Munich - Neuschwanstein

Many people recommended I see this classic "fairy tale" style castle, and it was worth it! Very stylised unlike the more functional castles I'd seen elsewhere - this was more like a palace. The castle was situated in some stunning scenery too.

The story behind it is also kinda funny: the king wanted a classic middle-ages castle, which he knew about only from stories, so he had some actual middle-ages castle ruins removed to make way for his idealised version. He also had two other hugely expensive palaces underway, refusing requests to reduce spending, when he was declared insane and moved to an asylum where he promptly drowned under mysterious circumstances.

Unfortunately the Marienbrücke (Queen Mary's Bridge), which normally has the best views, was closed for renovation, so I guess I'll have to come again another time!

The area also had another castle (Hohenschwangau, #6) that, confusingly, was built on the site of the old Schwanstein castle, while Neuschwanstein was built on the site of the old Hohenschwangau castle, so they effectively swapped names.Read more