Regensburg
In the 15th century, Franz von Taxis (1459–1517) assured his place in history by setting up the first European postal system, which remained a monopoly…
Must-see attractions in Regensburg & the Danube
Regensburg
It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the dim interior of Regensburg’s soaring landmark, the Dom St Peter, one of Bavaria’s grandest Gothic…
Regensburg
Claiming to be Europe's best golf museum (not counting Scotland, home to the British Golf Museum), this fine repository of wooden clubs, ivory tees and…
Passau
There's been a church on this spot since the late 5th century, but what you see today is much younger thanks to the fire of 1662, which ravaged much of…
Regensburg & the Danube
A thickly wooded paradise for lovers of fresh air, the Bavarian Forest National Park extends for around 24,250 hectares along the Czech border, from…
Regensburg & the Danube
The Altstadt’s crown jewel is the Asamkirche Maria de Victoria, a baroque masterpiece designed by brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam between 1732…
Passau
The very nib of the Altstadt peninsula, the point where the rivers merge, is known as the Dreiflusseck. From the north the little Ilz sluices brackish…
Regensburg & the Danube
Ingolstadt is home to the famous Audi factory that sprawls to the north of the city centre. The two-hour 'Production in a Nutshell' tours of the plant…
Internationales Keramik-Museum
Regensburg & the Danube
Weiden's top attraction is the International Ceramics Museum, housed in a spare baroque monastery building right in the town centre. The permanent…
Regensburg & the Danube
Looming over the old town is the Domberg, a hub of religious power with the twin-towered Dom St Maria und St Korbinian as its focal point. The restored…
Regensburg & the Danube
Modelled on the Parthenon in Athens, the Walhalla is a breathtaking Ludwig I monument dedicated to the giants of Germanic thought and deed. Marble steps…
Regensburg & the Danube
Ingolstadt’s biggest church was established by Duke Ludwig the Bearded in 1425 and enlarged over the next century. This classic Gothic hall church has a…
Regensburg
Excavations in the mid-1990s revealed remains of Regensburg's once-thriving 16th-century Jewish quarter, along with Roman buildings, gold coins and a Nazi…
Regensburg & the Danube
The simple but pretty Bavarian home where Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) was born in 1927 and lived for the first two years of his life…
Passau
A 13th-century defensive fortress, built by the prince-bishops, Veste Oberhaus towers over Passau with patriarchal pomp. Not surprisingly, views of the…
Regensburg & the Danube
Roosting high above the Altstadt is Burg Trausnitz, Landshut’s star attraction. The 50-minute guided tour (in German with English text) takes you through…
Regensburg
The sooty 12th-century main portal of the Schottenkirche St Jakob is considered one of the supreme examples of Romanesque architecture in Germany. Its…
Regensburg
From 1663 to 1806, the Reichstag (imperial assembly) held its gatherings at Regensburg's old town, an important role commemorated by an exhibit in today's…
Passau
Opened by Neil Armstrong, of all people, Passau's warren-like glass museum is filled with some 30,000 priceless pieces of glass and crystal from the…
Regensburg & the Danube
On the southern edge of the Bavarian Forest is Tittling, home to this 20-hectare open-air museum displaying 150 typical Bavarian Forest timber cottages…
Regensburg
South of the Dom, the humble exterior of the graceful Alte Kapelle belies the stunning interior with its rich rococo decorations. The core of the church,…
Regensburg & the Danube
One of the more unusual sights along the Glass Route is the Gläserne Wald near the small town of Regen. Here glass artist Rudolf Schmid has created a…
Regensburg
Just north of the Dom, the arched gate called Porta Praetoria is the most impressive reminder of Regensburg's Roman heritage. It was built in AD 179 by…
Regensburg & the Danube
The excellent Audi Forum exhibits on three floors chart Audi's humble beginnings in 1899 to its latest dream machines such as the R8. Some 50 cars and 20…
Regensburg & the Danube
This unique art museum showcases works and installations from the Concrete Movement, all of a bafflingly abstract nature and certainly an acquired taste…
Regensburg
An incredible feat of engineering for its day, Regensburg’s 900-year-old Stone Bridge was at one time the only fortified crossing of the Danube. Damaged…
Regensburg & the Danube
Rising in Gothic splendour at the southern end of the Altstadt is Landshut’s record-breaking St Martin Church: its spire is the tallest brick structure in…
Regensburg & the Danube
The glass highlight of the small town of Bodenmais is JOSKA Bodenmais, a crystal theme park complete with crystal shops, public artworks, beer garden,…
Regensburg & the Danube
The interior of the Ursulinenkirche was designed by the Asam brothers in their final collaboration. Its ceiling fresco depicts the martyrdom of St Ursula…
Regensburg & the Danube
Frauenau's dazzlingly modern Glasmuseum covers four millennia of glass-making history, starting with the ancient Egyptians and ending with modern glass…
Passau
Located in the Altes Rathaus, the Great Assembly Room has wonderful murals by local artist Ferdinand Wagner, showing scenes from Passau's history with a…
Regensburg & the Danube
This intimate museum is one of Germany's most important repositories of Roman treasure. Displays include imposing armour and masks for both soldiers and…
Regensburg & the Danube
This unusual art museum highlights works cast in steel, a medium that's more expressive than you might think. Exhibits are displayed in a striking glass…
Regensburg & the Danube
St Jakobskirche is a late-Gothic hall church with original stained-glass windows, but also a recipient of a baroque makeover, courtesy of the frantically…
Regensburg & the Danube
Housed in a former brewery, Zwiesel’s 'Forest Museum' has exhibitions on local customs, flora and fauna, glass-making and life in the forest.
Regensburg & the Danube
The ostentatious Neues Schloss was built for Duke Ludwig the Bearded in 1418. Fresh from a trip to wealth-laden France, Ludwig borrowed heavily from…
Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum
Regensburg & the Danube
Located in the stately Alte Anatomie (Old Anatomy) at the university, this sometimes rather gory museum chronicles the evolution of medical science as…
Passau
An entrance in the side of the Altes Rathaus flanking Schrottgasse takes you to the Grosser Rathaussaal, where large-scale paintings by 19th-century local…
Passau
Gothic architecture contrasts with 20th- and 21st-century artworks at Passau's Modern Art Museum. The rump of the permanent exhibition is made up of…
Regensburg
The most tangible reminder of the ancient rectangular Castra Regina (Regen Fortress), where the name ‘Regensburg’ comes from, is the remaining Roman wall,…
