Hohenschwangau Castle from Munich: Tickets, Tours and the Yellow Castle Below Neuschwanstein

A Hunting Lodge Rebuilt for a King

Hohenschwangau Castle was rebuilt by Maximilian II, Ludwig II's father, starting in 1832 and finished in 1837. It stands on the remains of an older fortress and became the Wittelsbach family's summer home. Ludwig II spent much of his childhood here, and the castle sits directly below Neuschwanstein, which he later built on the hill above.

Ludwig laid the foundation stone for Neuschwanstein on 5 September 1869, and from the Hohenschwangau terraces he could watch the new castle rise. Where Neuschwanstein was a fantasy built for one man, Hohenschwangau was a real family residence, furnished and lived in through the 19th century.

Why It Matters on a Munich Day Trip

Both castles share the same village, Hohenschwangau, and the same Ticket Center. Munich sits 118.2 km away, about 1 hour 45 minutes by car with no traffic, and coach tours budget about 2 hours each way. That means any day trip from Munich covering the yellow castle is a 10-11 hour day.

The interior is only visitable on a timed guided tour of about 30-35 minutes, and photography inside is not allowed. The castle closes over the winter holidays: 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. Most visitors who come for the day combine both castle tours, or see Hohenschwangau from outside while they focus on the hill above.

Official Ticket Prices

An adult ticket costs €23.50 ($26.80). Ages 7-17 pay €12.00 ($13.68), children under 7 go free, and the reduced rate is €19.50. Every ticket booked online carries a €2.50 ($2.85) booking fee, children included.

That makes the real adult total €26.00. Tickets are sold online or at the Ticket Center in Hohenschwangau village, never at the castle door. A limited number of same-day tickets go on sale at the Ticket Center from 8:00, and on busy days they are gone by late morning.

Buying ahead matters most in July and August, when timed slots can sell out 2-3 weeks in advance.

No Combined Discount

There is no discounted combined ticket for the two castles. Each one runs its own timed guided tour and each charges separately, so an adult doing both interiors pays the Neuschwanstein rate on top of the Hohenschwangau rate. For the Neuschwanstein side of the bill, see Neuschwanstein tickets.

The table below compares what an adult pays through each route, using the official price list and the tour operators' own booking terms.

What the Tours Charge

Some Munich tours sell the Hohenschwangau ticket on the coach instead of including it. The Mentor Reisen two-castle day charges €48 ($54.73) per adult for both castles, or €17 for ages 7-17 and €5 for ages 0-6, bought on the coach. The Gray Line late start sells both castles for €47 ($53.59) by debit or credit card on the bus.

The difference over face value buys a guaranteed slot that fits the coach timetable, which matters on summer days when slots sell out weeks ahead.

Ticket and Price Comparison

The table compares every way an adult can buy the Hohenschwangau Castle interior on a day from Munich. Official figures come from the Bavarian palace price list, and tour figures from each operator's own booking terms. Check the current official price list before travel, because fees and opening patterns change.

Where a figure differs between two operator documents, both are given.

How the Two-castle Tours Price Up

Only some Munich tours put Hohenschwangau Castle inside as a proper stop with an optional interior tour. Both sell the tickets themselves, so the interior is never free. On the Mentor day the €48 covers both castles, on the Gray Line late start the €47 does the same, and both figures beat the true walk-up total of two face-value tickets plus two online fees.

The table above shows the full spread.

A Guided Tour Only

You cannot wander the castle on your own. Entry is only on a timed guided tour, led by palace staff, and the visit runs about 30-35 minutes through the finished rooms. Photography inside is not allowed, and backpacks, strollers and bulky bags must be left behind.

Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. The castle opens its tours 9:00-16:30 in summer and 10:00-16:00 in winter. It closes on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 January.

The rest of your time in the village goes on the walk between the castles, the lake and lunch.

How Two Castle Tours Fit a Day

Each interior tour takes about half an hour, but the whole two-castle day is much longer. The Mentor Reisen day gives roughly 4 hours in Hohenschwangau with both tours, lunch and the Marienbrücke, and the bus runs 10 hours door to door. Do both tours early in your time slot window, because the last Hohenschwangau tours leave well before the last Neuschwanstein ones in summer, when the big castle runs tours until 18:00.

Which Castle Is Better?

Neuschwanstein is the bigger show. It has about 1.3-1.4 million visitors a year, it entered the UNESCO World Heritage list with the other Ludwig palaces, and its Marienbrücke view is the one on every postcard. But only 14 of more than 200 planned rooms were ever finished, and Ludwig spent just 172 days there before his death on 13 June 1886.

Hohenschwangau is smaller, calmer and fully furnished, because people actually lived in it. If you want the postcard and the crowd, choose Neuschwanstein. If you want the history and a roomier tour, the yellow castle rewards you more.

Is Hohenschwangau Castle Worth Visiting?

It is worth it if you already have the day in the village, because the two interiors tell one story: the father's house below, the son's fantasy above. It is also the easier visit, since the castle sits at village level with no steep 1.5 km climb, no shuttle bus and no bridge that closes for ice. The walk from Neuschwanstein back down takes well under half an hour.

If you only have time or budget for one interior, most Munich day trippers pick Neuschwanstein and see Hohenschwangau from outside, which costs nothing and still reads clearly as a building.

Walking Between the Two Castles

Yes, you can walk from Neuschwanstein down to Hohenschwangau, and most visitors do it in the opposite direction on a steep paved path. The walk up to Neuschwanstein from the village is about 1.5 km and takes 30-40 minutes. The path between the two castles and the Ticket Center is short and downhill going back, so a two-castle day on foot is entirely doable as long as your timed slots leave a gap between tours.

Tours with the Interior Inside

The Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau day from Mentor Reisen at $80 is built around both castles, with an English live guide, up to 30 people, a full day in the village and free time for lunch and the Marienbrücke. Book the option with entrance fees, or buy both castle tickets on the coach for €48 per adult. The Gray Line late start tour at $86 leaves Karlsplatz at 9:30 AM and offers optional guided tours of both castles at 45 minutes each, plus about an hour at the Marienbrücke and time by the Alpsee.

Its two-castle ticket bundle is €47, paid by card on the coach.

Tours That Pass It

Mike's Bike Tours sees Hohenschwangau Castle from outside only on its coaster and winter days. The alpine coaster and Oberammergau day at $87 stops for lunch at a brewery with a view of it, then hikes to the Marienbrücke. The winter tour with Christmas market walk at $115 gives about 4 hours in the village but the interior of Hohenschwangau is not part of it.

Several other days pass through the village: the Radius train tour at $90 views Hohenschwangau Castle from outside on its walk around the grounds and the Alpsee. Note that Mike's sells its Neuschwanstein skip-the-line ticket for €26.50 cash on the bus, and the listing itself shows €26.00 in one place and €26.50 in another, so expect the higher figure.

Tours That Include It in the Price Already

No tour on the site has the Hohenschwangau Castle ticket baked into its headline price the way some include Neuschwanstein. The Mentor and Gray Line late start days both treat it as an option or a coach sale. If you want interiors guaranteed with zero cash on the day, a tour like The Local Experience small-group train day at $158 includes the Neuschwanstein ticket in advance, but Hohenschwangau's interior is not on that itinerary either.

Buying the €23.50 ticket yourself online is the only way to hold the yellow castle slot outside those two coach days.

Tour Comparison Table

The table compares the Munich tours that touch Hohenschwangau Castle in any way, with the headline price, what you actually get there and how the castle ticket is handled. Figures come from each tour listing's own terms.

The Alpsee

The Alpsee sits a few minutes' walk from the castle on the village side, and on warm days people swim in it. The Radius train tour builds in a swim when time and weather allow, and the Gray Line late start leaves free time for a walk around it. In summer the water is calm, the mountain backdrop is close, and it is the easiest way to spend a spare 45 minutes between castle slots without another ticket.

The Museum of the Bavarian Kings

The Museum of the Bavarian Kings stands in the village between the two castles, open 9:00-16:30, and costs €14.50. It covers the Wittelsbach family story that both castles come from, which makes it a good filler if one of your timed tours is later than the other. It is also the natural bad-weather option, since the museum does not depend on the shuttle bus, the carriages or the Marienbrücke staying open.

Winter and Closure Notes

Hohenschwangau Castle itself keeps winter hours of 10:00-16:00 and only shuts on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. The things around it are less reliable. The Marienbrücke often closes for ice and snow through much of the winter, the shuttle bus stops in those conditions, and the horse-drawn carriages run April to October only.

In 2026 the through road in Schwangau is closed for works until about mid-December, with a signed detour via Hohenschwangau. Plan the yellow castle as the anchor of a winter visit, because it is the part least likely to shut.