Regensburg Guidebooks and Maps

Guidebooks

The major English-language guidebooks don't cover Regensburg in any great detail, but two German publishers offer English editions of their inexpensive and handsomely illustrated Regensburg guides:

Regensburg, a Guide to the City with 70 Colour Pictures, by Heidemarie Böcker. This compact 88-page guide is your best choice if you're spending any time in the Regensburg. It divides the city center into three walking tours, with photos and descriptions of sights along the way. The back of the book lists museums, a few hotels, restaurants, clubs, shops, and other practical information. The front and back covers have fold-out maps that show major attractions. Verlag Friedrich Pustet is the publisher.

Regensburg, by Hanno Meierand Hermann Weiss. This medium-format, 72-page souvenir book is heavy on photos, but it's a good introduction to the city and has maps of the inner city and public transportation. The book is published by Stürtz Regio.

If you read German, or even if you don't, Sagenhaftes Regensburg! is well worth its modest cover price. The small hardcover book is illustrated cartoons and pastel drawings, and the text combines practical sightseeing information with wry commentary. The book, subtitled "Hurzlmeiers Optimaler Stadtführer," is published by a newspaper, the Mittelbayerischen Zeitung.

Finally, Polyglott's Bairisch Sprachführer is a handy German-language guide to Bavarian dialect (although, as a foreigner, you're better off sticking with Hochdeutsch unless you're trying to entertain the natives after your third Woazn or Dunggäsbia at a shared table in a beer hall.)

Look for these books in any of Regensburg's bookstores. (I found the best selection of local books and maps at the Dombuchhandlung on the Cathedral square.)

Maps

The Regensburg tourist office has a free brochure with a useful map of the city center. You'll also find maps there and at local bookstores.