Transportation to Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany

By Train, Plane, or Car to the UNESCO-Listed Medieval Danube Town

Aug 3, 2009

Transportation to the medieval old town of Regensburg on the Danube River is easy by car or train from other Bavarian cities including Nuremberg, Passau, and Munich.

Regensburg on the Danube River in Eastern Bavaria has the best-preserved medieval town center of any major city in Germany. Excellent transportation links make Regensburg an easy day-trip destination from other Bavarian cities or a great stop when traveling in the vicinity. Regensburg is a great choice when traveling on a budget as hotel prices are often far cheaper than in Nuremburg (Nürnberg) or Munich (München). Easy access from Munich Airport (MUC) makes Regensburg a great town for a first or last night when vacationing in Bavaria or Germany.

Traveling to Regensburg by Car

Regensburg is located at the top of the northernmost curve of the Danube River in Eastern Bavaria. Excellent highways give very easy access to Regensburg by car from other parts of Bavaria, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Traffic around Regensburg is usually light and without major traffic jams.

Regensburg is on the Autobahn A3, which runs through Germany from the Dutch border via amongst others Cologne (Köln), Frankfurt am Main, Würzburg, Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Regensburg, and Passau to Linz in Austria. From Munich (München) and Munich Airport (MUC) follow the A9 and A93 north to Regensburg. Autobahn access is also available to Plzen and Prague in the Czech Republic.

Roads in this part of Bavaria generally do not follow the flow of the Danube River closely. Drivers using the autobahns rather than small minor roads thus do not miss out on naturally scenery.

Getting to Regensburg by Train

Railway travel to Regensburg is also very easy and fast. Regensburg is a stop on the important railway link from Frankfurt to Vienna meaning all kinds of trains are available ranging from the fast Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains to slower local trains that stop at every station.

Direct ICE trains run generally every two hours on the route from Frankfurt to Vienna allowing for traveling times to Regensburg of 3h20 from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), 3h03 from Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof, around an hour from Nürnberg (Nuremberg), an hour to Passau, and four hours to Vienna (Wien Westbahnhof).

Local trains from Nuremberg run more frequent and are hardly any slower than the ICE trains (and significantly cheaper). Local trains to Passau are also available but markedly slower than ICE trains. Travelers using local train discount passes may well find the savings worth the extra time spend on the train.

Train journeys from Regensburg to Prague take at least five hours and generally more than six hours to Berlin. In both cases, various transfers are required.

Trains to Regensburg from München Hauptbahnhof and Munich Airport

From central Munich (München Hauptbahnhof) and Munich Airport (MUC) only local trains allow for direct connections to Regensburg (and these are faster than the high-speed trains that require connections en route). Furthermore, local trains are not only cheaper but allow the use of various discount tickets including the Bayern-Ticket.

Hourly trains run directly from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Regensburg in 90 minutes. From Munich Airport, take Bus 635 to Freising station and continue from Freising by direct local Regional Express (RE) train to Regensburg – the total traveling time is once again 90 minutes.

Cheap Flights to Regensburg

Although there are no airport near Regensburg both Nuremberg Airport (NUE) and Munich Airport (MUC) are at just over hundred kilometers closer to Regensburg than Frankfurt Hahn Airport is for example to Frankfurt am Main. However, cheap flights to Regensburg are seldom advertised – look for cheap flights to Nuremberg or Munich. Intercontinental passengers arriving at Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) generally continue to Regensburg by ICE train or by road.

Both Nuremberg Airport and Munich Airport (MUC) have a large number of cheap flights on low-cost budget airlines flying from various parts of Germany and Europe. Cheap hotels in Regensburg and relatively stress-free transportation make Regensburg a sound option for the first or last night of a European vacation when arriving by air.

Regensburg has the best-preserved medieval town center of any major German city and was recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Walhalla, or the German Hall of Fame, is a popular day-trip destination on the Danube River a few minutes downstream from Regensburg.

The copyright of the article Transportation to Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany in Germany Travel is owned by Henk Bekker. Permission to republish Transportation to Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.