Herrenchiemsee Palace

Of the three palaces King Ludwig II of Bavaria began, Herrenchiemsee is the one that most openly copies another monarch. Ludwig admired Louis XIV of France, and from 1878 he had the New Palace built on the Herreninsel, the largest island in Lake Chiemsee, as a homage to Versailles. The centrepiece is the Great Mirror Gallery, a hall lined with mirrors and chandeliers that is famously longer than its French model. Ludwig did not live to see the building finished: he died in 1886 and work stopped, so only part of the palace was completed, and the unfinished wings are left plain. That makes the tour unusually honest about how royal dreams meet budgets. The staircase, the state bedroom and the gallery are spectacular, and a museum inside the palace tells the story of Ludwig himself. The palace is visited on a guided tour, and the formal gardens and fountains outside are at their best in the warm months. The island setting is the other half of the appeal. You cross by boat, walk through woods and meadows from the landing stage, and can add a second island, the Fraueninsel, which is a small village around a Benedictine abbey of nuns.

How you get there decides how the day feels. From Munich the regional train to Prien am Chiemsee takes roughly an hour, and from the station you reach the lake harbour by a short walk or a narrow-gauge steam tram. Boats then cross to the Herreninsel in around fifteen minutes. From the landing stage the palace is a walk of about twenty minutes through the island's woods and parkland, which is pleasant in dry weather and a good test of your shoes in wet weather.

Expect to allow a full day, because the tour, the walk, the boat timetable and a lunch stop add up. If you want the least effort, the rail-and-boat day trip we link to leaves from Munich main station, runs for about nine and a half hours, includes a guide and the palace tour, and visits the Fraueninsel as well. Check what is included in the price before you reserve, because boat fares and palace admission are treated differently on some departures.

On the tour, expect a guide to lead you through the state rooms at a steady pace, with plenty of mirrors, gilded ceilings and painted ceilings to look at. The Great Mirror Gallery is the moment people remember. The tour does not include every room, so allow a little time afterwards for the museum, which explains Ludwig's life and his three building projects, and for the gardens.

Photography rules inside differ from outdoors, so ask your guide at the start. The fountains in the gardens run in the warm months only, so a winter visit is quieter and more austere but still rewarding for the interiors and the lake light.

Who should go? Herrenchiemsee suits anyone who has already seen Neuschwanstein, or wants a different flavour of Ludwig's story with fewer crowds and no steep climb. It is a good family day if children enjoy boats, though the palace tour is serious and long. Couples will like the Fraueninsel stop, with its small shops and the abbey's tradition of liqueurs and baked goods.

Combine it with a Munich stay rather than with the Füssen area, because the lake lies on the other side of Bavaria, roughly two hours from Neuschwanstein by road. Set out early, wear comfortable shoes and bring a layer, because lake breezes are cool even in summer.