The village lies 4 km from the larger town of Füssen and just 1.5 km from Hohenschwangau, a collection of tourist-oriented facilities adjacent to the major tourist attractions of Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau.

Schwangau has no railway station, but is served by buses connecting to Füssen, Hohenschwangau, and other nearby Alpine towns.

It is the next-to-last town on the Romantic Road tourist route that terminates in Füssen.

It was situated on the site of Neuschwanstein Castle and was owned by the Elder House of Welf.

The coat of arms of the municipality is based on the one shown in the Codex Manesse as that of Hiltbolt von Schwangau [de] (d. 1256).