The Main-Danube canal is a masterwork of engineering: It allows ships of all shapes and sizes to cruise from the Black Sea all the way to the North Sea, through no fewer than 15 countries. Sixteen locks punctuate the 106-mile (160-kilometer) stretch between Kelheim and Bamberg, linking the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. Building the canal was no small task, especially considering changes of altitude (each river is different); the locks gently lift and lower the ships an astonishing 1,332 feet (406 meters) over the continental divide. Efforts to connect the rivers began with Charlemagne in AD 793, but the present-day canal was only completed in 1992. You have your choice of adventures in Regensburg, famous for its beautiful, UNESCO protected old city center. “Regensburg is so beautifully situated; this region had to attract a town,” wrote Goethe in his Diary of an Italian Voyage. And attract a town it did, but not due to its beautiful location alone. Ambitious and farseeing locals built a bridge (Steinerne Brücke, or Stone Bridge) over the Danube back in the 12th century, making Regensburg an international trading hub. Because so many of the handsome buildings from that period remain, UNESCO declared the old city center a World Heritage Site in 2006.
Choice of "Baroque 500" Thurn and Taxis castle visit or "Let's Go" Regensburg hiking experience or BMW factory visit
Generations Excursions:
Fascination BMW
Student stroll
These excursions are only available on sailings that belong to the Generations program.
Masterpiece Collection
Providing the most all-inclusive luxury to our guests is the heart and soul of our brand and that will never change. Yet sometimes our guests want something that goes even “above and beyond” our included experiences. In light of this, we now offer guests a curated selection of optional excursions, available for an additional charge.
Bavarian sausage-making workshop
"Baroque 500" Thurn and Taxis castle visit
Begin this three-hour excursion in Neupfarrplatz, the city center of Regensburg’s Old Town, before taking a short walk to the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis. The family estate is difficult to miss: at over 1,000 years old, the mansion boasts over 500 rooms complete with chandeliers, gold leafing, incredible art and architectural touches to make it truly a sight to behold. The palace has an incredible history and stands as a tale of revival, endurance and baroque style. What’s even more spectacular? The palace has a long list of celebrities who have stayed within its walls: Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Plácido Domingo and more. These walls may not be able to talk, but if they could they would surely say, “Come see us for yourself!”
Bavarian sausage-making workshop
- Duration: 3 hours
- Intermediate:
- Transportation:
- Price: $104 pre-purchase / €63 onboard
Germany’s oldest restaurant, Alte Wurstkuche, has been serving sausages to Regensburg’s residents for almost 900 years—which tells you just how much Regensburg loves sausages. Delve into the craft and art of this delicious regional specialty after a tour of the town’s medieval core (presided over by the splendid cathedral) that ends at the Regensburg Ratskeller. It’s housed in part of the Old Town Hall, so it’s a historic site in its own right, but it’s also home to a family-owned shop where Bavaria’s beloved Weisswürste are made—weiss, meaning white (for veal), and würst, meaning sausage. Roll up your sleeves and help create some white sausage under the supervision of the shop’s master butcher, who shares the traditional recipe with you. Once you’ve weighed and mixed the ingredients and stuffed the casings, you’ll watch them cook to delicious perfection. Then comes the best part: eating your own hand-made sausages with local Händlmaier mustard and a fresh pretzel—and, if you want a truly traditional Regensburg experience in the heart of Old Town, you’ll sip a local beer with it.
To add this Masterpiece Collection excursion to your upcoming cruise, please call our reservations department.
"Let's Go" Regensburg hiking experience
Did you know that Regensburg residents raised silkworms at one time? It’s just one of the unusual aspects of the city that you’ll discover on a hike that begins at the ship’s dock. Meet up with your guide and head out along the eastern gate road (that eastern gate was part of the old Roman walls), crossing the river to the narrow streets of Stadtamhof, an island in the Danube that is part of Regensburg’s UNESCO-honored medieval complex. Pause atop another bridge to take a look at boats cruising through the lock and then begin your ascent of Holy Trinity Hill; you’ll have a great view of old Regensburg from Windsor Heights, and you’ll pass some of the beautiful mansions that overlook the city—including the buildings that housed the silk plantation begun by Ludwig I in the early 19th century. Your route continues along the heights, offering views of the entire region: fields, woods, even the Bavarian forest in the far distance. After a brief rest, you’ll head back down to the town and the ship.
BMW factory visit
Here is your opportunity to see German engineering, famous the world over, in operation as you tour the state-of-the-art BMW factory on the outskirts of Regensburg. About a thousand cars a day roll off the assembly line here, many of them in the BMW 3 series. You’ll see the fascinating production process from beginning to end, starting with rolls of sheet metal that are stamped out into body parts and continuing as the body is built and the various other elements are robotically assembled. You’ll follow a car into the finishing department to see it painted, polished and have the final touch applied—the BMW roundel.
NOTE: If the tour lands on a day when the BMW factory is closed, we will visit the Audi factory instead. The Audi production line is closed on weekends, so if your visit is scheduled for a weekend, you will see the Audi museum instead
Fascination BMW
Don your safety goggles and discover how BMW builds a thousand cars a day at their Regensburg plant. Robots and humans work together to assemble a single car—which has about 550 parts—in less than 40 hours (it used to take weeks). The place is huge, and though robots do a lot of the work, a great deal still needs to be done by the human hand. You get to see all aspects of the process, from stamping out metal parts to painting, in a tour tailored to young visitors.
Student stroll
If you’d rather see some of historic Regensburg, you can experience it from the viewpoint of its modern-day teenagers, who will show you where to shop, stop for a bite to eat at a thousand-year-old sausage stand and find the best ice cream. They’ll also point out all the must-see sights—the cathedral, the medieval bridge and the house where Oskar Schindler lived.