Regensburg is not a city you “tick off” in two days. But two days are enough to get a feel for it – this rare mix of 2,000 years of history, the calm of the Danube and ordinary Bavarian life. We wrote this guide from the perspective that helps us most as hosts: what would we recommend to guests visiting for the first time who want to really experience things, not just check them off?
Day 1 – the old town on your own
Morning: cathedral and surroundings
Start at St Peter’s Cathedral (free, from 6:30 am). The early hour is unbeatable – soft light through the rose windows, hardly any tourists. Then linger in the Domplatz and stroll to the Krauterermarkt herb market.
Lunch: Stone Bridge & Wurstkuchl
The classic: a bratwurst on sauerkraut at the historic Wurstkuchl, right beside Germany’s oldest preserved stone bridge. Take the best photos from the middle of the bridge towards the city silhouette – cathedral, Salzstadel and Stone Gate in the frame.
Afternoon: Imperial Diet hall & shipping museum
The Old Town Hall with the Reichssaal (Imperial Diet hall) is essential if you love history – the perpetual Imperial Diet met here for 800 years. Tours in German and English run hourly. Afterwards: explore the smaller alleys around Haidplatz, coffee at Café Orphée or in the Regensburger Bücherschiff.
Evening: beer garden or river cruise
In summer: the Bischofshof beer garden or Kneitinger – classic Bavarian. If you prefer water to benches: a Danube cruise to Walhalla (about 3 hours return, with sunset).
Day 2 – surroundings & day trips
Morning: Walhalla
Fifteen minutes by car from our hotel: Walhalla, King Ludwig’s hall of fame above the Danube near Donaustauf. The view from the platform reaches the Bavarian Forest on a clear day.
Lunch: Danube Gorge & Weltenburg Monastery
Half an hour downstream: the Danube Gorge at Weltenburg – a narrow river canyon with limestone cliffs, by boat from Kelheim. At Weltenburg Monastery you’ll find the world’s oldest monastery brewery (since 1050) – and a lunch in the courtyard that you won’t forget.
Afternoon: slow down
Back via Sinzing – if you like, stop by us at Das Natürlich: coffee on the south balcony, a short forest walk, and then off into the second half of the day.
Insider tips from locals
- Arber café in the Donaumarkt: small viewpoint, hardly any tourists
- Ostdeutsche Galerie: modern art, almost always empty
- Café Moritz on Moltkeplatz: quiet alley, best brunch in town
- Insel Obermünster: Sunday afternoon picnic on the Danube
- Antiquariat Peus in Bachgasse: book lovers lose hours here
Things you should skip
- Guided group carriages on the squares – loud, hectic, the driver often knows less than a good book.
- “Typically Bavarian” restaurants right at Domplatz: pricey, average, not Regensburg.
- Looking at the Danube only from the bank – getting on the water is part of it.
Practical
By train: Regensburg main station is 10 minutes by car from the hotel; a taxi costs about €20. Hourly direct connections to Munich (1:30 h) and Nuremberg (1 h).
Parking: Old town entirely 30 km/h, many one-way streets. Park-and-ride at the university or park free at our place, then bus 38 to the old town.
Best time to visit: May–June and September. July/August are full and hot, winter brings the Christmas market at Schloss Thurn und Taxis – a reason to come on its own.
Want to experience this for yourself? At our spot at the forest edge in Sinzing you’re in Regensburg in 10 minutes – and in the evening in a quiet the city doesn’t have. See rooms · book direct.
