Things to do in Regensburg

Regensburg is our favorite German City. What we like best is to walk its streets, alleyways and plazas. It was largely spared WWII and the place takes you back in time. Wikipedia does a good job on Regensburg.

A principal sight is St. Peter's Gothic Cathedral. It is massive and full of detail. It's interior is a bit cold and dark to my taste, and we tend to only spend a short time inside. A couple blocks away is the Alta Kapelle, whose interior has been restyled as Rococo. It is an interesting contrast. Also in the same area is the Porta Praetoria, the remains of a Roman fort, which was partially incorporated into other buildings through the ages.

I would also visit the "Scottish Church" (St Jakobskirche) founded by Irish Missionaries. It dates in part to the 12 Century. The interior is nothing special. However, the facade or portal would be at home in SciFi as well as the 1100's. It is decorated with mermen and sea-monsters. The area is now surrounded by a controlled, glass-inclosed environment to protect it. It is quite an interesting visit to another time.

We also like St. Emmeram's Church. Read the story of St. Emmeram in Wikipedia before you visit. The former St Emmeram's monastery has been converted to the Thurn and Taxis Palace, the home of a modern day princess. My wife enjoyed a guided tour of the palace. I enjoyed the partially converted (Romanesque to Baroque) Church.

I like the German Artist Käthe Kollwitz. There is a substantial collection of her work in the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie (art museum) located in the green belt at the edge of the old town. Their collection represents many periods in art.

We stay at the Weidenhof Hotel, about 3 blocks from the train station. It is comfortable (not fancy) with a decent breakfast. A young couple have recently bought it and try hard to please.

I recommend heading to the Altes Rathaus (old town hall), which also houses the tourist information center, which offers guided tours of the town hall and the torture chamber below. I think they were about €8. They have mostly German tours but there is usually a daily English tour. When I was there the English tour was cancelled, but I was offered a German tour guide and an audio guide in English. It worked out very well. The woman who was giving the tour was really informed and so helpful and so thrilled that someone was there that was interested in history. I listened to the English guide and then the tour guide explained some more.

It’s an amazing building that dates from the 13th century and consists of the Town Hall tower, the Gothic Imperial Chamber building and the baroque Town Hall. But the most interesting part was when we went below to the dungeon area. This is where the interrogations were and the prison dungeons. By law, nobody could be tortured to death, but they used torture as a way of getting people to confess. The guide told me that many people confessed as soon as they saw the instruments of torture. The torture chamber was boarded up in the mid-1800's but then reopened sometime in the 1900's for tours. All the instruments are authentic.

I did not stay there but I did have lunch at the café Orphée, where I had a lovely brunch of meats, cheeses, bread, fruit and butter and marmalade. Very nice place, but there were many nice restaurants around.

I was only there for a day which seemed like plenty of time to get a good feel for the town. If you go, eat at Wurstkuchl sausage. It’s a small restaurant and supposedly the oldest one in Germany. When I was there in 2015, it only accepted cash.

Thank you, All.

The Rathaus with the torture chamber sounds very interesting. But, we have seen the Lochgefaengnisse in Nuernberg. Would it be too much of the same in Regensburg?

Thank you!
M.

I have no idea - I did not see the Lochgefängnisse in Nürnberg. But I really enjoyed seeing the chambers in Regensburg and hearing about the process and what happened during those times. Perhaps others here have seen both and will comment.

I recommend a walk across the river to the Spital Biergarten (Spitalbrauerei) to enjoy a light meal with a great view of the Danube - with their wonderful beer, of course.

We will end our river cruise in Regensburg and then plan to go on to Munich, I assume train is the best mode of transportation. Any suggestions which train line it is and do tickets need to be purchased ahead ? Open to suggestions on best way to get to Munich...thanks

Regensburg Munich is local transport only. No need for prebooking tickets. If you travel on or after 1th of September (the 9€ ticket promotion ends on August, 31) for two people a Bayern Ticket will be the most economical solution (€34/2).

Don't miss the 900 year old bridge and the small restaurant that was where they fed the workers that built the bridge.

If your focus is more on the quality of food than on history you should follow the advice given by @Steven above and go to the other end of the bridge.

We had lunch at the bridge cafe (bratwurst and kraut) and it was perfect.

One of the local brewery Kneitinger locations.
https://www.reichinger.info/

If you have time on your hands, and are up for a longer walk and a little WWII history, then Donau Park/Prüfening. This is the area where the Messerschmidt factory was and bombed (Bf 109). Near where the Naab river joins the Daunau (Naab Spitz).

https://www.regensburger-tagebuch.de/2015/10/bomben-auf-regensburg-teil-1.html