Regensburg sits on the northernmost point of the Danube, where the river turns east, and it is one of the very few large German cities whose medieval centre came through the Second World War essentially intact. It was a Roman garrison first, then a free imperial city, and the result is a thousand towers, patrician houses built like Italian fortresses, and a stone bridge that is older than most European nations.
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What Is Here
THE STEINERNE BRUCKE IS THE REASON TO COME AND IT IS ABOUT 900 YEARS OLD. The hero image is people walking on it with the cathedral behind. Built between roughly 1135 and 1146, it was for centuries the only secure crossing of the Danube here, it carried the Second and Third Crusades, and it was the model for later stone bridges across Europe including, by reputation, London's. It is now pedestrian only after a long restoration. Walk it for the view back at the city, which is the one on every photograph of Regensburg.
THE OLD TOWN IS UNESCO-LISTED AND IT IS GENUINE FABRIC. Around 1,500 listed buildings, and the thing that makes it unlike other German old towns is the TOWERS: wealthy medieval merchant families built tall fortified house-towers in the Italian manner to show status, and dozens survive, the Goldener Turm being the tallest. The second image is the cathedral from below.
THE PORTA PRAETORIA IS A ROMAN GATE STILL STANDING IN A LIVING STREET, AND WE CANNOT SHOW IT. Said plainly: the gate, built around AD 179 as part of the Castra Regina legionary fortress, is the oldest standing structure in the city and appears in NONE of our photographs. Nor does the surviving stretch of Roman wall it belongs to. The post describes both because they are half the reason this city is distinctive, not because we hold an image of them. Find the gate on the Unter den Schwibbogen behind the Bischofshof; a chunk of it is embedded in a hotel wall, which is the most Regensburg thing in Regensburg.
ST PETER'S CATHEDRAL IS THE BEST FRENCH GOTHIC IN BAVARIA, with original stained glass from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the DOMSPATZEN, the cathedral boys' choir, have sung here for over a thousand years. The Sunday morning service is when to hear them, free, and crowded.
THE HISTORISCHE WURSTKUCHL CLAIMS TO BE THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD, in business beside the bridge since around 1146 when it fed the bridge builders. It serves grilled sausages with sauerkraut and its own sweet mustard, you eat at benches by the water, and it takes CASH ONLY.
THE THIRD IMAGE IS THE RIVERSIDE HOUSES, which is where the city spends its summer evenings. Boat trips run to the WALHALLA, a neoclassical hall of fame built by Ludwig I on a hill downstream, modelled on the Parthenon and reached by a long flight of steps.
IT IS A UNIVERSITY CITY, so the old town has a student density that keeps it alive rather than preserved, which is the difference between this and Rothenburg.
When to Go
May to September for the riverside, the boat trips and the beer gardens, with the Danube terraces at the Wurstkuchl and the Alte Linde the best places to sit in the city.
Late November to just before Christmas for two markets, including the ROMANTISCHER WEIHNACHTSMARKT in the grounds of the Thurn und Taxis palace, which is ticketed and is the most atmospheric in Bavaria.
Spring and autumn are quiet and the light on the sandstone and the river is at its best.
THE DANUBE FLOODS AND IT IS NOT RARE. The riverside paths, the Wurstkuchl and the lower old town have been under water repeatedly, with major floods in 2013 and since. High water closes the promenade and the boat trips. If you are travelling after heavy rain or a fast thaw, check before you plan a river day.
Getting There
By train, about an hour and a half from Munich and an hour from Nuremberg, with direct services from both. The station is a ten minute walk from the old town.
By air, Munich is the airport at about ninety minutes, with Nuremberg a little closer by rail.
By car, on the A3 and A93. THE OLD TOWN IS LARGELY PEDESTRIAN with a low-emission zone; use a Parkhaus at the edge.
You do not need a car, and Regensburg is a stop on most Danube river cruises, which is why the old town can fill abruptly in the middle of the day between April and October and empty again by six.
Is Regensburg Safe for Women?
Regensburg is a small, prosperous university city and is very safe. The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Germany, and its terrorism wording is the strongest it uses: terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Germany, with restaurants, MARKETS, shopping centres, places of worship, sporting events and crowded public spaces named as possible targets. That is worth knowing in a country where a Christmas market is often the reason for the trip, and the response is awareness rather than avoidance. On crime the FCDO puts German levels on a par with the UK and names theft and pickpocketing at airports, railway stations and in crowded places, with the specific advice not to leave bags unattended. It also gives one unusually concrete warning: exchange currency only at banks and legitimate bureaux, because counterfeit notes are passed to visitors at street kiosks.
THE PAVING IS THE MAIN HAZARD. Because the old town was not bombed, the cobbles are the original article: rounded, uneven, polished where the traffic has been heaviest for centuries, and genuinely slippery wet. The bridge itself has an uneven surface and no handrail for much of its length.
THE RIVER EDGES ARE LARGELY UNFENCED along the promenade and the steps down to the water, and the Danube here is wide, cold and fast with commercial traffic on it.
Flooding closes the riverside at short notice and the water rises faster than people expect.
Cycling is heavy and lanes run through pedestrian streets.
Ordinary urban care around the student bar streets at night, which are busy and good-natured rather than troubling.
Bavarian beer is strong and served in half-litre measures. The walk home is on those cobbles.
The Regensburg Packing List
Original cobbles, cold stone interiors, river wind and long summer evenings outside.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women suits this city's particular rhythm: you cross a bridge in river wind, stand in a cold Gothic cathedral, and then sit outside by the water as the evening drops, all within an hour. Wool handles all three without a change. From November to March add a heavyweight merino base layer and a merino beanie for the Christmas markets.
A Columbia Fast Trek II fleece and a Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket, which on the bridge is a windbreaker first.
Walking shoes with grip and Darn Tough merino socks. THIS IS THE ITEM THAT MATTERS MOST HERE, because original medieval cobble polished by nine centuries of use is the single likeliest cause of an injury in this city.
Not linked and worth packing: CASH, because the Historische Wurstkuchl takes cash only and so do several of the best old pubs and the market stalls; SOMETHING TO COVER YOUR SHOULDERS for the cathedral, which is a working church and holds a choral service on Sunday mornings; A WATER BOTTLE; AND NO HEELS, which is not a style note but the same point as the shoes. Germany is otherwise increasingly card-friendly.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Regensburg
Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile, with operators who will find an English speaker. It is the single number across the whole European Union.
The old town came through the war essentially intact, which is why it is UNESCO-listed and why the risk here is underfoot: THESE ARE ORIGINAL MEDIEVAL COBBLES, rounded, uneven and polished by nine centuries of use, and genuinely slippery when wet. THE STEINERNE BRUCKE ITSELF has an uneven surface and no handrail along much of its length. RIVER EDGES ARE LARGELY UNFENCED along the promenade and the steps to the water, and the Danube here is wide, cold, fast and carries commercial traffic. THE DANUBE FLOODS AND IT IS NOT RARE: the riverside, the Wurstkuchl and the lower old town have been underwater repeatedly, notably in 2013, and high water closes the promenade and the boat trips at short notice, so check after heavy rain or a fast thaw. THE PORTA PRAETORIA, a Roman gate of about AD 179 and the oldest standing structure in the city, is on the Unter den Schwibbogen behind the Bischofshof with part of it embedded in a hotel wall. THE HISTORISCHE WURSTKUCHL IS CASH ONLY, as are several old pubs and the market stalls. RIVER CRUISE GROUPS fill the old town in the middle of the day from April to October and it empties by early evening. Cycling is heavy and lanes run through pedestrian streets. Bavarian beer runs above five per cent in half-litre measures.
US State Department travel advisory: the Germany advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: the Universitatsklinikum Regensburg on the Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee is the region's teaching hospital with a 24 hour emergency department, and the Krankenhaus Barmherzige Bruder on the Prufeninger Strasse is the other major option. Dial 112 for police, ambulance or fire, and note that AN INCIDENT ON THE DANUBE goes through 112 to the water rescue service rather than to a land ambulance, which is the right call from the promenade or the bridge. The overnight pharmacy rota is posted on every Apotheke door. Germany is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free: German healthcare involves patient contributions and the card does not cover repatriation or private treatment, so travel insurance sits on top of it. German hospitals are excellent and English is widely spoken in them, particularly in university cities. An Apotheke, marked with a red A, handles minor problems without an appointment and the duty rota for out-of-hours is posted in the window. Tap water is drinkable everywhere. Dial 112 for an ambulance and 116117 for the non-emergency medical service.
Official health authority: the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health body. covers the Bavarian regional health reporting
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Berlin.
Official tourism authority: the German National Tourist Board. covers the Regensburg UNESCO old town, the Danube boat trip season and the Thurn und Taxis Christmas market ticketing
Takeaways
Original cobbles, nine centuries polished. Flat grippy shoes, not heels.
The Porta Praetoria is a Roman gate in a living street. Go and find it.
The Wurstkuchl is cash only and has been open since about 1146.
Check the Danube level after heavy rain. The riverside floods.
Solo women safety assessment: Regensburg is among the easiest German cities to visit alone. It is small, wealthy and full of students, the old town is compact enough to cross in twenty minutes, the riverside and the squares are busy into the evening, and eating alone at a bench by the water at the Wurstkuchl is the most normal thing in the city. There is no district to avoid; the student bar streets are loud and good-natured. 112 REACHES POLICE, AMBULANCE AND FIRE free from any phone, and the Universitatsklinikum Regensburg on the Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee has a 24 hour emergency department. NOTE THAT TROUBLE ON THE DANUBE GOES THROUGH 112 TO WATER RESCUE rather than to an ambulance, which is the relevant call from the promenade or the bridge, because the river here is wide, cold, fast and carries commercial barges, and the edges along the promenade and the steps down to the water are largely unfenced. THE THING MOST LIKELY TO HURT YOU IS THE GROUND. Because this city was not bombed, you are walking on genuine medieval cobble: rounded stones, uneven levels, and surfaces polished glassy by nine hundred years of feet and carts, which in rain or frost are slippery in a way modern paving never is. The Steinerne Brucke has an uneven deck and no handrail along much of it. Flat shoes with real grip are a safety item here rather than a comfort one. The other thing to track is the water: the Danube floods this city repeatedly, the riverside and the lower old town have been underwater within living memory and recently, and high water closes the promenade and the boat trips with little notice, so check the level after heavy rain or a fast snowmelt upstream rather than assuming a river day will happen.
Reading On
Regensburg is the Danube member of a group of Bavarian and Franconian cities this library now covers together. The Passau packing list is an hour downstream and leads on the confluence of three rivers, which makes the two a natural Danube pair; the Nuremberg packing list is an hour north west and leads on the castle and the Christkindlesmarkt; and the Bamberg packing list leads on its own undamaged UNESCO old town and its smoked beer, which is the closest comparison to this city in Germany. South, the Munich packing list covers the Bavarian capital ninety minutes away, and the Rothenburg ob der Tauber packing list the walled town that is the other great surviving medieval centre in the region. For the Alps, the Berchtesgaden packing list and Garmisch-Partenkirchen packing list cover the mountains south of here. For the country, the Germany travel guide for women and the Germany packing list carry the rail network and the regions. For why wool handles a windy bridge, a cold cathedral and a warm riverside evening in one shirt, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
