Regensburg Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Regensburg [1] is in Bavaria, Germany. is one Germany's oldest towns founded by the romeans in 179 A.D. Today Regensburg is a prospering city with about 150.000 inhabitants, 3 universities and a lot of landmarks, most dated to the middle ages (Cathedral St. Peter, Old City Hall and Imperial Diet, Stone Bridge) . Since July 2006 the old city of Regensburg belongs to the UNESCO world heritage.
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Understand
In 179 A.D. the romans built the Fortress "Castra Regina" at the most northernmost place of the danube river. In the middle ages regensburg was one of the largest german cities and became a free imperial city. Trade connections to paris, venice and even nowgorod made it a prosperous city.
- 1663 – 1806: Regensburg is the seat of the Perpetual Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation.
- 1806: Holy Roman Empire dissolved in Regensburg.
- 1995: 750th anniversary of free imperial city status.
Get in
By plane
Within 100 km there are two international airports, both of are linked via public transport systems or motorway connections:
- Munich (IATA: MUC) via autobahn A93/A9
- Nuremburg (IATA: NUE) via autobahn A3
Transfer time to both airports is about 45 min up to 1 hour.
By train
Regensburg Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is located in the city centre and splendidly connected to the german rail network by ICE-, EC-, and IC-trains:
International connections:
- Amsterdam/Brussels-Vienna-Budapest
- Zürich/Paris-Prague
National Connections (hourly service):
- Berlin/Dresden
- Hamburg/Hanover
- Dortmund/Cologne
- Karlsruhe/Stuttgart
- Munich
The main station also has a traveler-friendly infrastructure including several restaurants, a tourist's bureau and a Deutsche Bahn ticket and travel agency office.
By car
Regensburg is easily accesible via the German autobahn road network:
- A3 (west-east) from Cologne/Frankfurt/Wuerzburg/Nuremberg via Regensburg to Passau/Vienna(A)
- A93/A9 from Munich via Regensburg to Berlin/Dresden (A4)
- A93/A6 to Plzen (CZ)/Prague (CZ)
There are also national highway connections to:
- B8: Nuremburg - Neumarkt - Regensburg - Straubing - Passau
- B15: Weiden - Schwandorf - Regensburg - Landshut
- B16: Ingolstadt - Regensburg - Cham
By barge
Regensburg is located at the danube river leading to Vienna and the Black Sea. Via the Main-Danube-Canal Regensburg is connected to the Rhine.
Get around
Regensburg has a comprehensive public bus network. Buses are frequent (10 minute intervals during peak hours) and run until around midnight every day. The centre of the bus network is the "Albertstrasse" station just opposite the train station. The city centre is reasonable compact and mostly pedestrianised, so is best explored on foot. There is also a "Altstadtbus" that travels around the old city centre, and from there to and from the train station. Driving in or into the city centre is very difficult, anywhere else it's no problem to go around by car. Boat trips are available along the river Danube to explorer nearby tourist attractions, e.g. the 'Walhalla'.
See
The main attraction of Regensburg is its excellently preserved medieval city centre. As one of the very few cities in Germany unaffected by both World Wars, Regensburg boasts the largest preserved medieval city centre in Germany. It is also called "the northernmost city of Italy", due to the lively places and streets with lovely outdoor cafes during summer, as well as the large number of Italian-style medieval merchant houses and towers. Around every corner away new building, towers and treasures to be discovered. The historic centre lies next to the river Danube (Donau), and crossing the medieval stone bridge into the town provides a perfect entrance to the city.
Do
The main thing to keep in mind is that the university and the residential areas lie south of the train tracks, the town itself lies north of the the train tracks. Take one of the excellent guided tours - e.g. "Stadtmaus" tours. Visit a mass in the cathedral on Sunday morning when the famous boys' choir "Domspatzen" is singing.
Buy
Regensburg made its fortune trading in salt, however it is unlikely that you will be taking this home as a souvenir. Regensburg has many centries old breweries, so perhaps some local beer, or perhaps a litre Stein (glass) would be a good purchase. Try some "Händlmeier Senf", the typical sweet mustard that is usually served with white sausages. If you need to kill some time at the train station, the footpath leading accross the railway tracks also connects the train station to a shopping mall.
Eat
Regensburg has an superb variety of places to eat, from snack, to traditional brewary fare, past international cuisine to high class restaurants. There is sure to be something to please everybodies tastes. A famous place is the "Wurstkuchl", just at the Steinerne Bruecke, thought to be the oldest restaurant in Europe. There is a small beer-garden right at the river bank where you can enjoy the sausage specialities served by waiters in medieval dresses. For Bavarian specialties, try the "Kneitinger" on Arnulfsplatz, or the "Andechser" on Domplatz opposite the cathedral.
Drink
Although wine used to be grown on the slopes across the river from Regensburg, its main drink is surely beer. The city centre boasts at least 5 breweries, producing a variety of beer styles, from lighter Pils to heavy Dunkels, Wheat beer (Weizen) is also locally made.
Sleep
There are a large number of hotels in the city. There is also a youth hostel and campsite on the "Oberer Whörd", an island in the middle of the Danube, just north of the city centre. Contact the tourist office on the Alter Rathausplatz for help finding the accommodation you need.
Get out
Munich, Bavaria's captial is 90 minutes away by train. Other historic cities of Passau, Landshut and Straubing make good day trips.
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