Linderhof or Neuschwanstein? And where Hohenschwangau fits
The three doors in 2026
Exact figures, so they live in a table. Outside a table, figures on this site are approximate, because fares move.
| Linderhof | Neuschwanstein | Hohenschwangau | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | €11 | €21 | €23.50 |
| Service fee | None | €2.50 | €2.50 |
| Under 18 | Free | Free | €12 (7–17); under 7 free |
| Reduced | €10 | €20 | €19.50 |
| Tour | about 25 min, guided only | about 35 min, guided only | about 45 min, guided only |
| 2025 visitors | 417,692 | 1,086,432 | Not published by the administration |
Two things in that table that need explaining
The service fee. Linderhof is run by the Bavarian Palace Administration and sells its own tickets at its own desk. Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau tickets are both sold through the Hohenschwangau ticket centre, which is why they carry a booking fee and Linderhof does not.
The empty visitor cell, and why it is not really empty. Hohenschwangau’s numbers are not in the administration’s annual figures because it is not one of the administration’s sites: it belongs to the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, the foundation set up under the 1923 settlement, and the state does not count other people’s turnstiles. Who owns what has the settlement.
How much busier Neuschwanstein is
The two published figures are in the table above and they are worth dividing rather than glancing at. Neuschwanstein counted more than a million visitors in 2025; Linderhof counted fewer than half a million. Neuschwanstein took 2.6 visitors for every one Linderhof took.
That is the single most useful line for deciding between them, and it points both ways. If you want the building everybody has seen, it is the busy one, and the crowd is part of what you are buying. If what you want is a palace you can be in without queueing, Linderhof is the quieter one.
What each one actually gives you
| Linderhof | Neuschwanstein | |
|---|---|---|
| The building | Small, finished in 1878, the only one of the three he saw completed | Large, unfinished — around 15 rooms of more than 200 planned |
| Inside | About 25 minutes, guided, up to 40 people | About 35 minutes, guided |
| Outside | A park by Carl von Effner, free, with fountains April to October | A hillside setting |
| The thing nowhere else has | The Venus Grotto — an artificial cave with a lake, electrically lit from 1877, reopened April 2025 | — |
| Getting in on the day | Tours every five to ten minutes | Timed tickets through the Hohenschwangau ticket centre |
Is it worth going inside Hohenschwangau?
This is not a Hohenschwangau site, so it does not make a recommendation there.
What is checkable is in the table above: it is the dearest of the three at the door, it carries the same booking fee as Neuschwanstein because the same office sells it, its tour is the longest of the three at about forty-five minutes, children of seven to seventeen pay rather than going free, and its visitor numbers are not published by the administration. Decide on those.
Doing both in a day, which is what the platform sells
This is the shape of nearly the whole catalogue. Of the eighteen listings that name Linderhof in their title, fourteen also name Neuschwanstein, and only four treat Linderhof as the place you are going. One listing in the catalogue goes to Linderhof and nowhere else.
So a Munich day trip is a Neuschwanstein trip with Linderhof added, and it works — the two are near enough to pair and the driving is the part you cannot easily do yourself. What it is not is a shortcut into either building.
The listing most people book is the Munich day trip that takes in Neuschwanstein first and Linderhof after it. Read its inclusion list to the end before you assume you are getting in: the castle entry tickets sit there as “Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castle entry tickets (if option selected)”, which is the listing’s own wording and not the same thing as included. What each listing does about admission works through all of them.
One listing says so in its own exclusions: “Admission to Linderhof Palace *usually only an exterior visit”. It is the cheapest way here and that is why, which is a fair trade if the gardens and the drive are what you came for. It is printed on its card, and every other listing either writes the entry into the price or leaves you to buy at the door.
If you are doing both in one day and you only want to pay to go inside one of them, pay at Linderhof. It is the cheaper door, there is no booking fee, the tours leave every few minutes so you are not tied to a timed slot the coach might miss, and the grotto is here rather than there.
The listings that pair them
The one everybody booksFrom Munich: Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castle Full-Day Trip
Small group, more roomFrom Munich: Premium Neuschwanstein Castle & Linderhof Tour
Exterior visit, lowest priceMunich: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof Group or Private Tour
Three of the eighteen are rated by more than twenty-five people; ten carry fewer than that and five have no rating at all. One listing holds 90% of every rating given to the Linderhof set. All twenty-one listings, grouped by what they actually are.
Read next
- Ludwig’s three palaces.
- Who owns which, and why the fees differ.
- Which is the “most beautiful” — and the most visited.
- Is Linderhof worth it?
Frequently asked questions
Which is more interesting, Hohenschwangau or Linderhof?
What is checkable: Linderhof is the cheaper door with no booking fee, a shorter tour and the Venus Grotto; Hohenschwangau is the dearest of the three, has the longest tour at about 45 minutes, charges for children aged 7 to 17, and is owned by the family foundation rather than the state.
Is it worth going inside Hohenschwangau Castle?
The key facts: it is the dearest of the three at the door, it carries the same booking fee as Neuschwanstein because the same ticket centre sells both, and its tour runs about 45 minutes.
Can you do Neuschwanstein and Linderhof in one day from Munich?
That is what most of the catalogue sells: of the eighteen listings naming Linderhof in their title, fourteen also name Neuschwanstein. Read the inclusion list to the end — the most-booked listing files castle entry tickets as “if option selected”, and two listings state that the Linderhof stop is usually an exterior visit only.