Transportation to Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle

By Car or Train and Boat to King Ludwig’s Versailles Palace, Bavaria

Jul 20, 2008
Henk Bekker

Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle in Bavaria, Germany - Wikimedia Commons

Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle is a great day trip from Munich or Salzburg and easily reached by car or train. Boats to the palace depart from Prien am Chiemsee.

Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle is on the Herren Island in the Chiemsee Lake near Munich in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Schloss Herrenchiemsee, the most opulent of Bavarian King Ludwig’s fantasy palaces, is an easy day trip from Munich but also a great stop when traveling towards Berchtesgaden, Bad Reichenhall, or Salzburg in Austria.

Boats to Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle in the Chiemsee Lake

Herren Island can only be reached by boat. Boats are available from several towns on the shore of the Chiemsee Lake but the most frequent departures and fastest traveling times are from the town Prien am Chiemsee. Prien is convenient for both drivers and travelers using trains.

Boats depart frequently from Prien / Stock Hafen to Herren Island – traveling time is around 15 minutes. Tickets may be bought at the kiosk or on the boat itself.

Parking lots are available near the boat landing. From Prien train station, an historic steam tram (Chiemseebahn) run during the summer season to the boat landing in less than eight minutes. Buses are also available while walking should take less than half an hour.

By Car to Prien and Schloss Herrenchiemsee in Bavaria

Prien am Chiemsee and thus Schloss Herrenchiemsee Castle are easiest reached by car. From Munich, take the Autobahn A8 towards Salzburg and shortly after the Chiemsee Lake becomes visible, use exit 106 (Bernau) and continue towards Prien (around 7 km / 5 miles off the Autobahn). In Prien, follow the signs to “Chiemsee” and “Königsschloss” and park in the well-marked parking lots near the boat landing.

Due to Prien’s close proximity to the autobahn, driving times to the town can be blistering fast. Driving distances and times are as follows:

Munich (München) – 90km / 56 miles / 1h00
Munich Airport (MUC) – 110 km / 68 miles / 1h10
Bad Reichenhall – 60 km / 37 miles / 0h40
Berchtesgaden – 80 km / 50 miles / 0h50
Salzburg (Austria) – 70km / 44 miles / 0h45
Salzburg Airport (SZG) – 65 km / 40 miles / 0h35
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – 130 km / 80 miles / 1h30
Schloss Neuschwanstein / Hohenschwangau Castle – 160 km / 100 miles / 2h20

Gourmet Restaurants in and near Prien am Chiemsee

Driving gourmets may prefer to turn south rather than north to Prien once off the autobahn and head for the nearby Restaurant Heinz Winkler (Kirchplatz 1, Aschau, Tel 08052-17-990). This Michelin three-star restaurant is considered by many to be the best in all of Bavaria. Reservations are generally required.

A good dining alternative in Prien itself is the Michelin one-star Restaurant Mühlberger (Bernauer Straße 40, Tel 08051-966-888).

By Train to Prien and Schloss Herrenchiemsee

Prien am Chiemsee is a stop on most trains running between München Hauptbahnhof (Munich Main Station) and Salzburg in Austria. At least one train is available per hour.

Traveling times from Munich range from 48 minutes for Inter-City (IC) trains to around an hour for Regional-Express (RE) trains and 1h15 for Regionalbahn (RB) trains. Traveling times from Salzburg are slightly shorter with the IC trains taking 42 minutes and the slower trains around 50 minutes.

Note that Euro-City (EC) trains connect Munich and Salzburg nonstop and therefore do not stop in Prien.

From Munich Airport (MUC), it is not necessary to first travel to München Hauptbahnhof. Take the S-Bahn train S8 from the airport to München Ost Bahnhof station and then continue by regular train to Prien. Total traveling ranges from 90 minutes to just less than two hours.

From Salzburg Airport (SZG), it is necessary to travel first to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof by bus to catch a connecting train to Prien. Total traveling time ranges from just less than 90 minutes to around two hours.