After MARATHON MÜNCHEN by Brooks: Bavarian Lakes and Castles
The Route: München Hauptbahnhof → Füssen (2 nights) → Hohenschwangau (day trip) → München Hauptbahnhof → Tegernsee (1 night) → München Hauptbahnhof → Munich Airport Logistics: Direct regional rail to Füssen, a short local bus on to Hohenschwangau for the castles, then rail back through Munich to a separate direct line out to Tegernsee before the final return. Marathon Month: October Duration: 3 nights
München Hbf ──(2h, direct RE)──> Füssen ──(10 min bus)──> Hohenschwangau/Neuschwanstein ──(back to Füssen, 2 nights total)
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München Hbf ──(1h, direct BOB)──> Tegernsee (1 night) ◄──(2h, rail via München Hbf)──────────────────┘
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Munich Airport (MUC) ◄──(40 min, S1/S8)──┘
MARATHON MÜNCHEN by Brooks finishes at Willi-Daume-Platz on 11 October, and this route pairs Bavaria's best-known castle with a quieter lake stay closer to Munich, all of it by direct or nearly direct train. October alpine weather around Füssen and Tegernsee is genuinely unpredictable: valley temperatures generally sit in a manageable 8 to 13°C range, but rain is common, cloud can sit low enough to hide a castle turret for a whole afternoon, and an early snowfall at higher elevation is a realistic possibility rather than a remote one. Nothing on this route depends on a guaranteed clear view, and it is worth planning around that rather than against it. Regional trains run direct from München Hauptbahnhof to Füssen roughly every two hours, taking around 2 hours, and a separate direct line on the Bayerische Oberlandbahn reaches Tegernsee in around an hour.
Nights One and Two: Füssen and Neuschwanstein
Füssen itself is a small, flat old town at the foot of the Ammergau Alps, its lanes narrow but level, easily covered on a short first-evening walk after the train from Munich. The Lechfall, a short walk from the centre where the River Lech drops over a weir into a gorge, is a five-minute flat detour worth taking on the way to or from dinner. The main reason to come, though, sits a short bus ride away in the village of Hohenschwangau: Neuschwanstein Castle, the nineteenth-century fantasy palace built for King Ludwig II and the most photographed building in Germany, along with Hohenschwangau Castle, Ludwig's more modest boyhood home on the facing hillside.
Both castles require timed-entry tickets bought in advance from the ticket centre in Hohenschwangau village, since walk-up tickets frequently sell out even outside peak summer months; book online before travelling rather than assuming availability on the day. Getting up to Neuschwanstein itself involves either a shuttle bus to a point below Marienbrücke, the footbridge with the classic view back across the gorge to the castle, a horse-drawn carriage, or a genuinely steep uphill walk of 30 to 40 minutes; two days after a marathon, the shuttle bus is the sensible choice rather than the walk, and it is worth building the small extra wait for a bus slot into the day's plan. Entry to each castle runs approximately €21 to €24 (£18-£21), and a combined ticket covering both is generally the better value if visiting on the same day.
For a flatter alternative to the castle hill itself, the Alpsee, the lake immediately below Hohenschwangau village, has a forest and lakeside path circling almost the full shoreline, around 5.5 kilometres on packed earth and gravel with only gentle, short inclines, giving genuine castle views from below without the climb. A shorter partial loop from the village works equally well for legs that want the view without the full distance.
Where to stay: Hotel Sonne, on Füssen's main square, is decorated with a King Ludwig theme throughout and puts guests within a flat few minutes of the station and the old town's restaurants. Hotel Schlosskrone, a few doors along the same street, is a longer-established alternative with a similarly central, flat position.
Where to eat: Ritterstub'n, the restaurant inside Hotel Sonne, serves Bavarian and Allgäu dishes in a wood-panelled dining room that suits a cold October evening. Zum Franziskaner, a short flat walk into the old town, offers a more straightforward, less themed alternative for a second evening.
Night Three: Tegernsee
Tegernsee is a genuinely different pace from Füssen: a lake rather than a mountain, closer to Munich, and built around a resort tradition going back to a Benedictine monastery whose former buildings now house the local brewery. The lakeside promenade running through Tegernsee town and on to Rottach-Egern is flat and paved for its full length, several kilometres of level walking directly beside the water with mountain views across to the Bavarian Prealps rather than the high peaks themselves, and it needs no cable car or funicular to appreciate. For anyone still wanting alpine height without a hike, the Wallbergbahn cable car climbs to the Wallberg summit from the lake's southern shore in a few minutes, though the same October caveats about cloud and early snow at altitude apply here as elsewhere on this route, and a lake-level day is a perfectly complete one on its own if the mountain is not cooperating.
Where to stay: Hotel Bachmair Weissach, directly on the lakeshore in Rottach-Egern, is the area's best-known resort hotel and puts the promenade immediately outside. Hotel Egerner Höfe, a short flat walk further along the same shore, offers a comparable lakeside alternative at a generally lower price point.
Where to eat: Braustüberl Tegernsee, the tavern attached to the Duke of Bavaria's own brewery in the former monastery buildings, serves the brewery's beer alongside straightforward Bavarian food in a large, informal dining hall, and is as close to an essential stop in this town as anywhere on the lake.
Getting Home
From Tegernsee, direct BOB trains run to München Hauptbahnhof in around an hour, with services roughly hourly through the day. From München Hauptbahnhof, the S1 and S8 S-Bahn lines reach Munich Airport (MUC) in around 40 minutes, running every 10 to 20 minutes for most of the day. A trip that has moved between valley warmth, castle-hill drizzle and lakeside chill over three nights tends to leave a bag packed less neatly than it started, so it is worth allowing a comfortable margin before a flight rather than cutting the final connection close.