Regensburg

Regensburg's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006, is the best-preserved medieval city in Germany — a remarkable distinction for a place that served as the seat of the Imperial Diet (the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire) for nearly 150 years, from 1663 to 1806. The city was founded by the Romans as Castra Regina in 179 AD at the northernmost point of the Danube, and its twelfth-century Stone Bridge — the oldest surviving stone bridge in Germany — still carries pedestrians across the river to the old town's towers and spires.

What sets Regensburg apart from other German medieval cities is that it was never bombed in World War II, leaving its original urban fabric remarkably intact. The Gothic cathedral of St. Peter, with its soaring twin spires completed in 1525, dominates the skyline. The Alte Rathaus (Old Town Hall) contains the original Reichssaal, the chamber where imperial representatives gathered — its walls still hung with tapestries and torture instruments from the medieval justice system. The Porta Praetoria, a Roman gate from 179 AD built into the wall of a later building, is one of the oldest surviving structures in Germany.

Regensburg's culinary heritage centres on the Historische Wurstkuchl — the Historic Sausage Kitchen, which has been grilling small pork sausages over beechwood coals on the banks of the Danube since the twelfth century, making it arguably the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world. Six sausages with sweet mustard and sauerkraut on a tin plate: that is the canonical order. The city's beer culture is equally venerable, with Spital, Bischofshof, and Kneitinger breweries producing traditional Bavarian lagers. Dampfnudel, a steamed sweet dumpling, is served at the cosy Dampfnudelhaus.

Walhalla, a neo-classical marble temple modelled on the Parthenon, perches on a hilltop ten kilometres east of the city, offering commanding views of the Danube valley. Commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1830 to honour distinguished German-speaking figures, it houses 131 marble busts. Kelheim, thirty minutes upstream, is the gateway to the dramatic Danube Gorge (Donaudurchbruch) and the ornate Weltenburg Abbey, which claims to be the oldest monastic brewery in the world.

Regensburg is a popular Danube river cruise port, hosting AmaWaterways, APT Cruising, Avalon Waterways, Celebrity Cruises, CroisiEurope, Emerald Cruises, Riviera Travel, Scenic River Cruises, Tauck, Uniworld River Cruises, Viking, and VIVA Cruises. It frequently appears on itineraries linking Passau with Nuremberg or extending to Budapest. The Christmas market season, held in the courtyard of Thurn und Taxis Palace, is one of Germany's most atmospheric, but summer months offer the best conditions for exploring the city's outdoor attractions.