//
Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de via Wikimedia Commons
The castle directly across from Ludwig II's fairy-tale castle. This castle served as Ludwig II's home while he was growing up. The ticket office closes half an hour before the castle does. Make sure to sit behind the driver while on the bus to the castles.
Hohenschwangau Castle is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was built by King Maximilian II of Bavaria, and was the childhood residence of his son, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau near the town of Füssen, part of the county of Ostallgäu in southwestern Bavaria, Germany, very close to the border with Austria.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The most popular of all German castles is only 3 km away from Füssen. The direct inspiration for Disney's Cinderella Castle, this fairy-tale castle is well known worldwide. It's fairly new as far as castles go, being commissioned in 1882, and was built by order of King Ludwig II as a picturesque retreat.
The castle is extremely popular. Admission is only via guided tour (about 25 minutes), and it's highly advisable to buy tickets online at least a month in advance. If you cannot score tickets online, you can try your luck for same-day tickets at Ticket-Center Hohenschwangau, Alpseestraße 12; tickets typically sell out before noon, and even if you get one, you may need to wait for many hours until your allocated time. Allow time to walk up to the castle (30 min uphill) or take the shuttle bus (€3/3.50 one-way/return). Make sure to sit behind the driver while bussing to the castles. Taking photographs is prohibited inside the castle. To get the picture postcard view of the castle, continue another 15 minutes uphill to Marienbrücke, which is also the drop-off point for the shuttle buses. It's one of four castles making up the world heritage site of Ludwig II's late 19th century castles.
Füssen is on the Via Claudia — the old Roman road from Donauwörth over the Alps to Venice. You can travel the Via Claudia (or parts of it) by bike.
Another castle, this one is a ruin, a short distance from Füssen, near Pfronten. There is a great hotel and restaurant nearby, but driving there is a bit tricky.
The smallest of the three castles the "Fairy Tale King" Ludwig II had built. It is also the only one of them that was finished during his lifetime, and it became his home from 1876. It's one of four castles making up the world heritage site of Ludwig II's late 19th century castles.
This pilgrimage church is one of the world's great rococo masterpieces, a 10-minute bus ride from Fussen in nearby Steingaden. A work of Dominikus Zimmermann and his brother Johann Baptist, it has been designated a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. Two bus trips daily; check at the station or Fussen tourist office for departure times.