What is the Regensburg self-guided walking tour?
The Regensburg self-guided walking tour puts a narrator in your pocket instead of a group around you: the World City Trail app shows the way on a map, and at every landmark a recorded account starts, full of history, legends and odd facts. Count on roughly 2 hours for 10 stops and 3.6 km, of which only 46 minutes are spent actually walking. A Roman gate, a medieval bridge and the hall of an imperial assembly lie on one route, so each leg moves you on by a few centuries.
At the Kepler Monument you hear that the astronomer died in Regensburg in 1630, shortly after coming back to the city. At St Emmeram the narration runs from the abbey founded around 739 on a bishop's grave to the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, who have lived in its buildings since 1812. Neupfarrplatz brings the medieval Jewish quarter, torn down in 1519 after the community was expelled, and the Old Chapel the claim that it stands on the site of the oldest chapel in Bavaria. At the Porta Praetoria you learn that the city began in 179 as Castra Regina, a Roman legion camp, and at the Old Town Hall that the Perpetual Diet of the Holy Roman Empire met there from 1663 to 1806.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 46 min · 3.6 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Dutch
How the walk works in practice
Stand, look, listen
At each stop the narration explains what stands before you: how it began, who shaped it, the legend attached to it and the detail most passers-by miss. If you would rather read than listen, each chapter appears in full on screen.
Leg by leg with Google Maps
Google Maps leads you from one stop to the next, 46 minutes of walking over 3.6 km altogether, at whatever speed you choose.
Break off whenever you like
Coffee, a museum, an early lunch: leave the walk when something tempts you and pick it up again at the same stop, later that day or on another.
Shape your route
The app adds suggestions for local food and shops, and you are free to start at another stop or rearrange the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
A good fit for
History lovers
Dates, names and the reasons behind them: the narration fills in what the plaques leave out.
Two of you, or a few friends
Each of you listens on your own phone, side by side, and there is plenty to talk about between stops.
Visitors short on time
In about 2 hours you see the centre properly, with the rest of the day still free.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the station park to the Danube and back into the old town
10 stops · about 46 min walking · start: Kepler Monument · finish: Bismarckplatz
Setting out from the Kepler Monument in the small park in front of the main station, the walk heads into the old town by way of St Emmeram, Neupfarrplatz and the Old Chapel to the cathedral. North of it stands the Porta Praetoria, the Roman gate, and from there the Danube and the Stone Bridge are close by. Back among the old streets come the Old Town Hall and Haidplatz, and Bismarckplatz brings the tour to an end. Every stop is outdoors, and you set the starting point yourself in the app.
Open the route map ↗
1Kepler MonumentStart
This round columned pavilion with a bust of the astronomer Johannes Kepler stands in a small park in front of the main railway station. It was built around 1808 to a design by Emanuel d'Herigoyen, and Kepler himself died in Regensburg in 1630, shortly after returning to the city.
2Basilica of St Emmeram
The Benedictine abbey of St Emmeram was founded around 739 on the grave of the Frankish bishop Emmeram. The church was refurbished in the Baroque style by the Asam brothers between 1731 and 1733, and in 1812 the abbey buildings passed to the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, who have used the palace as their main residence since.
Read the full story →
3Neupfarrplatz
Neupfarrplatz stands on the site of Regensburg's medieval Jewish quarter, which was torn down in 1519 after the community was expelled. The Neupfarrkirche built there became the city's first Protestant parish church in 1542, and excavations since 1995 are shown underground in the Document Neupfarrplatz museum.
4Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady (Alte Kapelle)
The Old Chapel, officially the Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady, is said to stand on the site of the oldest chapel in Bavaria, which gave the building its nickname. Its Baroque church was raised to minor basilica status in 1964 and has an elaborate Rococo interior in the style of the Wessobrunn school.
5Regensburg Cathedral (St Peter)
Regensburg Cathedral, dedicated to St Peter, began construction in 1275 in the Gothic style. It holds the most extensive surviving medieval stained glass in the German-speaking world, and its windows date from the 13th and 14th centuries.
Read the full story →
6Porta Praetoria
The Porta Praetoria was the north gate of Castra Regina, a Roman legion camp founded in 179 AD under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Standing in the old town, it is a reminder that Regensburg began as a military base on the Danube.
Read the full story →
7Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke)
The Stone Bridge over the Danube was built between 1135 and 1146 and is the oldest preserved stone bridge in Germany. Crossing it, you look out over the river that made the city an important trading point in the Middle Ages.
Read the full story →
8Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus)
The Old Town Hall dates back to 1245, when Regensburg became a Free Imperial City. From 1663 to 1806 the Perpetual Diet, the permanent assembly of the Holy Roman Empire, met here, and its Imperial Hall dates from around 1320 to 1330.
9Haidplatz
Haidplatz is one of the oldest squares in Regensburg and began as a meadow, as its name suggests. Its Golden Cross was an inn where emperors and kings stayed during the Perpetual Diet, and the Justitia fountain in the square dates from 1656.
10BismarckplatzFinish
Bismarckplatz was named in 1885 after Otto von Bismarck, an honorary citizen of Regensburg. The square was already a traffic junction in Roman times, and it is lined by the classicist Präsidialpalais of 1805, which now houses the police headquarters.
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