/2 of the things on your list and save the rest for next time.

I would suggest spending the night in Fussen if you want to see Neuschwanstein. In fact, it would be great if you could see the castle late in the afternoon before the overnight in Fussen. Then the next morning, drive to Rothenburg and spend a few hours, on to Wurzburg - seeing only the Residenz as that is the most important and won't have time for anything else.

We spent four days and nights on this route and were really rushed. Didn't get to see near as much as we would have liked. As a previous poster said, the "Romantic Road" is not an attractive scenic route. Just take the highway to Rothenburg and on to Wurzburg.

If you decide to do it all in one day, I would forget driving south to Neuschwanstein and just go on to Rothenburg from Munich. That will be a full day especially if you stop in Wurzburg (a good size city and not easy to get around - will take a good amount of time).

Have a good trip!

I think you're trying to squeeze in too much in a short period of time.

do either Neuschwanstein OR Rothenburg, but not both.

If you skip the interior of Neuschwanstein you'll miss the wonderful depictions of, IMHO, the "soul" of Germany, those wonderful old myths and legends that Wagner set to music.

The Marienbrucke isn't exactly a rush-in/rush-out thing either. It presents a hike to a very special spot. If you want have just an outside view, go to Anaheim, California, there's the castle duplicated for all to see in Disneyland.

Again, IMHO, to really appreciate Rothenburg, you'll have to stay the night and take the night tour of the city. We had a fantastic guide.

Neuschwanstein and Rothenburg as two of the highlights of any visit to Germany and it'll be a pity to miss the best of each site by simply zipping through as you propose.

mike81--I would guess you don't know much about 19th Century history and the seachange taking place in Europe at that time.

The excesses of Ludwig and rulers like him were one of the driving forces behind those changes. In addition, the fascination with German mythology and Wagner's translation of that mythology into popular operas did feed into Germany's 20th Century debacles.

Neuschwanstein, inside and out, graphically demonstrates some of what was happening from the mid to late 1900s better than most history books, and it has more historic significance than many castles centuries older (like Berg Eltz, for instance.

Plus the interior is just very interesting from a purely visual point of view.

History is history, whether something happened 1,000 years ago or 50 years before the Empire State Building was erected.