The countryside around Regensburg invites exploration by boat, bike and car into a hilly landscape of cliffs, rivers, woods and forests, as well as medieval towns and castle ruins.

The countryside around Regensburg invites exploration into a hilly landscape of cliffs, rivers, woods and forests. The scenic surroundings offer adventure, recreation and unforgettable impressions: glassblowing and the grandeur of wooded slopes in the Bavarian Woods, "castle country" in the Oberpfälzer Wald, monasteries and caves in the Oberpfälzer Jura, and Bavarian hospitality in all the neighboring towns and villages.

Nestled in rolling Bavarian hill country, on slopes where wine has been cultivated since the Roman era, Regensburg lies on the northern-most point of the Danube. Converging here are the Regen, the Naab, the Laaber and, not far off, the Altmühl Rivers. Their valleys welcome the traveler to sleepy little villages and monasteries, and to the castles of Wolfsegg, Kallmünz, Laaber and Prunn.Whether by boat, bicycle or car, travelers along the Altmühl River pass medieval towns, castle ruins and craggy cliffs to the postcard-perfect village protected by 30-foot walls, towers and turreted gates.

Just six miles down the Danube from Regensburg - about 20 minutes by boat - the Walhalla, a Doric marble temple erected in the style of the Parthenon rises above the river. In the opposite direction, the Danube Gorge at Weltenburg has been honored with the "Europe Award" as one of Europe's loveliest riverscapes.

Traveling by boat, visitors pass the Befreiunghalle (Liberation Hall), a classical rotunda built to commemorate Bavarians who had died fighting against Napoleon. Soon the river narrows further as the boat passes the gorge of the Donaudurchbruch, where the Danube broke through the limestone plateau millennia ago. Also at Weltenburg is Germany's oldest abbey and monastery brewery (founded 1050) and the Baroque monastery church painted by the Asam brothers.