The good news is that you don't need to pronounce Neuschwanstein to visit it and 1.3 million people do every year.
The castle is located in southern, Germany in the Bavaria region, 4 km from the City of Fussen and just north of the Austrian border. It was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria It was built between 1869 and 1886 with the interior never fully completed. In fact, only 15 of 200 rooms were completed per Ludwig's design.
Though Schloss Neuschwanstein is the most recognized castle commissioned by Ludwig, there are two others. One of them, Schloss Hohenschwangau (photo below) is located less than one kilometers away. Both castles are in view of each other.
These castles are famous because of their architecture and location. The views from Neuschwanstein are outstanding.
The best views of Neuschwanstein castle are taken from the Mary's Bridge (photo of the bridge from Neuschwanstein below). These are the photos you see in all of the travel brochures so be sure to take your own. Mary's bridge is about a 10 minute walk around the backside of the castle.
The photos below are of Neuschwanstein from the path to Mary's bridge and the castle courtyard fore shot and back shot.
To tour the castles, you must first make a reservation, including a date and time. Even though you have a reservation, your ticket is not guaranteed unless you pick it up two hours before your reserved tour time. Both castles may be visited together or independently. You do not need a ticket if you do not want to go into the castles; visiting the grounds is free of charge. We toured both castles. Each tour was about 30 minutes long and included a guided group visit of approximately 15 rooms. No photos are permitted inside either of the castles.
While waiting for our tours, we took in the nearby, stunning Alpsee Lake.
Hohenschwangau is a 20 minute walk uphill and Neuschwanstein a 40 minute walk. Alternatively, you can take a horse drawn carriage up, and/or down most of the way. A shuttle bus is also available for Neuschwanstein. Regardless of how you go up, about 10 minutes of uphill walking is required. We opted for the carriage ride down :)
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