Bavaria · Self-guided walk
Passau in one walk 8 sights, 60 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Passau Old Town: 8 sights on one 3.9 km loop, about 60 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 3.9 km, a loop
- Time
- about 60 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Dom St. Stephan
- Steps
- on Berggasse, Wehrgang, Veste Oberhaus, Zinngießergasse
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Passau walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Passau, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Dom St. Stephan
the start
The white one at the top of the hill, on the square the bishops arranged their whole quarter around. From May to October, at noon, every day but Sundays and holidays, something starts in here. I am not telling you what. Main course.
Next: Pfarrkirche Sankt Paul, 320 m, about 5 min, along Domplatz, Luragogasse.
2. Pfarrkirche Sankt Paul
about 5 minutes of walking from the start
It stands over the old cattle market, which is my kind of address. Come up the big open stair on the west side, not in from the square. The pointed tower cap is how you find it from anywhere on the hill.
Next: Altes Rathaus, 530 m, about 8 min, along Steinweg, Berggasse, Höllgasse.
3. Altes Rathaus
about 13 minutes of walking from the start
I approve of the square out front. It was a fish market first, which is the correct order of priorities. Inside, the great hall is painted end to end with scenes from the town, and the carillon in the tower rings twice a day.
Next: Prinzregent-Luitpold-Brücke, 350 m, about 5 min, along Fritz-Schäffer-Promenade, Prinzregent-Luitpold-Brücke.
4. Prinzregent-Luitpold-Brücke
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
Your way across to the north bank. Stop in the middle and turn around: from here you see the peninsula from the side, all at once. Then keep going, because a bridge is the chewiest thing I eat all day.
Next: Veste Oberhaus, 370 m, about 6 min, along Wehrgang, Veste Oberhaus.
5. Veste Oberhaus
about 24 minutes of walking from the start
On a wedge of rock across the river, right where the Ilz comes in. It is a proper climb and there is no way around that. From the top the whole peninsula is in front of you, tip and all. This is the one I chew slowly.
Next: Wassertörlschanze, 180 m, about 3 min, along Veste Oberhaus.
6. Wassertörlschanze
about 26 minutes of walking from the start
Up at the Veste Oberhaus there are two places to stop and look. Most people only ever find one. This is the other one, a few steps down and easy to walk straight past. Go and find it. I have never once regretted a second helping.
Next: Dreiflüsseeck, 1,120 m, about 17 min, along Veste Oberhaus, Wehrgang, Donaukai, Ort, Ortspitze.
7. Dreiflüsseeck
about 43 minutes of walking from the start
The pointed end of the Old Town, where the peninsula simply runs out. Stand at the railing and look down. The Inn and the Ilz come in from opposite sides and neither one gives way. I save this bite for last, on purpose.
Next: Alte Residenz, 850 m, about 13 min, along Ortspitze, Innkai, Zinngießergasse, Zengergasse.
8. Alte Residenz
about 56 minutes of walking from the start
It fills a whole block behind the Dom and gives the lane almost nothing. Two courtyards are hiding in there. I like a building that keeps the good part inside. So does a pastry.
Back to the start: Dom St. Stephan, 130 m, about 2 min, along Zengergasse.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Passau.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 81 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Passau Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.