The Bavarian town of Füssen, located in the Allgäu region, has a lot to offer its visitors. Architectural sights such as the famous royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau lie in the midst of an idyllic pre-alpine landscape with magnificent mountains and picturesque waters, inviting you to take varied hikes and bike tours. Beautiful family excursion destinations can also be found around Füssen. In the following, we tell you what you can see and do around Füssen.
Culture and Sights
The most famous sights around Füssen are certainly the royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, enthroned in a picturesque mountain scenery just outside the town. Above all, the “fairytale castle” of Neuschwanstein, built by order of King Ludwig II between 1869 and 1886, captivates millions of visitors from all over the world every year with its beauty and splendour. A tour takes you into a highly impressive and opulent world of legends and fairy tales, for which the builder Ludwig II had a great passion. No less impressive is Hohenschwangau Castle opposite - a romantic residential palace where Ludwig II and his parents Maximilian II and his wife Queen Marie spent much of their summers. The Museum of the Bavarian Kings on the shores of the Alpsee provides fascinating background information on the castles and the royal family in an elegant setting.
There also are numerous cultural highlights and sights to discover directly in the romantic old town of Füssen, where our modern City Apart Hotel Füssen is located. In addition to pretty little churches like the Spitalkirche Hl. Geist and the Franziskanerkirche, the monastery of St. Mang, which was built between 1697 and 1726 and houses the museum of the town of Füssen, and the Gothic Hohe Schloss towering over the old town are particularly worth seeing. The castle impresses with ornate architectural and illusion paintings on the façades and interesting interiors such as the French Rooms and the Knights' Hall. The palace also houses a branch gallery of the Painting Collections of the Bavarian State. Always worth a visit for art and culture lovers is also the Neuschwanstein Festival Theatre on the shores of Lake Forggen, where top-class events such as theatre performances and musicals take place throughout the year.
Nature and Activities
Magnificent mountains, lush green pastures and picturesque waters allow for numerous activities around Füssen in the beautiful pre-alpine landscape. You can feel the power of the water at the impressive Lech Falls in the old town or around one of the many lakes in the municipal area, such as Lake Hopfen or Lake Weissensee, which are also wonderful for swimming in summer. Lake Forggensee, the largest lake in the Allgäu, is an attraction in itself: During the summer months, boat tours take place on it every day, which are among the most popular in all of Bavaria. Wellness in harmony with nature is offered by the Faulenbach Valley, which is something like Füssen's natural spa park. Several small lakes are lined up here and there is a Kneipp facility and the so-called “Path of the Senses”.
The mountain landscape around Füssen is like made for varied hikes and cycling tours. Numerous renowned themed hiking trails such as the King Ludwig Trail and the Allgäu Hiking Trilogy, as well as long-distance cycling routes such as the Allgäu Cycle Tour and the Lake Constance-Königssee Circular Trail make the area a paradise for hikers and cycling enthusiasts. Ideal for getting a breath of mountain air is the nearby Tegelberg, where there are many attractions such as a summer toboggan run.
Family Excursion Destinations
Füssen in the Allgäu also has a lot to offer families with kids. In addition to the lakes and mountains, which are extremely interesting for kids as well, the region offers exciting family excursion destinations such as the Königliche Kristall-Therme Schwangau, a superlative bathing and wellness temple, and the Walderlebniszentrum Ziegelwies, which offers interesting themed trails in the forest and a treetop path.
