- 4 days Closed 24, 25, 31 December and 1 January
- 26 Dec Open, and busy with holiday visitors
- 10:00–16:00 Castle tour times on open holiday days
- 24 Dec – 8 Jan Bavarian Christmas school holidays
- ~16:30 Sunset around the solstice
No, Neuschwanstein isn't open on Christmas Day
Neuschwanstein is closed on Christmas Day. It closes on only four days a year, and every one falls over the holidays: 24 December (Christmas Eve), 25 December (Christmas Day), 31 December (New Year's Eve) and 1 January (New Year's Day). On those days Hohenschwangau Castle, the Ticket Centre, the museum and the shuttle bus are closed too. The castle is open on 26 December and 2 January, and both are busy holiday days, so book online well ahead. The holiday surprise is next door: Hohenschwangau Castle runs special evening Christmas tours on selected dates from 13 December to 3 January.
Christmas in Bavaria is a lovely time for a castle trip, with Advent markets, snow if you're lucky, and the Alps glowing pink at four in the afternoon. But plenty of visitors plan a Christmas Day trip to Neuschwanstein and find the gates locked. The calendar above is for Mike's Bike Tours: Neuschwanstein by Bus & Munich Xmas Market Tour, a castle day that ends with an optional walk through Munich's Christmas markets. Below are the full holiday calendar, what's open on the closed days, and how to use the days in between. For winter beyond the holidays, see our complete Neuschwanstein winter guide.
The holiday calendar at a glance
| Date | Neuschwanstein | Hohenschwangau Castle | Ticket Centre | Shuttle bus | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–23 Dec | Open 10:00–16:00 | Open, plus evening Christmas tours (German) | Open | Weather-dependent | Last days before the closures |
| 24 Dec (Christmas Eve) | Closed | Closed | Closed | No service | Munich's Marienplatz market closes early in the afternoon |
| 25 Dec (Christmas Day) | Closed | Closed | Closed | No service | A quiet family day across Bavaria |
| 26 Dec (St Stephen's Day) | Open | Open, plus evening Christmas tours (German) | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy with holiday visitors. Book ahead |
| 27–28 Dec | Open | Open, plus evening Christmas tours (German and English) | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy holiday period |
| 29 Dec | Open | Open, plus evening Christmas tours (German) | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy holiday period |
| 30 Dec | Open | Open | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy |
| 31 Dec (New Year's Eve) | Closed | Closed | Closed | No service | Check Füssen's rules before buying fireworks |
| 1 Jan (New Year's Day) | Closed | Closed | Closed | No service | Public holiday |
| 2–3 Jan | Open | Open, plus evening Christmas tours (German) | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy |
| 4–6 Jan | Open | Open | Open | Weather-dependent | Busy until Epiphany (6 January, a public holiday in Bavaria) |
Bavarian Christmas school holidays run from 24 December 2026 to 8 January 2027. Expect the biggest holiday crowds at the castle from 26 December to 6 January. Our winter ticket guide covers booking ahead and same-day sales for those dates.
What else is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January?
It isn't just Neuschwanstein. The other royal sights nearby follow the same pattern:
| Sight | 24 Dec | 25 Dec | 31 Dec | 1 Jan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuschwanstein | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Hohenschwangau Castle | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Museum of the Bavarian Kings | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed (open 26 Dec) |
| Linderhof Palace | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Herrenchiemsee Palace | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Königliche Kristall-Therme Schwangau | Closed | Usually open; phone ahead | Usually open, shorter hours; phone ahead | Usually open; phone ahead |
Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee also close on Shrove Tuesday, which falls on 9 February 2027. Day tours from Munich don't run on the four closed days. Check your operator's calendar before booking around Christmas.
Other experiences you might enjoy
On the open days between the holidays, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castle pair well with the old town of Füssen and a Christmas market tour in Munich. Winter day trips from Munich also run to Linderhof Palace, Oberammergau and the Zugspitze.
What to do near Neuschwanstein when the castle is closed
1. Soak in a thermal spa with a castle view (25 and 31 December, 1 January)
The Königliche Kristall-Therme Schwangau is the one big attraction nearby that has usually opened on Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, closing only on 24 December. It has warm saltwater pools with a view towards the royal castles.
Phone ahead (+49 8362 92694-0). At the end of October 2026 the spa's website showed a "temporarily closed" banner and pointed to its contact page for current opening times. Confirm before you travel.
2. See the castle from outside
The castle is closed, but the view isn't. The Alpsee shore, Hohenschwangau village and the meadows around Schwangau are public spaces, and a snowy Christmas morning with nobody around is something special. The shuttle bus doesn't run on these days, Mary's Bridge is often shut for ice at this time of year, and the lane up to the castle may be icy, so stay on the valley floor. Our winter viewpoints guide has the best spots.
3. Visit the Wieskirche
The Wieskirche, a UNESCO-listed rococo pilgrimage church near Steingaden, about half an hour from the castles, is open every day of the year. Over Christmas it's a working church with extra services, and sightseeing pauses during Mass, so check the service times on wieskirche.de and visit between them.
4. Go up a mountain (snow permitting)
- Tegelberg cable car (Schwangau): it closes for its autumn inspection from 9 November 2026, and the reopening depends on snow. Check tegelbergbahn.de before planning a holiday day around it.
- Zugspitze: the ski season is provisionally scheduled from 27 November 2026. It's a separate day trip from Garmisch, so check the holiday timetable on zugspitze.de.
5. Stay in Munich and save the castle for 26 December or 2 January
Munich on Christmas Eve morning, before the Marienplatz market closes in the early afternoon, and on New Year's Eve, with fireworks across the city, is an experience in itself. Book your castle day for the day after.
Hohenschwangau's evening Christmas tours
Few visitors know about this one. Hohenschwangau Castle, King Ludwig II's childhood home, runs special Christmas tours in the evening. Ludwig spent his first Christmas here in 1873, while Neuschwanstein was still being built, and almost every Christmas after that until his death in 1886. The tour tells how he spent the holidays, what was served and what gifts he gave.
- In German: 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29 December 2026, and 2 and 3 January 2027
- In English: 27 and 28 December 2026, at 17:00
- Entry from about 17:00, after dark (17:10 for the German tours on 27 and 28 December)
- Collect your tickets at the Ticket Centre by 15:45 on the day of your visit. The Ticket Centre stays open longer on these dates.
- Prices: adults €26.50, children aged 7 to 17 €22, under-7s free
- Booking is by written request only, by email to events@hohenschwangau.de. You can't book these tours in the online shop.
It's the one time of year you can be inside a royal castle here after dark, and it pairs neatly with a daytime Neuschwanstein slot. The English dates are the obvious pick; on the German-only evenings you'll still get the atmosphere, but not the commentary. Our Hohenschwangau Castle guide covers the daytime tours.
Christmas markets around Neuschwanstein (2026)
| Market | 2026 dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Füssen Advent Market (Klosterhof St. Mang) | 4–6 and 11–13 December | Only six days, over the 2nd and 3rd Advent weekends. Free entry |
| Oberammergau Christkindlmarkt | 2026 date not yet published | A one-day market; Oberammergau is on many Linderhof combo tour routes |
| Munich Christkindlmarkt (Marienplatz) | 20 November – 24 December | Closed 22 November; closes early in the afternoon on 24 December |
| Munich Feuerzangenbowle | 23 November – 6 January | Giant flaming punch in central Munich, one of the few things still running after Christmas |
| Garmisch "Winter im Park" | 20 November – 5 January | Closed 25 December |
| Kaufbeuren | 2026 dates not yet published | On the Munich–Füssen rail line |
| Kempten | 27 November – 23 December | A bigger Allgäu market |
| Fraueninsel (Chiemsee) | 2026 dates not yet published | Island market reached by boat over two Advent weekends |
The best combination: a Neuschwanstein tour on a Friday or Saturday of the 2nd or 3rd Advent weekend, then the Füssen market in the evening. Or book Mike's Bike Tours: Neuschwanstein by Bus & Munich Xmas Market Tour (from $93, 4.8★ from 187 reviews), whose market walk runs from late November to 23 December. The castle ticket isn't in the price on that tour: you buy it from the guide on the bus, in cash.
New Year's Eve near Neuschwanstein
- The castles are closed on 31 December and 1 January.
- Check Füssen's fireworks rules. The town has restricted setting off fireworks in past years, for example near farm buildings, to reduce the fire risk. Look for the town's notice on stadt-fuessen.de before you buy any.
- You can still watch. Fireworks from the surrounding villages are visible across the Lech valley, and several Füssen hotels sell New Year packages.
- Stay over and visit on 2 January. The castle is open, though busy, and staying nearby puts you at the Ticket Centre when it opens.
Practical tips for a holiday visit
- Book online, early. 26 December to 6 January is the winter peak. Online tickets can't be exchanged or refunded, so lock in your date first.
- Expect queues for the buses and carriages around Christmas and New Year. Walk up if you can.
- Using the Bayern-Ticket? On 24 and 31 December it's valid from midnight, not from 09:00 as on normal weekdays.
- Check your accommodation dates. Some village hotels and restaurants close on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
- Darkness falls early. Around the solstice there are only about 8½ hours of daylight, with sunset around 16:30.
On the open days, a day tour saves you the bus queue entirely. The Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castle Full-Day Trip (from $88, 4.6★ from 17,233 reviews) adds Linderhof, and the castle-only Neuschwanstein Castle Full-Day Trip (from $89, 4.7★ from 4,435 reviews) leaves more time in Hohenschwangau. Our winter day tours compared sets out the rest.
Neuschwanstein at Christmas and New Year: FAQ
Is Neuschwanstein open on Christmas Day?
No. Neuschwanstein is closed on 25 December, as well as on 24 and 31 December and 1 January. These are the only four days of the year the castle closes.
Is Neuschwanstein open on Christmas Eve?
No. Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau Castle, the Ticket Centre and the shuttle bus are all closed on 24 December.
Is Neuschwanstein open on 26 December?
Yes. The castle is open on 26 December (St Stephen's Day) with normal winter tour times, 10:00–16:00. It's one of the busy holiday days, so book online in advance.
Is Neuschwanstein open on New Year's Day?
No. It's closed on 1 January and 31 December. It reopens on 2 January.
What can I do near Neuschwanstein on Christmas Day?
The Königliche Kristall-Therme in Schwangau has usually opened on public holidays other than 24 December; phone ahead to confirm. You can also enjoy the castle views from the Alpsee shore and the Schwangau meadows, or visit the Wieskirche between services.
Are there Christmas events at Neuschwanstein?
Neuschwanstein itself doesn't host Christmas events. Hohenschwangau Castle, in the village below, runs special evening Christmas tours in German on 13, 20–23 and 26–29 December 2026 and 2–3 January 2027, with English tours on 27 and 28 December. Bookings are by email to the castle.
Is there a Christmas market at Neuschwanstein?
No Christmas market is held at the castle. The nearest is the Füssen Advent Market in the Klosterhof St. Mang, listed for 4–6 and 11–13 December 2026.
Do Neuschwanstein tours from Munich run at Christmas?
They don't run on 24, 25 and 31 December or 1 January, when the castle is closed. Most tours run on the other days of the holiday period, so check the booking calendar.