Bring at least 2 1/2 hours if you want to listen to the audio guide (free with the regular entry fee, but you need to leave some ID with the staff). This place reveals more rooms, and more about history, than some bigger, more well-known stately homes. The rooms, whilst mostly not filled to the last inch with stuff, are well-furnished. The audio guide (in German or English) is well-made, though the style is sometimes a bit annoying, but very child friendly: a narrator walks you through the rooms, the iPad showing the blueprint of the building, where one is, and picks up the location. The narrator interacts with figures of the past who she "meets". We learned a lot, also about how this local powerhouse ruled the local town, and also about the regional politics. We didn’t have time to explore all the palace gardens; the bits near the house we could see were not particularly interesting, looking like most public gardens / parks. However, there is a ‘kitchen garden’ a short walk away that might have been more interesting, which we didn’t get to. The Schloss itself is definitely worth a visit to Eutin.

Given the castles of Europe, this one would be more of a very grand stately manor home of red brick. Set on expansive grounds bordering Lake Eutin, the schloss was originally a medieval fortress (as were most). We took a self-guided tour but with occasional guidance from the few women docents strategically located about each floor. The place is small enough to navigate easily and without the crowds, that alone a pleasant experience! (There is a gift shop across a courtyard.) Of particular note is the throne room featuring two silver thrones side by side covered in dark blue fabric on a dark blue dais, the yellow ball- or dining room, rich stark tapestries and red canopy royal bed. There is also an interesting two-story chapel with gallery in one wing of the castle.