Füssen

Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Füssen old town in two days

Two days in Füssen split neatly into castles and town. Take an early bus 73 or 78 to Hohenschwangau with tickets booked online, see Hohenschwangau Castle and then Neuschwanstein, and walk to the Marienbrücke and the Alpsee. On day two, visit the Hohes Schloss and St. Mang, then Reichenstraße by lamplight.

Day one, the castles. Take the first bus 73 or 78 from the station to Hohenschwangau with tickets booked online. Do the yellow Hohenschwangau Castle first, Ludwig II's childhood home, then climb to Neuschwanstein for your timed tour of the throne hall and the Singers' Hall. Afterwards walk up to the Marienbrücke, then back down past the Alpsee and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings on its shore. Late afternoon, swim in the lake or ride the Tegelbergbahn up the mountain to watch paragliders launch.

Day two, the town. Start at the Hohes Schloss to see its painted courtyard and the state gallery of Gothic and Renaissance art. Walk down to St. Mang; the town museum in the abbey has Baroque halls, the old lute and violin collection and the Dance of Death paintings in St. Anne's Chapel. After lunch on Reichenstraße, follow the river to the Lechfall, cross the Maxsteg and loop through the woods of Bad Faulenbach. In summer, take a boat on the Forggensee instead. Eat in the old town as the lamps come on, then catch a show at the Festspielhaus on the lake shore if one is running.

The former Benedictine abbey of St. Mang grew from the cell of the hermit Magnus and became a monastery in the first half of the 9th century. Johann Jakob Herkomer rebuilt it in baroque style between 1696 and 1726, and its south wing now holds the Museum der Stadt Füssen with the abbey's state rooms, including the Kaisersaal. In the St. Anna chapel, Jakob Hiebeler painted a large dance of death in 1602.

Kässpatzen, Allgäu cheese and lake fish in Füssen

Füssen is in the Allgäu, so cheese leads the menu. Order Kässpatzen, egg noodles layered with mountain cheese and fried onions, and expect Allgäuer Bergkäse on every Brotzeit board. Trout and char from the surrounding lakes are the fish choice, and most restaurants are on Reichenstraße and the lanes around it.

Füssen is in the Allgäu, so the cooking is Swabian-Bavarian and cheese is the backbone. The dish to order is Kässpatzen: fresh egg noodles layered with grated mountain cheese and topped with fried onions, served in the pan with a green salad. Allgäuer Bergkäse, a firm, nutty mountain cheese, turns up on every Brotzeit board.

Meat dishes follow the Bavarian pattern: Schweinsbraten, Schnitzel and Leberkäse, a baked meatloaf that comes in a bread roll at butchers and snack bars. Freshwater fish is the local alternative; look for trout or char from the surrounding lakes, often pan-fried with almonds.

Reichenstraße and the lanes around it (Drehergasse, Hintere Gasse, Hutergasse) hold most of the restaurants, from a busy schnitzel house to pizzerias and Asian takeaways. The Bierstube of the Hotel Hirsch on Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz serves regional food with draught beer. For coffee and cake, look for Prinzregententorte, a layered chocolate cake named after Bavaria's Prince Regent Luitpold.

Avoid the restaurants at the castle foot unless you are desperate; they cater to captive crowds. Eat in town, and check lunch hours, as many kitchens close mid-afternoon.

Füssen through the year, from Alpsee swims to winter snow

September is the most comfortable month in Füssen, cooling to about 18 °C and drier than summer, when July and August bring 180 to 190 mm of rain a month. Summer is for Forggensee boat trips, swimming in the Alpsee and paragliding from the Tegelberg, and winter often brings snow to the castles.

Füssen's weather is Alpine-edge: wet summers and cold, often snowy winters. The climate figures show highs of 21C in July and August, with the heaviest rain of the year at around 180-190 mm a month, much of it in afternoon storms. September cools to about 18C and dries noticeably, which makes it the most comfortable month for the castles and the lakes.

Summer is boating time. The Forggensee is a reservoir, filled in late spring and partly drained in autumn, so boat trips run only in the warmer months. The Alpsee, Hopfensee and Weißensee warm up enough for swimming by July. The Tegelberg, 1,881 metres high, is busy with hikers and with paragliders and hang gliders launching from below the top station.

Winter has its own appeal. January highs are around 3C with nights down to -5C, and snow on Neuschwanstein makes the classic winter photographs. Tours run on shorter hours in the low season, and the castle closes on a handful of holidays including 24 and 25 December and 1 January.

For day trips, the rococo Wieskirche, a UNESCO-listed pilgrimage church in a meadow, is under an hour north. Reutte in Austria, with the Highline 179 suspension footbridge nearby, is a short bus ride south.