Neuschwanstein Castle & Linderhof Palace 
Private Day Tour

Neuschwanstein Castle

With around 1.5 million visitors, Neuschwanstein Castle, which is often referred to as Disney Castle is one of the most popular sights in Germany. King Ludwig II of Bavaria built Neuschwanstein around 150 years ago as an ideal image of a medieval castle, but it was actually a very modern building for the time. Central heating, telephone, running water and even a flush toilet were part of the advanced equipment of Neuschwanstein. On a guided tour you will get to know the interior of the palace, only a third of which was completed and which was opened to visitors just a few weeks after the king's tragic death. The Throne Hall and the Bedroom are certainly among the most impressive rooms in Neuschwanstein Castle.

 

Neuschwanstein Castle Throne Hall

The throne room is certainly one of the most impressive rooms in Neuschwanstein Castle, even if it never had a throne. The hall, which looks like the interior of a Byzantine church, illustrates Ludwig's understanding of royalty like no other. The starry sky in the dome stands for the heavenly and divine, the floor with its mosaic depictions of animals and plants the earthly. In between the mighty chandelier in the form of a crown, which stands for Ludwig as ruler and mediator between heaven and earth. However, Ludwig's power was limited because as a king in a constitutional monarchy he had to share his power with ministers and a parliament. Here his castles helped him as a backdrop for his fantasies, because here he was allowed to feel like a real ruler, in the case of Neuschwanstein like a medieval king.

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Neuschwanstein Castle Bedroom

The bedroom impresses with its artistic and elaborate wood carvings, so the bed looks almost like a Gothic cathedral made of wood in miniature format. This room became the place of fate for the Bavarian king. Here he was arrested for alleged mental illness and then taken to Lake Starnberg, where he eventually died under unexplained circumstances. The Throne Hall, the bedroom and many other rooms of the castle you can visit in advance on a Neuschwanstein virtual tour.

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Linderhof Palace

After the visit of Neuschwanstein we'll continue your private tour to Linderhof Castle, where King Ludwig created a completely different dream world. It was not the Middle Ages that served as a model here, but the time of French absolutism and the fairytale Orient. The original plan to build an image of Versailles failed due to lack of space and so King Ludwig built a baroque gem with Linderhof Palace, surrounded by magical places such as the Moorish kiosk or the famous Venus Grotto.

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Linderhof Palace Interiors

The interior of Linderhof Palace is so rich in details that you don't know where to look first. As the only completed palace, it was also Ludwig's preferred abode, where he spent most of his time.

One of the most famous rooms is probably the dining room, because this is where the Magic Table is located, a table that could be sunk into the floor so that it could be set one floor below and then moved back to the first floor. But the rich, gilded stucco work and wood carvings as well as the opulent ceiling frescoes attract attention.

In the Hall of Mirrors, the impression of infinity is created because hardly a square centimeter of the wall is not covered by mirrors. This room also houses the palace's most valuable piece of furniture, a chandelier made entirely of ivory and composed of around 400 individual parts.

The bedroom impresses particularly with its enormous dimensions , in addition to the opulent furnishings. This clearly shows the motivation behind the castle to recreate the life of the Sun King Louis XIV, who ruled 200 years ago. Because at the French court the first and last audience of the day took place in the king's bedroom, which was accordingly large and impressively furnished. Just like the rooms of Neuschwanstein Castle, the interior can also be visited on a Linderhof Palace virtual tour.

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Linderhof Palace Exteriors

But not only the inside of Linderhof Palace is worth seeing, the outdoor facilities are also a top attraction. Whether oriental buildings like the Moroccan House or the Moorish Kiosk, the fountain in the park of Linderhof Palace or the Hundinghütte, all witnesses of Ludwig's longing for another world. The highlight of the outdoor facilities is certainly the Venus Grotto, an artificial grotto with a small lake, an image from opera scenes by Richard Wagner and the Blue Grotto in Capri. It was not only a romantic retreat for King Ludwig, but also a technical achievement of the time. Electric light illuminated the grotto in different colors, a heating system ensured pleasant temperatures and even waves could be created artificially in the small lake.

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Oberammergau

Oberammergau is another optional sight of your private tour. Although it only has 5,000 inhabitants,  3 things make the charming place in the Ammergauer Alps world famous - the Passion Play, the Oberammergau wood carvings and the brightly painted facades.

The history of the Passion Play goes back almost 400 years. During a plague epidemic, the residents of Oberammergau vowed to play the Passion of Christ every 10 years in order to drive the plague out of the village. Since then, the Passion Play has been performed here every ten years. Particularly impressive, only locals are allowed to take part in the Passion Play and every time half the village is involved, around 2,500 people, from small children to senior citizens.

The history of wood carvers is also several centuries old. The farmers earned an additional income here in the winter and carved all kinds of things, from kitchen utensils to toys and statues of saints. Traveling traders then sold these objects all over Europe and made the Oberammergau wood carvings famous and a treasured souvenir nowadays. So that the youngsters don't run out, there is even a state vocational school for wood carvers in Oberammergau today.

In earlier centuries Oberammergau was part of a trade route from Italy to Germany. The tradition of painting the facades of houses with motifs of saints, the occupation of the house owner or architectural elements such as stairs and columns dates from this time. Because the traders brought not only goods from Italy, but also the painting of facades, which was common in the Italian Renaissance.

And with the Oberammergau Alpine Coaster, your day tour also has something to offer for children. Jet down into the valley on one of the world's longest weatherproof toboggan runs, over 73 curves and at a top speed of up to 25 miles / hour.

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Ettal Abbey

Ettal Abbey is a real sight, both from an ecclesiastical and secular point of view. The monastery complex, which was founded in the 14th century, with its baroque basilica and its huge dome is one of the highlights of church architecture in Bavaria. But secular concerns are also taken into account, because the monastery has been running its own brewery since the 17th century, in which the famous Ettal beers are brewed. A distillery emerged from the former monastery pharmacy, which has been producing Ettal liqueurs according to old recipes for around 4 centuries. Both the beer and the liqueur are nice souvenirs that you can buy in the Ettal Abbey gift shop.