Page 502 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

73 (www.rvo-bus.de) run there
d Füssen from Füssen Bahnhof (€4.40
return, eight minutes, at least
Nestled at the foot of the hourly, buy tickets from the PAUL BIRIS / GETTY IMAGES ©
Alps, tourist-busy Füssen driver).
is all about the nearby
castles of Neuschwan- TRIP HIGHLIGHT
stein and Hohenschwan-
gau, but there are other e Neuschwanstein
reasons to linger longer & Hohenschwangau
in the area. The town’s castles
historical centre is worth
half a day’s exploration The undisputed high-
lights of any trip to
and, from here, you can
easily escape from the Bavaria, these two castles
make a fitting climax to
crowds into a landscape the Romantic Road.
of gentle hiking trails Schloss Neuschwan-
and Alpine vistas. When
you’ve had your fill of stein (%tickets 08362-930
these, take an hour or 830; www.neuschwanstein.
two to drop by Füssen’s de; Neuschwansteinstrasse
20; adult/concession €12/11,
very own castle, the
Hohes Schloss (Magnus- incl Hohenschwangau €23/21;
GERMANY 35 THE ROMANTIc ROAD
platz 10; adult/concession h9am-6pm Apr–mid-Oct,
10am-4pm mid-Oct–Mar) was
€6/4; hgalleries 11am-5pm the model for Disney’s
Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 1-4pm Fri-Sun Sleeping Beauty castle.
Nov-Mar), today home to
an art gallery. King Ludwig II planned
this fairy-tale pile
54 p503 himself, with the help of
a stage designer rather
The Drive » To drive to King than an architect. He
Ludwig II’s castles, take the B17
across the river until you see envisioned it as a giant
the signs for Hohenschwangau. stage on which to recre-
Parking is at a premium in ate the world of Germanic
summer. However, as the castles mythology, inspired by
are a mere 4km from the centre the operatic works of his
of Füssen it’s probably not worth friend Richard Wagner.
driving at all. RVO buses 78 and
TOP TIP:
VISITING NEUSCHWANSTEIN &
HOHENSCHWANGAU CASTLES
The castles can only be visited on guided tours (35 minutes). Buy timed tickets from
the Ticket Centre (%08362-930 830; www.hohenschwangau.de; Alpenseestrasse 12; h8am-
5.30pm Apr–mid-Oct, 9am-3.30pm mid-Oct–Mar) at the foot of the castles. In summer, arrive
as early as 8am to ensure you get in that day.

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