---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Regensburg, Germany | Wimup"
description: "Regensburg in one page: the 12th-century Stone Bridge, Bavaria's only Gothic cathedral, the Thurn und Taxis palace and a boat through the Danube Gorge."
url: https://wimup.com/city/regensburg
type: City guide
updated: 2026-09-05
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Regensburg

Regensburg, Germany · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 13 min read

Germany's best preserved medieval city sits on the northernmost bend of the Danube, 984 listed buildings deep and small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes. Two thousand years run from a Roman gate to a Gothic cathedral to the bridge that made the city rich.

## Quick answer

Give the first day to the world heritage old town: the Stone Bridge, St. Peter's Cathedral, and bratwurst off the beechwood grill at the Wurstkuchl beside the water. Give the second to the Thurn und Taxis palace, the Museum of Bavarian History and a boat downstream to Walhalla. A third day buys the Danube Gorge and Weltenburg Abbey.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** May · Jun · Sep
- **Ideal length:** 2 days
- **Budget per day:** €95–170
- **Language:** German, with Bavarian spoken locally
- **Getting around:** The old town on foot, RVV buses beyond it, and a free Altstadtbus loop through the centre
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://tourismus.regensburg.de/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Regensburg

### 1. The Stone Bridge

Landmark · Steinerne Brücke, 93059 Regensburg

Built between 1135 and 1146 and the oldest stone bridge still standing in Germany, roughly 300 m of it across the Danube. Traffic is long gone, so it is walkers and cyclists now. Cross from the Stadtamhof bank at dusk, with the cathedral filling the far end.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Dusk
- **Tip:** The photograph is from the Stadtamhof side, not the old town

Links: [Website](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1155/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. St. Peter's Cathedral

Cathedral · Domplatz 5, 93047 Regensburg

Bavaria's only Gothic cathedral, begun around 1273 and given its spires under Ludwig I in the 1860s. Entry is free. Come to a Sunday mass in term time and the Domspatzen sing it, from a choir school the bishop founded in 975.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Sunday mass
- **Tip:** The Domschatz treasury is a separate ticket, on Krauterermarkt

Links: [Website](https://www.bistum-regensburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Historische Wurstkuchl

Restaurant · Thundorferstraße 3, 93047 Regensburg

A cookshop has fed the bridge builders and everyone since from this spot, which makes it plausibly the oldest continuously working restaurant anywhere. The order is six or eight finger-length bratwurst off the beechwood grill, sauerkraut, house mustard.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** €
- **Best at:** Late morning
- **Tip:** The queue is shortest before noon; you eat outside either way

Links: [Website](https://www.wurstkuchl.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 4. The Old Town Hall and document Reichstag

Museum · Rathausplatz, 93047 Regensburg

The Perpetual Imperial Diet sat in this hall from 1663 until the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806, which makes it the closest thing that empire had to a parliament building. The tour takes in the chamber, the envoys' seating order and the medieval torture chamber below.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €€
- **Best at:** Guided tour
- **Tip:** The tourist information office shares the square outside

Links: [Website](https://tourismus.regensburg.de/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. St. Emmeram Palace

Palace · Emmeramsplatz 5, 93047 Regensburg

A postal fortune bought a Benedictine abbey and turned it into a residence of more than 500 rooms, still lived in by the Thurn und Taxis family. Visits cover the state rooms, the medieval cloister and the neo-Gothic crypt chapel where the family is buried.

- **Time:** 1.5 hr
- **Cost:** €€
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** The cloister is the oldest part of the complex and the quietest

Links: [Website](https://www.thurnundtaxis.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. Museum of Bavarian History

Museum · Donaumarkt 1, 93047 Regensburg

Bavaria from 1800 to now, in a purpose-built hall on the Danube that opened in 2019 and is the newest thing in a city where most buildings predate the printing press. Closed on Mondays outside public holidays.

- **Time:** 2 hr
- **Cost:** €€
- **Best at:** Rainy afternoon
- **Tip:** Walk out along the Danube promenade at the door afterwards

Links: [Website](https://www.hdbg.de/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. Walhalla

Monument · Walhallastraße 48, 93093 Donaustauf

Ludwig I put a Doric temple on a terrace above the Danube and filled it with busts of German-speaking greats, opened in 1842 after twelve years of building. It is 11 km downstream, and the arrival is half of it: take the boat, then climb.

- **Time:** 2–3 hr
- **Cost:** €
- **Best at:** Afternoon
- **Tip:** Boats leave from the quay below the Stone Bridge

Links: [Website](https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/walhalla.htm?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. The Danube Gorge and Weltenburg Abbey

Day trip · Kloster Weltenburg, 93309 Kelheim

Above Kelheim the river narrows between limestone cliffs, and the 45-minute boat through it lands at Bavaria's oldest monastery. The Asam brothers built the church. The courtyard beer garden pours the abbey's own dark beer.

- **Time:** Half day
- **Cost:** €€
- **Best at:** March to November
- **Tip:** Boats run from Kelheim, about 30 km upstream of the city

Links: [Website](https://www.kloster-weltenburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Porta Praetoria

Roman site · Unter den Schwibögen, 93047 Regensburg

The north gate of Castra Regina, the legionary fortress Marcus Aurelius ordered here in 179, still standing in a wall behind the bishop's palace. An arch and a tower of Roman ashlar at street level, free, and easy to walk straight past.

- **Time:** 10 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Any time
- **Tip:** The Roman courses are the big blocks low in the wall

### 10. document Neupfarrplatz

Historic site · Neupfarrplatz, 93047 Regensburg

Under the square lie a Roman officers' quarter, the medieval Jewish quarter razed in 1519, and a wartime bunker, excavated and shown as an underground walk. Above it, Dani Karavan's white sculpture traces the footprint of the lost synagogue.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €
- **Best at:** Guided tour
- **Tip:** The Karavan memorial on the square costs nothing to walk across

## Best historic sights in Regensburg

Six more stops inside the world heritage core, all of them a short walk apart.

1. **Alte Kapelle** (Church · Free · Alter Kornmarkt): A Romanesque shell with a rococo interior of the 1740s, gilded to the last inch.
2. **Goliathhaus** (Tower house · Free · Goliathstraße): A patrician tower house of around 1220 under a giant David and Goliath mural.
3. **Schottenkirche St. Jakob** (Church · Free · Jakobstraße): Founded by Irish monks around 1090. The carved Scots Portal is why you come.
4. **Goldener Turm** (Tower · Courtyard · Wahlenstraße): The tallest medieval residential tower north of the Alps, on Wahlenstraße.
5. **Neupfarrkirche** (Church · Free · Neupfarrplatz): Bavaria's first Protestant church, raised where the demolished synagogue stood.
6. **Ostentor** (City gate · Free · Ostenviertel): The eastern gate of the medieval wall, and still where the old town stops.

## Best museums in Regensburg

Four more collections, from the cathedral treasury to the rooms where Kepler died.

1. **Historisches Museum** (History · € · Dachauplatz): The city from Castra Regina to the Middle Ages, in a former Minorite friary. [Website](https://www.regensburg.de/museen?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Domschatzmuseum** (Treasury · € · Krauterermarkt): A thousand years of cathedral silver, vestments and reliquaries.
3. **Kepler Gedächtnishaus** (House museum · € · Keplerstraße): The house where Johannes Kepler died in 1630, kept as 17th-century rooms.
4. **Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie** (Art · € · Stadtwesten): Art from Germany's historic east, in a purpose-built gallery west of the centre. [Website](https://www.kunstforum.net/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best restaurants in Regensburg

Six tables, from a Michelin star over the rooftops to the Bavarian standards.

1. **Storstad** (Fine dining · €€€€ · Watmarkt): Anton Schmaus's Michelin-starred room on the fifth floor, level with the spires. [Website](https://storstad.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Sticky Fingers** (Small plates · €€ · Old town): Fusion plates built to share, and a Michelin Bib Gourmand for the price. [Website](https://stickyfingers.restaurant/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Aska** (Sushi · €€€ · Watmarkt): A small sushi counter in the same Watmarkt tower house as Storstad.
4. **Roter Hahn** (Regional · €€€ · Rote-Hahnen-Gasse): Regional cooking in a patrician house off Haidplatz, listed by Michelin.
5. **Ontra** (Modern · €€€ · Franz-Mayer-Straße): A modern menu outside the old town, and the newest Michelin entry in town.
6. **Wirtshaus im Heuport** (Bavarian · €€ · Domplatz): Bavarian plates in a Gothic hall facing the cathedral's west front.

## Best beer gardens in Regensburg

Five gardens and the breweries behind them, one of which predates the cathedral.

1. **Spitalgarten** (Beer garden · € · Stadtamhof): Beer has been brewed on this spot since 1226. The old town sits across the water. [Website](https://www.spitalgarten.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Kneitinger Keller** (Beer garden · € · Galgenberg): A shaded cellar garden with room for about a thousand, south of the station.
3. **Alte Linde** (Beer garden · € · Oberer Wöhrd): Chestnut shade on the island, with the bridge and the cathedral in one view.
4. **Weltenburger am Dom** (Tavern · €€ · Domplatz): The gorge abbey's city tavern, pouring its dark beer under the cathedral.
5. **Bischofshof am Dom** (Brewery inn · €€ · Old town): Brewing since 1649, in the former episcopal residence beside the cathedral.

## Best of the Danube in Regensburg

Four stops between the Stone Bridge and the museum ships moored downstream.

1. **Marc-Aurel-Ufer** (Promenade · Free · Riverbank): The old town's river frontage, walked end to end in ten minutes.
2. **Salzstadel** (Visitor centre · Free · Bridgehead): The old salt warehouse at the bridgehead, now the world heritage visitor centre.
3. **Klinger boat trips** (Boat · €€ · Thundorferstraße): Short loops past the old town, or the run downstream to Walhalla.
4. **Donau-Schifffahrtsmuseum** (Ships · € · Marc-Aurel-Ufer): Two moored ships, a steam tug among them, on the river as a working road. [Website](https://www.donau-schiffahrtsmuseum-regensburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best neighborhoods in Regensburg

Three quarters: the listed core, the far bridgehead and the island between them.

1. **Altstadt** (Old town · Centre): Lanes, patrician towers and most of the 984 listed buildings, largely traffic free.
2. **Stadtamhof** (Across the river · Stadtamhof): The far end of the Stone Bridge, listed with the old town and much quieter.
3. **Oberer Wöhrd** (Island · Wöhrd): An island of villas and riverbank, with the Alte Linde under its chestnuts.

## Best day trips from Regensburg

Five trips up and down the Danube, none of them more than a train ride away.

1. **Kelheim and the Befreiungshalle** (Danube · 30 km · Upstream): Ludwig I's rotunda over the river, and the pier for the gorge boats.
2. **Nuremberg** (Train · 1 hr 30 · Franconia): The castle, the old town and the Nazi party rally grounds, in a day.
3. **Landshut** (Train · About 1 hr · Lower Bavaria): The Wittelsbach residence and St. Martin's, one of the tallest brick churches built.
4. **Kallmünz** (Naab valley · Northwest): A village under a castle ruin where the Vils meets the Naab. Kandinsky painted here.
5. **Straubing** (Train · Downstream · Lower Bavaria): A wide Gothic market street, and a Roman parade treasure in its museum.

## Festivals & annual events in Regensburg (2026)

- **Maidult** (Mid-May): Two weeks of beer tents, a brewery parade and rides on the Dultplatz by the Europakanal.
- **Bürgerfest** (Summer, every second year): The old town turns into stages and street kitchens for a long weekend.
- **Bavarian Jazz Weekend** (Early July): Four days of free jazz on the squares, in courtyards and along the riverbank.
- **Thurn und Taxis Schlossfestspiele** (July): Open-air concerts in the courtyard of St. Emmeram Palace, drawing tens of thousands.
- **Herbstdult** (Late August): The autumn fair on the same ground, running from late August into mid-September.
- **Christkindlmarkt** (Late November): The city's oldest Christmas market, more than 200 years of it, around the Neupfarrkirche.
- **Romantic Christmas Market** (Late November): Advent by torchlight in the Thurn und Taxis palace courtyard. Entry is ticketed.
- **Lucrezia Market** (Late November): A craft and design market in the old town, running through to 23 December.

## Must-try dishes in Regensburg, Germany

- **Regensburger Wurst**: The city's own smoked pork sausage, eaten hot or cold and known here as a Knacker.
- **Bratwurst vom Rost**: Finger-length sausages grilled over beechwood, six or eight to a plate.
- **Regensburger Wurstsalat**: The same sausage sliced into oil, vinegar, onion and mustard.
- **Schweinsbraten**: Roast pork under dark beer gravy, with a dumpling and a fold of sauerkraut.
- **Semmelknödel**: Bread dumplings made from stale rolls, the standard partner to anything with sauce.
- **Obatzda**: Ripe camembert beaten with butter, paprika and onion, spread on a pretzel.
- **Weißwurst**: Veal sausage eaten before noon, with sweet mustard and a wheat beer.
- **Dampfnudel**: A steamed yeast dumpling with a caramelised base, served in vanilla sauce.

## Regensburg transport & airports

- **Munich Airport** (MUC): About 100 km south and the practical gateway: a direct train runs from Terminal 1 to Regensburg Hauptbahnhof roughly hourly. [Website](https://www.munich-airport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Nuremberg Airport** (NUE): The other way in, about 100 km northwest, with a change in Nuremberg for the train east. Regensburg has no airport of its own. [Website](https://www.airport-nuernberg.de/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Trains** (RAIL): Regensburg Hauptbahnhof sits on the Munich to Prague run. Munich is about an hour and a half away, Nuremberg about the same. [Website](https://www.bahn.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Buses and the old town** (BUS): RVV runs the city buses from Albertstraße beside the station, and the Altstadtbus loop through the centre is free to ride. [Website](https://www.rvv.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Regensburg at a glance

- **Country:** Germany
- **Region:** Upper Palatinate, Bavaria
- **Population:** More than 150,000, which makes it the fourth largest city in Bavaria
- **Founded:** The Roman fort Castra Regina, AD 179
- **Nickname:** Ratisbon, the English name in use well into the twentieth century
- **Language:** German, with Bavarian spoken locally
- **Currency:** Euro (EUR)
- **Time zone:** CET (UTC+1), CEST in summer
- **Calling code:** +49, city code 941
- **Airports:** Munich (MUC) and Nuremberg (NUE), each about 100 km away
- **Power:** 230V, type F sockets
- **Emergency:** 112 for any emergency, 110 for police

## Interesting facts

- For more than 700 years the Stone Bridge was the only fixed crossing of the Danube here.
- The Perpetual Imperial Diet met in the Old Town Hall from 1663 until the empire ended in 1806.
- Johannes Kepler came to Regensburg in 1630 to chase unpaid salary and died here that November.
- UNESCO listed the old town with Stadtamhof in 2006. The ensemble runs to 984 buildings.
- The cathedral choir school behind the Domspatzen was founded by the bishop in 975.

## Watch

[Regensburg Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/regensburg.md), 12:08

## Regensburg travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Regensburg?

Two. The first covers the old town on foot: the Stone Bridge, the cathedral, the Wurstkuchl and the Old Town Hall. The second takes the Thurn und Taxis palace and the Museum of Bavarian History, then a boat downstream to Walhalla. A third day buys the Danube Gorge.

### Is Regensburg worth visiting?

It is the best preserved medieval city in Germany, with 984 buildings inside the UNESCO ensemble and almost no war damage. The centre is compact and largely traffic free, and both beds and beer cost less than in Munich.

### How do you get to Regensburg from Munich?

By train in about an hour and a half from Munich Hauptbahnhof, and roughly hourly direct from Terminal 1 at the airport. Regensburg has no airport of its own. Driving takes a similar time, but the old town is largely closed to cars.

### What is Regensburg known for?

The 12th-century Stone Bridge, Bavaria's only Gothic cathedral, and the Perpetual Imperial Diet that sat in the Old Town Hall from 1663 to 1806. Also sausage: the Wurstkuchl beside the bridge has been grilling bratwurst since the bridge was new.

### When is the best time to visit Regensburg?

May, June and September, for long evenings and open beer gardens. The Dult fairs fill mid-May and late August. From late November the city runs four Christmas markets, including the ticketed one inside the Thurn und Taxis palace courtyard.

## Nearby guides

- [Bamberg](https://wimup.com/city/bamberg.md): Germany · 10 picks
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- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 156 cities

Part of the [Germany guide](https://wimup.com/country/germany.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Regensburg tourism board](https://tourismus.regensburg.de/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Stone Bridge (official site)](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1155/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [St. Peter's Cathedral (official site)](https://www.bistum-regensburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Historische Wurstkuchl (official site)](https://www.wurstkuchl.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [St. Emmeram Palace (official site)](https://www.thurnundtaxis.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museum of Bavarian History (official site)](https://www.hdbg.de/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Walhalla (official site)](https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/walhalla.htm?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Danube Gorge and Weltenburg Abbey (official site)](https://www.kloster-weltenburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Historisches Museum (official site)](https://www.regensburg.de/museen?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie (official site)](https://www.kunstforum.net/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Storstad (official site)](https://storstad.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Sticky Fingers (official site)](https://stickyfingers.restaurant/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Spitalgarten (official site)](https://www.spitalgarten.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Donau-Schifffahrtsmuseum (official site)](https://www.donau-schiffahrtsmuseum-regensburg.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Munich Airport (official site)](https://www.munich-airport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Nuremberg Airport (official site)](https://www.airport-nuernberg.de/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Trains (official site)](https://www.bahn.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Buses and the old town (official site)](https://www.rvv.de/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.