Neuschwanstein Castle is located Bavaria near Munich, Germany. The castle was built by King Ludwig II and the construction started in 1869 but it was never completely finished due to his death in 1886. The name Neuschwanstein literally means “New Swan Stone” which is derived from a character from one of Richard Wagner’s operas, the Swan Knight.

Neuschwanstein Castle was known as the castle of the fairy-tail king because it was built in the authentic style of the old German knight’s castles and the castle became King Ludwig imagined kingdom where he could act as a royal.

Neuschwanstein Castle’s image as a fairy-tail castle became more recognized as it is believed that Walt Disney used the castle for his inspiration in the Disney classic “Cinderella” and for Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Disneyland.

The castle is located at the top of a hill in the Bavarian Alps with spectacular view of the nearby valley. It height makes it common to be seen near the clouds which can be seen in the photos below.

The best view of the castle is from Marien Bridge which hangs over a small waterfall. The view from the bridge offers an iconic view of the castle and the valley below. The following photos were taken from Marien Bridge.

The entrance to the castle is through a massive door directly under the crest of the castle and centered between two castle turrets.

The entrance opens into a large courtyard where many of the rooms have balconies looking down into the courtyard.

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most photographed attractions in Germany but photography is not permitted inside the castle. Therefore, I don’t have any photos of the castle’s interior.

Walking around the outside of the castle is probably more impressive and there are lots of interesting views to see. Some of the photos that I took while walking around the outside of the castle are shown below.

Nearby Neuschwanstein Castle is Hohenschwangau Castle which is the childhood home of King Ludwig. Hohenschwangau Castle was built by Ludwig’s father King Maximilian II and became the summer residence for king Maximilian, his wife and their two sons, Ludwig and Otto.

Hohenschwangau Castle should be visited when visiting Neuschwanstein Castle because it is within walking distance.

A few photos of Hohenschwangau Castle are shown below.

The Dust on My Shoes

Neuschwanstein Castle is the most famous castle in Germany and it was my #1 place to visit on my trip to Germany so it was the first thing that I wanted to do when I arrived in Munich.

The castle sets on top of the hill and can be seen from the entire surrounding area so there is no way to miss seeing the it as you get anywhere near the castle. Many tourist place has parking very close to the site but that is not the case for Neuschwanstein Castle. There are three options for getting to the castle.

• Take a shuttle bus
• Take a horse drawn carriage
• Walk

Taking the shuttle bus or carriage will get you to a drop off point that still requires a short walk. There is a fairly long waiting line for both of these so we decided to save the waiting time and just walk. The walking path is the same as the horse drawn carriage so make sure to watch your step for horse poop.

Entrance to the castle is strictly regulated. Guided tours are the only way to see the inside of the castle and each tour is given a time slot to start. There is a no photography policy for the inside of the castle which was a little disappointing for me. My photography is what helps me to remember all of the details of the places that I visit so not being able to take photos really limits the details that I remember from the inside of the castle.

Walking around the castle was the highlight of being at Neuschwanstein Castle for me. The trails are nice and there are no bad views of the castle, Neuschwanstein Castle is equally impressive from every direction.

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