Germany – Visiting Schloss Linderhof
Schloss Linderhof is unlike Ludwig II’s other castles, specifically in size. But do not let the small stature of this palace dissuade you from making a trip into the German countryside for a visit. The interior is like walking into a Harry Potter camping tent, except everything is completely covered in Rococo motifs and gold leaf. The gardens and fountain are also a place to sigh and pretend you are in another time, which is one of the favorite activities of its original owner – Ludwig II. As the only castle he saw to completion and is constructed for one person, you get a peek into what Ludwig II truly desired.
Initial Impressions of Schloss Linderhof
From the parking platz (parking lot), it is a couple minute walk to get to the ticket window. There is also a gift shop near the ticket window where you can have an espresso, if you are feeling sleepy like I was. Then it is another 10 minute walk to get to the castle. The walk is on a beautiful path through the trees. The fall colors were just appearing when we arrived.
From the walking path, you approach Schloss Linderhof from the right. The gardens, fountain, and ornate building are shocking after being in the germany countryside. Also surprising is the size of Linderhof. It is quite petite! Don’t let the size dissuade you from taking the tour because the inside is stunning.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 4 (out of 4) stars – would definitely do it again!
- Intensity: Cute outfit with walking shoes
- Location: Southern German countryside, about 15 minutes from Oberammergau and an hour from Garmisch-Parkenkirken
- Cost: 8.50€ for the palace tour, 3€ for parking
- Timing: 2 -3 hours
Highlights:
- Palace is quite small, but extremely opulent on the inside
- Gardens and surrounding hillsides areas are lovely
- Tours are efficiently organized, especially for being in a small space
Lowlights
- No pictures allowed inside the palace during the tour
The turnstiles have numbers correlated with your tour number. When we arrived, the waiting area was in the direct sun, so we waited until it was two minutes before our time. The tour lasts around 30 minutes and takes you through the upper floor of the palace.
Tour of Schloss Linderhof
First, you enter through the main entrance and get a quick orientation. Then, once you go upstairs into the first room, you will be equally shocked at the size as you are at how ornate everything is. As you make a clockwise loop through the rooms, you will see every single object covered in vines, flowers, and gold leaf. It is Rococo style turned up to the max! From Wikipedia, Rococo is a “highly ornamental and theatrical style of decoration which combined asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors, sculpted molding, and trompe l’oeil frescoes to create the illusions of surprise, motion and drama.”
What is interesting about the Rococo style is that it was popular style during the 1730 – 1770’s period, yet Ludwig II was building Schloss Linderhof 1868 -1886, 100 years after the style was popular. Ludwig II was enamored with French Sun King Louis XIV, which you can find symbols of the sun everywhere.
The entire building seems very private and built for one person. The most impressive rooms, if I had to choose are: 1.) The dining chamber, where a mechanism can lower the table to the first floor for the servants below to add and remove items without entering the dining room. From one of the King’s cook’s memoir: “He (the king) wants no one around him (at meals). Nevertheless, the dinners and suppers always have to be large enough to serve at least three or four people. This way, although the king always sits down to eat alone, he does not feel alone after all.” 2.) The hall of mirrors, where Ludwig II read through the night. The multitude of aligned mirrors reflect eternally. Our tour guide mentioned that Ludwig II would rarely use this during the day, but the room would be dazzling with the candles at night.
The Gardens
The gardens and fountain around Schloss Linderhof are also lovely. Ludwig II originally wanted to recreate the gardens of Versailles, but the valley where Linderhof is proved to be too small. Instead, he decided to recreate Versaille on the island of Herrimchimsee. Still, Ludwig II created a beautiful park, which includes a series of small buildings to visit.
The only area we visited was the Temple of Venus, where you can look down at the terraced gardens, fountain, and Linderhof. It is a bit of a climb, but worth the view. Unfortunately, the cascade and fountain behind the palace were under construction, so we did not make our way up to the Music Pavilion.
Schloss Linderhof was much more peaceful and less busy than Neuschwanstain and Hohenschwangau. It would have been nice to spend the afternoon having a picnic and exploring the smaller buildings around the park. Perhaps next time!
How to get to Schloss Linderhof?
There are few ways to get to Schloss Linderhof: personal car, public transportation, or through a group tour. If you are planning to go castle hopping or exploring the southern Bavarian countryside, renting a car is probably the fastest option and will give you the most flexibility. There are a ton of group tour options, which include other sights or castles in the region. Many of these group tours leave from Munich. To get there by public transportation, you can take a train to Oberammergau and a bus from there.
To maximize time and flexibility, we rented a car while we were in Salzburg, Garmisch, and Fussen, but returned the car for our time in Munich. This allowed us to get to lesser known sights easily, but not deal with parking and city driving in Munich.
Overall thoughts: Schloss Linderhof
For its surprise interior and peaceful surroundings, I loved my visit to Schloss Linderhof. It is worth the trek and worth the tour to see the inside of this incredible palace. Also unlike the other palaces, I felt like the size of the palace made me appreciate the details, rather than overwhelmed by the number of rooms or exterior design.
We visited more palaces/castles/schlosses in the Bavaria region of Germany! Take a look at the followings posts: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, Nymphenburg, and The Residenz Munich.
What is your favorite castle? I absolutely adored our “castle-days” while in Bavaria and cannot wait to explore even more. Let me know in the comments where I should definitely see!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
