Skip to content
CurveScout

CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Neuschwanstein Castle and Rose Island

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
344 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 07
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

344 km from Füssen to Füssen, about 6 h 07 of riding. On the way it passes King's House on Schachen, Linderhof Castle, Rose Island and back through Linderhof Castle. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,600 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Scenic road chapters

German Alpine Road

Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 42 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.

Rider note

Check the pass is open before you commit to it.

Chapter facts
Length
42 km
Named road
German Alpine Road
Pass
Ammersattel

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Neuschwanstein Castle

    King Ludwig II of Bavaria began building Neuschwanstein in 1869 as a private dream, a medieval knight's castle with all the comforts of the nineteenth century, including central heating and running water. He never saw it finished, and he lived there for only a handful of months. In 1886 he was declared unfit to rule and removed, and he died a few days later in the Starnberger See, in circumstances that are still debated. Within weeks the castle was opened to the public to pay off his debts, and it has been admired ever since. Walt Disney's designers are said to have taken inspiration from it.

    Read the complete Neuschwanstein Castle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Neuschwanstein Castle is where the day begins. Next is King's House on Schachen.

  2. 2. King's House on Schachen

    This is one of the few royal residences in Europe that you cannot reach by any road, and King Ludwig II of Bavaria would have liked it that way. The King's House on Schachen stands on a high alpine meadow at about 1,866 metres in the Wetterstein mountains, south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, below the jagged walls of the range that culminates in the Zugspitze. Ludwig had it built between 1869 and 1872 as a mountain retreat, and from the outside it looks like a modest Swiss chalet. Inside, upstairs, is a fantasy: the Turkish Hall, a room of blue, gold and red, with a fountain, peacock-feather fans, divans and stained glass, where the king liked to celebrate his birthday dressed in oriental costume while his servants smoked hookahs.

    Read the complete King's House on Schachen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    King's House on Schachen comes up 45 km in. Next is Linderhof Castle.

  3. 3. Linderhof Castle

    Of all the palaces King Ludwig II of Bavaria dreamed up, Linderhof is the only one he saw finished, and it is the one he actually lived in for long periods. Hidden in the Graswang valley in the Ammergau Alps, it is a small, extravagant rococo villa inspired by Versailles, with gilded rooms, a hall of mirrors and a dining table that rose from the kitchen below so that the shy king could eat without seeing servants. The park around it is full of follies: a Moorish kiosk, a Moroccan house and, most famous of all, the Venus Grotto, an artificial cave with a lake, a shell-shaped boat and coloured lighting, built so Ludwig could imagine himself in a Wagner opera. Linderhof belongs to the group of Ludwig's palaces recently listed by UNESCO.

    Read the complete Linderhof Castle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    90 km in you reach Linderhof Castle. Next is Rose Island.

  4. 4. Rose Island

    Lake Starnberg, south-west of Munich, is the lake where Bavaria's Fairy Tale King met his end. Ludwig II drowned in its waters near Berg in 1886, in circumstances that are still debated, and a cross stands in the lake where his body was found. On the opposite shore, near Feldafing, lies the small Roseninsel, or Rose Island, the only island in the lake. Ludwig's father Maximilian II had a little villa built there, surrounded by a rose garden, and Ludwig used it as a retreat, sometimes meeting his cousin, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, who spent her childhood at nearby Possenhofen.

    Read the complete Rose Island write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Rose Island, about halfway. Next is back through Linderhof Castle.

  5. 5. back through Linderhof Castle

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Linderhof Castle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Linderhof Castle sits at 180 km, about halfway. Next is back through King's House on Schachen.

  6. 6. back through King's House on Schachen

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete King's House on Schachen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through King's House on Schachen comes up 225 km in. Next is Neuschwanstein Castle.

  7. 7. Neuschwanstein Castle

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Neuschwanstein Castle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Neuschwanstein Castle closes the day.

Leg by leg

Neuschwanstein Castle to King's House on Schachen

Neuschwanstein Castle → King's House on Schachen is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

King's House on Schachen to Linderhof Castle

King's House on Schachen → Linderhof Castle is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Linderhof Castle to Rose Island

Linderhof Castle → Rose Island is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Rose Island to back through Linderhof Castle

Rose Island → back through Linderhof Castle is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Linderhof Castle to back through King's House on Schachen

back through Linderhof Castle → back through King's House on Schachen is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through King's House on Schachen to Neuschwanstein Castle

back through King's House on Schachen → Neuschwanstein Castle is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

More motorcycle rides nearby