Minibus Hire Across Germany

Neuschwanstein and Füssen by Coach: Tickets, Parking, Timings

A Neuschwanstein day goes wrong for one of three reasons: no tickets, the wrong car park, or a group that reaches the castle after its tour time. Each one is fixed in the planning.

Tickets before anything else

Every Neuschwanstein visit is a guided tour, roughly half an hour long, starting at a set time. There are only two places to buy: the official online shop and the ticket centre at Alpseestraße 12 in Hohenschwangau. The castle itself sells nothing. Tickets bought on the spot work only for that day and can be sold out early on summer days. Groups buy online, well ahead.

A tour does not wait. If the group is late, the slot is lost. The ticket centre's own advice is to reach the village 1.5 to 2 hours before a Neuschwanstein time, and at least an hour before a Hohenschwangau castle tour.

Mercedes-Benz Tourismo 49-seat coach, exterior
Mercedes-Benz Tourismo 49-seat coach, exterior

P1 or P4, nowhere else

In Hohenschwangau a coach may use P1 or P4 and no other car park; cars and campers have P2 and P3. Stopping is forbidden along the whole street, outside the ticket centre included, so there is no door-side drop. Neither coaches nor cars may drive up to the castles.

Luggage, prams and baby carriers are not allowed into the castle. Bags stay on the coach.

Airports for a group flying into Füssen

Day trips by coach from Füssen

  • Hohenschwangau (Neuschwanstein ticket centre) — about 4 km, about 5 min
  • Reutte, Austria — about 19 km, about 20 min
  • Wieskirche — about 27 km, about 30 min
  • Oberammergau — about 48 km, about 50 min
  • Garmisch-Partenkirchen (shortest route via Reutte, Austria) — about 60 km, about 1 h
  • Schloss Linderhof (via Oberammergau) — about 61 km, about 1 h 5 min
  • Landsberg am Lech — about 73 km, about 1 h
  • Lindau (Lake Constance) — about 104 km, about 1 h 25 min
  • Augsburg — about 107 km, about 1 h 20 min
  • Innsbruck, Austria — about 110 km, about 1 h 35 min
  • München — about 129 km, about 1 h 40 min

Coach rules in Füssen that change the plan

  • Flughafen München (MUC) is about 161 km by road from Füssen, about 1 h 50 min in light traffic. Memmingen Airport (FMM) is closer, about 83 km (about 55 min). München city centre is about 129 km (about 1 h 40 min).
  • Füssen station is the nearest railway station to the castles; regional buses run from Füssen to the stop "Hohenschwangau Neuschwanstein Castles, Schwangau".
  • Füssen, Schwangau and Hohenschwangau have no low-emission zone.
  • Neuschwanstein tickets: the castle is seen only on a guided tour at a fixed entry time, with limited capacity. Tickets are sold in the official online ticket shop and at the Ticket Center Hohenschwangau (Alpseestraße 12) only; there is no ticket sale at the castle. On-site tickets are for the same day only, sell out early in high season, and small extra quotas are released from 08:00 each day. Buy online well ahead for groups.
  • The ticket centre sells tickets from 08:00 to 16:00 (28 March to 15 October) and 08:00 to 15:30 (16 October to 27 March). The castle is open 09:00 to 18:00 and 10:00 to 16:00 in the same seasons, every day except 1 January and 24, 25 and 31 December. Tours start on time; a late group loses its tour.
  • Allow time: the ticket centre recommends being in Hohenschwangau at least 1.5 to 2 hours before the Neuschwanstein entry time (at least 1 hour for Hohenschwangau castle). Luggage, prams and baby carriers may not be taken into the castle; leave bags in the coach.
  • Coach parking at Hohenschwangau: coaches park only in the numbered car parks P1 and P4 (P2 and P3 are for cars; campers may park only in P2). There is an absolute no-stopping zone on the whole street area and in front of the ticket centre, so coaches cannot drop off there. Driving up to the castles is forbidden for coaches and cars.
  • From Hohenschwangau to Neuschwanstein: on foot about 30 to 40 minutes (about 1.5 km, steep); by the shuttle bus from the Alpsee car park P4 to the "Jugend" viewpoint by the Marienbrücke, then about 500 m (10 to 15 minutes) steeply downhill to the castle; or by horse-drawn carriage from opposite the Hotel Müller to below the castle, then about 450 m uphill. The shuttle bus and carriages run on demand without a timetable and cannot be reserved.
  • The shuttle bus runs about every 20 minutes and the ride takes about 15 minutes, plus waiting time. It does not run on snowy or icy roads, nor on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January; in winter, plan for the walk.
  • Coach parking in Füssen (all paid): P1 Festplatz (fairground, about 40 coaches), P3 Morisse (about 10 coaches, about 5 minutes on foot from the old town), P7 boat harbour for the Forggensee cruises (about 6 coaches) and P8 Festspielhaus Neuschwanstein (about 20 coaches).
  • The Füssen old town is mostly a pedestrian or traffic-calmed zone open only to vehicles up to 7.5 t; use the Morisse coach park. In Bad Faulenbach, coaches up to 14 m long may stop to load and unload but not park.
  • The shortest road to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Zugspitze runs through Austria (Reutte, Ehrwald); the all-German route through Oberammergau is about 67 km (about 1 h 10 min). Winter conditions apply on these mountain roads: German law requires winter tyres in ice or snow, for coaches at least on the permanently driven axles and the front steering axles.
  • A Neuschwanstein day trip from Munich is about 260 km of driving and falls under the EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006): no more than 9 hours' driving a day (10 hours twice a week) and a break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours' driving.

Getting up the hill

On foot it is about 1.5 km and steep, 30 to 40 minutes. The shuttle bus leaves from the Alpsee car park P4 about every 20 minutes, takes about 15 minutes plus waiting, and stops at the Jugend viewpoint by the Marienbrücke; from there it is about 500 m, 10 to 15 minutes, steeply downhill. Horse-drawn carriages start opposite the Hotel Müller and stop below the castle; the last 450 m or so is uphill on foot.

You cannot reserve the shuttle or the carriages, and the shuttle does not run on snow or ice. In winter, plan for the walk and add time.

Long days and Füssen itself

From Munich the round trip is about 260 km of driving. EU drivers' hours permit 9 hours of driving per day, or 10 on two days a week, and after 4.5 hours of driving the driver takes at least 45 minutes off. Add the castle time and the day is long, so leave early and set a realistic return.

In Füssen, coaches park at P1 Festplatz, P3 Morisse, about five minutes on foot from the centre, P7 by the boat harbour, handy for a Forggensee cruise, or P8 at the Festspielhaus. The old town is closed to anything heavier than 7.5 t, so use the Morisse. The quickest road to Garmisch passes through Reutte in Austria; staying in Germany via Oberammergau, it is about 67 km.

Questions organisers ask

Can we buy tickets at the castle?

No. Tickets are sold only online and at the ticket centre in Hohenschwangau. Buy group tickets online well in advance.

Which airport is best for Füssen?

Memmingen (FMM) is about 83 km, roughly 55 minutes. Munich Airport is further, about 161 km, nearly two hours.

Can the coach wait outside the ticket centre?

No. The whole street is a no-stopping zone. The coach parks in P1 or P4 and the group walks from there.

Other group trips we arrange

Vehicles with a driver