What could be more picturesque than an opulent palace on an island of Bavaria’s greatest lake, Chiemsee? This palace, built in 1878, turned out to be the most expensive of Ludwig’s building projects. Much of the palace, including the impressive marble entryway, is a copy of Versailles, albeit done on a smaller scale. The ‘hall of mirrors’ is used as a concert hall nowadays, and is lit by 2,000 candles. The blue Rococo bedroom comes with a blue electric lamp that projected light patterns on the wall to soothe the troubled king at night. An entire room is decorated with exquisite Meißen porcelain flowers and candelabras. His ‘self-setting table’ is adorned with a porcelain masterpiece of flowers that are so delicate they appear to be real. The palace has a sumptuous Roman bath made of marble with frescoes of Venus. The dressing room has trick mirrors to create the illusion of never-ending space. The Ludwig II museum next door to the palace is worth a visit. Furniture from his many homes is on display, in addition to a very poignant collection of photographs of the king, which allows you to trace the different stages of his life. Starting from a carefree and happy boy, to a handsome young idealist, until finally he becomes a bloated and depressed recluse.

Getting there
Take the train to Prien am Chiemsee. From there, ferries to the island depart every 30 minutes (information: tel. 08051-60 90, www.chiemsee-schifffahrt.de). The view of the lake surrounded by the Alps is gorgeous, and it’s well worth taking the complete boat tour of the lake including Fraueninsel island. By car, it’s an easy ride along Autobahn N°8 from Munich southeast to Prien am Chiemsee where you park and hop on the ferry.