Gary (our videographer) and I went to discover Regensburg as friends of Germany Vacationer Board, a college metropolis hailed as one of the best preserved medieval metropolis in Germany, providing a heady mixture of a fantastic skyline, spectacular historic monuments and legendary Bavarian hospitality.
Though Bavaria lives as much as all its fantastic cliches of lederhosen, dirndls and naturally, its beer-swigging, jolly festivals, in my view, the Southeastern state of Germany presents way more than only a fantastic place to get drunk!
What’s so particular about Regensburg?
It’s a spot the place pristinely shiny landscapes are punctuated with story-book castles, conventional church buildings and neat and medieval cities which go about their time-warped enterprise in a peaceable, pristine sort of manner.
A few of my household dwell in Bavaria, so it’s a area that may all the time have a particular place in my coronary heart and I really feel that particular connection as quickly as I arrive there.
The Outdated City of Regensburg (with Stadtamhof) is a UNESCO World Heritage website and over the many years town has risen by the affluence stakes to change into probably the most sought-after locations to dwell in Bavaria!
Exterior Germany although, it’s a spot that is still very a lot underneath the vacationer radar and I imagine it’s a metropolis vacation spot that deserves much more consideration. Right here’s what I counsel to do in Regensburg in 48 hours for those who go to at Christmas…
1. Wander the Stunning Lanes within the Outdated City
Packed filled with magnificent medieval buildings, Regensburg wears its UNESCO badge with loads satisfaction! I like that it takes its heritage extraordinarily critically—for instance, most of its buildings are actually formally preserved and shielded from alteration, so if a resident needs to repaint a home, for instance, its color has to adapt to these used prior to now! Wow!
I discovered it to be a rare place with a comfortable, quaint vibe with a mixture of fantastic historic buildings, fashionable eating places and cosmopolitan bars, and a seemingly infinite community of slender, atmospheric cobbled lanes lined with attractive boutique shops from stylish garments boutiques to retailers promoting artisan-made wood items.
I cherished simply wandering by the winding cobbled streets, absorbing the pristine medieval appeal of the place. It felt so untouched by tourism, and for a second, I may virtually think about myself as an area, absolutely immersed in its timeless magnificence!
At Christmas, I cherished that the environment within the lanes turns up a number of notches. That is when the elegant buildings are adorned with lots of of twinkling lights and when the retailers begin promoting beautiful handcrafted Christmas decorations, which I spent hours gazing at!
2. Go for a drink in one of many cosy bars
This time of 12 months, Germany appears to be experiencing its personal model of Hygge, and I feel there’s no higher place to expertise this than in considered one of their bars or eating places.
I like to recommend wandering town centre’s cobbled lanes, gawping on the Christmas lights, after which buying and selling at the hours of darkness, chilly winter evening for a comfortable drink or two at one of many inviting bars, which are sometimes illuminated by tender, heat lighting.
Consuming in Regensburg remains to be as conventional and laid-back as you’d anticipate it to be in Bavaria but in addition exceptionally stylish.
My favorite bars included Orphée, Kaminski, Hemingway’s – lurk within the maze of alleys between Haidplatz and Neupfarrplatz so I might counsel heading to these for starters!
3. Discover the Romantic Christmas Market!
This atmospheric Christmas Market critically wowed me! Regensburg’s Outdated City has lots of of listed buildings. Nonetheless, I feel this palace and its grounds are the jewel within the crown – in the course of the 18th century, the princes of Thurn and Taxis created a powerful fortress.
From the twenty ninth of November to the twenty third of December annually, it turns right into a magical Christmas Market, which I feel may have been plucked straight out of a storybook!
Recognized domestically because the ‘Romantic market,’ I assumed the doorway was jaw-dropping! It’s a flame torch-illumined path that leads all the way down to an enormous assortment of conventional stalls and huts embellished with freshly reduce branches of pines and spruces, promoting winter rugs, Christmas ornaments, clothes, and handcrafted metalware, all encircled by a sea of glowing lights! Wow!
Smaller illuminated pathways result in alfresco champagne bars perched excessive on a hill or all the way down to picturesque conventional kids’s fairground rides or Glühwein stalls.
I cherished that it was a visible feast for all of the senses! Right here, smoke from open campfires billows into the frosty darkness, the aroma of burnt sweet and caramelised almonds permeates the air, and the regal sounds of bugles sign the beginning and finish of the festivities – to me it was pure perfection in a Christmas Market!
4. Dine out in Stadtamhof
Stadtamhof is a small Bavarian neighbourhood in the course of the unbiased metropolis of Regensburg. You possibly can attain it simply over the stone bridge that crosses the Danube River (the oldest preserved bridge in Germany).
It’s a spot the place residents benefit from the peacefulness of its offset location on the banks of the Danube, but they’re nonetheless solely a stone’s throw from town. I cherished the relaxed, cosy vibe right here.
I assumed it was a chic and picturesque neighbourhood lined with a fantastic assortment of bars, eating places, and small retailers nonetheless run by the identical households. With an amazing selection of eating places with an actual native vibe, I personally assume it’s among the finest areas to eat out within the metropolis!
5. Discover the Introduction Christmas Market
This time of 12 months, Regensburg is dwelling to a minimum of 4 separate Christmas Markets, and in my view, that is one other must-see so as to add to your listing! I final visited Regensburg in the summertime, and this space is a fantastic beer backyard on a much-envied spot on the Danube River.
I like that through the winter, it turns right into a magical Christmas market. Guests can view the attractive illuminated cathedral and a group of conventional stalls, flanked by open campfires, a towering Christmas, and extra freshly made culinary delights and gluhwein than their stomachs can deal with. Pure bliss!
6. Keep on the Inexperienced Spirt Design Lodge
The Inexperienced Spirit Lodge was our lodging for our keep, and I feel it completely captures Regensburg’s new, distinctive boutique vibe!
Set in a historic 18th-century constructing that was as soon as a brewery (very Bavarian!), it’s a classy resort with a contemporary annexe, a classy eating room, trendy however quirky minimalist decor, and a beautiful courtyard backyard full with a greenhouse (used to develop greens and herbs utilized by the resort chef). I assumed it was lovable!
