The castles of Louis II of Bavaria.

Neuschwanstein castle The marvellous Neunschwanstein castle built by Louis II of Bavaria is directly opposite Hohenschwangau castle. litepics / age fotostock

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The four castles of Louis II of Bavaria are all found on the German road to the Alps. Three of them are located close to Oberammergau, a lovely Bavarian village. Hohenschwangau is the castle where the "mad king" spent his childhood. It is a blend of Tudor, Gothic and Medieval styles. Here, you can visit a dozen halls and treat your eyes to frescoes depicting episodes of German mythology that lulled the imagination of the young Louis. You can also enjoy seeing the castles lit up at night. On the opposite mountain, higher up, lies the Castle of Neuschwanstein, erected on a rocky spur and lost in the midst of fir trees with the snowy caps of the Alps towering in the background. As if straight from a fairy tale, it inspired Walt Disney to construct the castle for Sleeping Beauty. There is an excellent view of both castles from Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) or from a cable car (Tegelbergbahn). Hidden right in the heart of the forest on the Austrian border, the Castle of Linderhof is the smallest of the four, but also the most original. Its immense park houses the cave of Venus (the largest artificial cave in Europe), the Moorish gazebo and the Hunding sanctuary. Herrenchiemsee, the fourth castle - located 56 miles from Munich - is a replica of the Chateau de Versailles.