Europe - Munich and Ludwig's castles

I'm planning a trip to Germany and was wondering how easy it was to get to Ludwig's castles from Munich? Not all of them, just the closer ones. ;)

What I mean, is:
1) Can they be done as "day" trips?
2) Is it easily accessible by public transit? (Trains, mainly. I won't be driving.)
3) Is it easier to book day tours? Does anyone have any good recommendations of tour agencies in Munich?

Thanks in advance.

Schloss Nymphenburg is right in Munich, and you can reach it easily on the tram. Many of the other castles should be easily accessible by rail, and you could certainly make a day trip to see them. An English-speaking, Munich-based travel specialist like Euraide (www.euraide.de) could easily help you plan trips-- I know they offer bus tours to the castles. I'm sure there are plenty of other helpful agencies as well, but I've dealt with Euraide and they were excellent.

Neuschwanstein, the most famous and beautiful of his castles, is an easy day trip. Take a train from Munich to Fussen, and you can take a bus to the castle's base, which is explained in English here:

http://www.hohenschwangau.de/553.0.html

Thanks to the both of you! ^

There are only 3 castles, and Neuschwanstein may be the most spectacular one, but the two others, Herrenchiemsee & Linderhof, are much much nicer on the inside...
Btw, Nymphenburg is not a Ludwig castle.

Btw, Nymphenburg is not a Ludwig castle.

Ludwig II didn't build it, but he was born there, and it was one of his residences. Nymphenburg's architecture is more sedate than Neuschwanstein's (to put it mildly), but it's a fine example of baroque architecture, and the grounds are beautiful in all seasons. But chtiet is right that it won't satisfy the urge to see one of Ludwig's own impractical constructions.

For Herrenchiemsee just take one of the regionaltrains or Intercity departing from "München Hbf" or "Ostbahnhof" to Salzburg until you reach "Prien am Chiemsee". Most of the Intercity trains also stops there but check out before. :cool:

From "Prien am Chiemsee" u can easily reach the boat that takes you to to the island by boarding a historic train-shuttle which takes you down to the lake.

Getting to "Prien" will take approx. 1:20 from Munich, visting the island and castle from Prien should be doable in 3-4 hours so a daytrip might be ok.

Enjoy

Starbucks

You can even get up to Schloß Linderhof with public transportation, although it's a long day. Here's how you do it:

1) Take the train from Munich Main Station to Oberammergau (change in Murnau) leaving at 8:32 or 9:32. This takes about 1 3/4 hours. Up-to-date schedule information can be found at www.bahn.de

2) Connect in Oberammergau to Bus #9622 at 10:25 or 11:20. About 30 minutes later, you'll be way up in the mountains at Schloß Linderhof.

3) You can return from Linderhof to Oberammergau at 12:57 and 13:54 on school days, at 16:35 every day, and at 17:50 Monday through Thursday (Yes, it is complicated! :rolleyes: ) These times apply Monday through Friday. Take a look at the timetable at http://www.rvo-bus.de/pdffiles/9622.pdf for weekends, or just to make sure.

4) Trains leave every hour to Munich via Murnau.

Have fun!

Great info! ^

Get a bunch of people together and buy a Bavaria region pass at the Munich train station. Then take the Regional Express to Fussen, it leaves about every hour and it takes 2.5 hours to get there. It leaves from track 24-26, somewhere around there. There is an option for a single pass and group pass. The group pass is by far a better deal and the more people that travel together, the cheaper it is per person.

Walking up to Neuschwanstein will take at least 30 minutes and thats considering you are in good shape. The castle tours were not all that great especially since the whole thing is a little systematic. Before going on the tour, you have to get a ticket with a number on it. There will be limited times available and you have to schedule around other people's tour times. Anyways, you go up the hill and wait for your turn on the top. There is a nice red digital display that lists which group is next, its almost like waiting for your prescription at the grocery store :td: You can only go when its your turn and there is no wandering around on your own.

I did a Gray Line tour on a Monday (the day that the museums in Munich are closed) and saw Linderhof, Neuschwanstein, and Oberammergau in a day, no problem.

Neuschwanstein, the most famous and beautiful of his castles, is an easy day trip.

Is a trip during the winter (December) more problematical because of possible weather problems (like tons of snow)? I would guess the Germans are pretty good at dealing with the snow :) , but just curious.

I did a Gray Line tour on a Monday (the day that the museums in Munich are closed) and saw Linderhof, Neuschwanstein, and Oberammergau in a day, no problem.

We don't normally do bus tours, but in this instance it's the way to go, especially in winter. Essential to check with tour operator as to what's open.

We went to Neuschwanstein in December about 3 years ago. There was not much snow at all in the area until you drove up to the parking lot area around the castle. (we had a car so we drove all the way there) They offered horse-drawn cabs to pull you up or down the hill to the castle, which was nice if only to huddle together and escape the wind. The castle is not heated at all, and it was COLD. Also, in the winter, you don't get the amazing views that you see from postcards as there are usually clouds in the valleys obscuring the nearby mountains. But it was still an amazing thing to see and I'd say well worth it.