Last year at this time of the year we were discovering Bavarian Regensburg with my huge pregnancy belly, and for this year’s traditional family trip to Germany we chose the oldest and third largest Bavarian city, Augsburg. Charlie and me ha’ve been here once before, just before Christmas time when we drove the famous German Romantic Road, but now we wanted to experience the city in autumn colors and with our children too. Besides Mila and Leo, Lu was also with us, on the last day of our trip he took the train back home towards northern Germany from Munich because his school holidays were ending. We spent five days on this trip, including a five-hour drive from Kranjska Gora, and this allowed us to really explore at a slower pace. Augsburg offers a lot of interesting things, and after a long time we really wanted to enjoy one of the biggest German cities like this. Also, Augsburg is in an excellent location – just under an hour away from central Munich and half an hour from Legoland, and there are also many charming smaller places in the nearby area, so you can conveniently combine your stay with a visit to another destination or include the city in a stop on a road trip through southern Germany. In this article, we are going to Augsburg, Germany!
With around 300,000 inhabitants, the Renaissance city of Augsburg is about the same size as our Slovenian capital Ljubljana, so most sights and attractions can be easily reached if you explore the city on foot or by bike, for example. We spent the first two nights a bit outside the city center at the Patchworkhotel Alpenhof, where we enjoyed a spacious room, an excellent breakfast and an indoor pool. From here we easily explored the green surroundings and the landscape around the city, and for the last two nights our home was an apartment in the strict city center, less than five minutes’ walk from the city hall. During our visit to the second oldest German city (by the way, the oldest German city is officially Trier), we saw a lot of sights, (interactive) museums, parks, sports fields, outdoor and indoor playgrounds, and of course we ate and drank well and did our usual shopping in our favorite German stores. As with every visit to Germany, where I lived for almost 11 years, I felt a little nostalgic, and it was really nice to enjoy the role of a tourist in my former homeland again. So now let’s see what AUGSBURG AND THE SURROUNDINGS have to offer.
AUGSBURGER ALTSTADT | old city center
Magnificent old houses, beautiful fountains, water canals, cobbled squares, museums, city gates, many churches, the city hall and the legacy of the wealthy Fugger family and other famous residents of the city made the old part of Augsburg very attractive. We started our tour of the city right here, on the most important, representative wide street MAXIMILIANSTRASSE (once known as the “Weinmarkt”), where we find a whole series of beautiful Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo and Neoclassical buildings.
The old city center of Augsburg was badly damaged in the Second World War, but unlike some other German cities, it was rebuilt in the immediate post-war period in a really thoughtful and visually consistent way with the image it had before. Today, in addition to architecturally significant buildings, we also find pleasant cafes here, so I definitely recommend a walk and a stop for a coffee while observing the bustle of the city in the morning hours.
AUGSBURGER RATHAUS AND PERLACHTURM | city hall and tower on Rathausplatz square
At the beginning of the above-mentioned Maximilianstrasse there is one of the most important secular RENAISSANCE BUILDINGS north of the Alps and the ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER of Augsbrug – the TOWN HALL, which is an excellent starting point for exploring the city. Unfortunately, the interior was being renovated at the time of our visit so it was closed to the public, but otherwise you can see different rooms on two floors – the most impressive and well-known are the so-called GOLDENER SAAL (Golden Hall) with its frescoes and characteristic coffered ceiling and FURSTENZIMMER (Prince’s Hall). Right next to the town hall, you cannot miss the 70-meter high watch tower called PERLACHTURM, which today serves as an observation tower.
The square in front of the town hall, called RATHAUSPLATZ, hosts many events, including the December ADVENT FAIR, but is otherwise a popular meeting place and starting point for various guided tours around the city. The square is surrounded by many nicely decorated middle-class houses, CAFÉS, SHOPS and TOURIST OFFER.
LIGHT NIGHTS AUGSBURG | yearly light festival
By coincidence, we found ourselves in Augsburg exactly on this weekend in October, when the spectacular LIGHT NIGHTS FESTIVAL was taking place in the old town. On Friday and Saturday evenings, light installations and animations started at 19:00 and continued until 23:00, and this year’s theme was all about space. The festival is going on once a year, and it takes place in several squares and streets at the same time. We watched the opening part of the show right on the main square in front of the town hall and it was really impressive.
CITY CHURCHES | Augsburg cathedral and other churches
After a walk through the old town along the Maximilianstrasse street and a tour of the town hall with the square in front of it, we visited the CITY CATHEDRAL, which is considered one of the most visited attractions in the city.
Right next to the cathedral is a smaller, well-kept park, PARK FRONHOF, where we found a small children’s playground, various STATUES and also ROMAN TOMBS.
Visually, we found this PILGRIM BASILICA OF ST.ULRICH UND AFRA to be even more attractive and interesting. This one stands on the famous Maximilianstrasse and can be seen from afar if we walk down from the town hall.
CITY SQUARES | Rathausplatz, Stadtmarkt and others
As in every big city, here too we find different markets where a lot of things are happening. On the already mentioned RATHAUSPLATZ square in front of the town hall, there is the ADVENT FAIR every December, different concerts and other events throughout the year. On Saturday morning, we also visited the STADTMARKT, where you can buy fresh vegetables, fruit and other delicacies from the region. There are also a bunch of small bars, cafes and restaurants, so it’s nice to visit it also in the afternoon and treat yourself to something a snack.
LECHKANALE | water system with 29 medieval water chanels
Isn’t every city instantly more attractive if a river runs through it? Well, there is no shortage of water in Augsburg. The city is famous for the MEDIEVAL WATER CANALS OF THE LECH RIVER, which supplied the city with water energy for many centuries. The water was used for craft companies and industrial factories (mills, processing of wood, metals, textiles, use in paints, tanneries or paper production, water collection in water towers or sanitary facilities ), which enabled trade to flourish and the city’s economic development. Later, they were also used to generate electricity. The canals simultaneously functioned as ditches and served to defend the city, they raised drinking water in the aqueducts, supplied the three city fountains and were used for sewage. THE WATER SYSTEM OF THE CITY OF AUGSBURG is also listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage.
The entire system covers as many as 29 CANALS with a total length of 77 KILOMETERS, and over 500 BRIDGES have been built over the water canals in the city, which is even more than, for example, in Venice. The canals can be seen everywhere in the city center, but if you want to learn more about everything, you can take part in a GUIDED TOUR organized by Regio Augsburg. In the center of the city, you should not miss the place of three historical water towers, the aqueduct and the associated buildings, which are located next to the mighty red-colored former defense tower called ROTES TOR from the 15th century, where you can see an interesting exhibition. We spent one day walking along the LECH RIVER in the northern part of the STADTWALD PARK, where we also saw the impressive HOCHABLASS DAM. It’s really nice for walking or cycling here, especially if you’re lucky with the weather like we were.
EISKANAL | first artificial whitewater river in the world
And speaking of water channels, there is something very special connected to water you can see here in Augsburg – the FIRST ARTIFICIAL WHITEWATER COURSE IN THE WORLD, which was built for the needs of the Summer Olympics in Munich back in 1972. The course is still the host of many of the most important KAYAK COMPETITIONS, including world championships.
It was the first time we saw something like this and we were really impressed. It is nicely set in a natural environment and there are lots of walking paths around. If you come by car, there is a small parking lot at the beginning of the park. We first walked past the canal and continued along the nice walking path to the HOCHABLASS dam mentioned above.
DIE FUGGEREI | the oldest existing social housing complex in the world
This is definitely one of those locations in the city that impressed and surprised us the most. In 1521, the wealthy mr. Jakob Fugger founded the WORLD’S FIRST SOCIAL NEIGHBORHOOD in the city center. 140 apartments in a total of 67 houses still host residents today who pay a ridiculously low rent. This is no joke, but the rent is actually still only 88 CENTS A YEAR! Excluding the monthly costs for water, electricity etc, but still quite affordable, right? The maintenance costs of the neighborhood are still covered by the Jakob Fugger Foundation.
Today, around 150 people live here, the queue to get one of the approximately 60 m2 apartments is surely long, but the main condition for approval is the Catholic faith. The residents also have a very special duty, they must pray for the Fugger family three times a day. In addition to apartments, some houses also have MUSEUM SPACES – you pay an entrance fee (18 euros for a family ticket), which of course also helps with maintaining the neighborhood, and then you can take a peaceful walk between the beautiful houses, gardens and visit the museum rooms. Everything is very nicely arranged and we really liked it.
It was especially special now in autumn, because the already beautiful houses were also covered with colorful leaves on top. And we were there on a nice sunny warm day when the mustard facade colors popped out even more. Die Fuggerei is located just over 5 minutes’ walk from Augsburg’s town hall to the east so it is really easy to visit once you are in the center.
AUGSBURGS MUSEUMS | different city museums and galleries
In addition to the museum in the FUGGEREI neighborhood, there are a whole bunch of museums waiting for you in the city, and I am sure that there is something interesting for every taste. Visiting museums is especially welcome in bad weather, and we also took advantage of one rainy morning to visit the NATURMUSEUM, which pleasantly surprised us with its animal and plant collection. They also have a PLANETARIUM here, in which there are special shows at certain times. We also visited the world of firefighters in the excellent interactive museum FEUERWEHRERLEBNISWELT (more on the latter below). Augsburg is also known for the AUGSBURGER PUPPENKISTE (doll museum), LEOPOLD MOZART HAUS (house of W.A.Mozart’s father), MAXIMILIANMUSEUM (the oldest city museum showing the history of Augsburg), SCHAEZLERPALAIS (city art museum with beautiful rooms), LETTL (museum of surreal arts), TEXTIL- UND INDUSTRIEMUSEUM (newer textile and industry museum), MAN MUSEUM (travel through time from the first diesel engine to today’s innovative products), BALLONMUSEUM GERSTHOFEN (ballooning museum), MAZDA MUSEUM (the first museum of older Mazda vehicles outside of Japan) and a whole bunch of others.
FEUERWEHRERLEBNISWELT | a wonderful interactive firefighters museum
When you travel like this with a 13-year-old, a 3-year-old and a baby, it can sometimes be a challenge to find activities that are suitable for such different ages, but by visiting this unique interactive museum on over 3000 m2, we hit the jackpot (the visit is also easy with a child’s stroller). The Feuerwehrerlebniswelt is located in a large, spacious hall in the city center, and they also have enough parking if you come by car. We paid 38 euros for the family card.
On the ground floor and upper floor, we spent two hours excitedly learning about the WORLD OF FIREFIGHTERS, seeing their professional tools and equipment, older and newer vehicles, learning about safety at home and on the road, and tried out different INTERACTIVE ROOMS AND DEVICES. You can go down a real fireman’s pole, get a good shake in a room with an earthquake simulator, find an exit in a pitch dark room (while the others watch you on an external screen via an infrared camera), with the help of a very realistic animation you can drive a firetruck on an emergency run, extinguish a fake fire with a strong jet of water and and and. They also have a restaurant and a shop. We found this place to be excellent, especially if you have any firemen enthusiasts at home, I highly recommend it!
CULINARY OFFER | where and what to eat and drink while in Augsburg
Those of you who have been following us for a longer time know that we like to eat well. We like to cook ourselves, but of course we are happy to try local specialties on trips so we often eat out. And Germany is really not just about sausages, potatoes and salty pretzels, which proved to be right already on our first evening when we had a delicious dinner in the restaurant of the cult BREWERY RIEGELE with over 600 years of tradition. We had soups, Spätzle, meat specialties and Kaiserschmarrn. Yum! We of course tried out a few different beers as well and we ended up buying a bunch of bottles to take home because we really liked the taste. Conveniently there was a nice shop just at the entrance to the restaurant. In addition to the RESTAURANT, they also have a traditional BIERGARTEN outside in the warmer seasons, a BREWERY TOUR is also possible, and they also organize various events from beer tasting to themed evenings. There is one more thing we absolutely loved here besides friendly service, good food and drinks and this is the small play area for the kids which is set up just next to a few dinning tables. We actually had a lovely meal where we could finish our food and drinks in peace thanks to this feature.
In the following days, we ate out a few more times and found a couple of open Biergartens where we enjoyed some of the typical Bavarian dishes under the warm sunshine. But once we also coincidently ended up in a Croatian restaurant where we ate šopska salad and čevapčiči, drank Malvazija wine and listened to Croatian music. Although Croatia is just our neighboring country, it still felt a bit like home away from home.
AUGSBURG WITH KIDS | things to see and do for the whole family
From the time when I lived in Germany, I remember what an excellent range of activities and attractions for children they have in every slightly larger city, and Augsburg was of course no exception. I admit, at home we don’t take our kids to museums very often, because in principle we prefer to be outside and because we live in Kranjska Gora, where nature is our best friend. That is why we usually take advantage of such city trips and try to catch up on these experiences.
This time we visited the above-mentioned FEUERWEHRERLEBNISWELT, the natural history museum NATURMUSEUM with its planetarium, the FUGGEREI museum neighborhood, the KLETTERWALD SCHLOSS SCHERNECK outdoor adventure park, where unfortunately we got hit by heavy rain and then we fled to the BIG JUMP indoor trampoline park. We skipped visiting the ZOO, which is otherwise located in the southern part of the city, near the kayak track and the Hochablass dam. Unfortunately, we also did not make it to the AUGSBURGER PUPPENKISTE doll museum, but we also found quite a few very nice outdoor CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUNDS. In general, the city is quite interesting for children and there are plenty of activities even when the weather is bad, for example there is also a water park called ERLEBNISBAD TITANIA NEUSAß if you feel like taking a swim. In the surrounding area, you can also visit one of the many FARMS which offer EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN.
AROUND AUGSBURG | what to see and do around the city
Since we stayed a bit outside the center for the first two days, we took one morning to discover the nearby surroundings of the city. First, we drove to the historic BISMARCKTURM tower, from where there is also a nice view of the city, later we saw the HAINHOFEN and WELLENBURG CASTLES from the outside. The road also led us through a beautiful forest, in which enthusiastic botanists would be thrilled, as this is where the so-called EXOTENWALD DIEDORF with more exotic plant species. South of the city there is another large green area called STADTWALD AUGSBURG, with many water channels and lakes. At the exact time of our visit, the rapeseed fields were blooming in bright yellow colors and the drive through the surrounding countryside was really scenic.
Finally, I would like to quickly mention the GERMAN ROMANTIC ROAD and the AUGSBURG CHRISTMAS FAIR, which we visited in December 2019. December is a great time to visit because of the festive atmosphere, which is really very special in Germany.
GERMAN ROMANTIC ROAD | 29 towns with historical city centres
As mentioned, AUGSBURG is located on the famous GERMAN ROMANTIC ROAD. This road follows the traces of FORMER ROMAN ROADS and connects 29 TOWNS WITH A MEDIEVAL CHARACTER, historic town centers, castles and churches, and driving through these parts of the country is truly something special. The beginning and end of this route, which is one of the most recognizable and tourist-visited routes in Germany, is in FÜSSEN and WÜRZBURG. We drove it with our Defender in December 2019, and fell in love with the Advent atmosphere in the area, it made our experience driving this route even more special. Back then we also stopped in Augsburg, but only shortly and we didn’t get to see so much of the city. Now that we explored more of it I can really say it’s worth putting it on your map so make sure to make a stop if you ever find yourselves on the ROMANTISCHESTRASSE Romantic Road. On the link below you can read more about our adventure and the 10 towns we visited on the Romantic Road.
CHRISTMAS MARKETS | Augsburg during the festive December Advent time
AUGSBURGER CHRISTKINDELSMARKT RATHAUSPLATZ is an annual ADVENT FAIR or CHRISTMAS MARKET that takes place on the main SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE TOWN HALL. If you are planning to visit the city just before Christmas, then of course you should not miss this event. However, these fairs are usually only held until December 24th in Germany, so be sure to check the current dates in advance. In addition to stalls where you can buy decorative souvenirs, handmade items and treat yourself to something traditional to eat and drink, different workshops and musical events take place here, so you will definitely not be bored in December. We have also visited the Augsburg Christmas market before and it did not disappoint us.
Five days of wandering around Germany passed again in the blink of an eye, on the way home we made a shorter stop in our beloved Munich, before Lu took his train to Hanover. Augsburg will remain in our fond memories also because it was actually the first joint trip with all three children, if I don’t count the holidays in Slovenia, of course. I think we made a great choice by visiting Augsburg, there is something interesting for everyone and we are happy to come back sometime. As always, I am at your disposal for any questions regarding our trip, but you can also get a lot of useful information on the official website of TIC Augsburg, Regio Augsburg Tourismus.
