Ingolstadt, Germany - September 14th to 15th, 2025
Ingolstadt sits about half way between Nürnberg (Nuremberg and München (Munich). We had just finished a week long bike tour (Bavarian Bike Tour) in Nuremberg and had two nights before we were meeting up with relatives in Munich. Ingolstadt seemed like the perfect place to hang out to relax and recharge.
Sunday was another travel day, but it was a short trip, from Nürnberg to Ingolstadt. Our train wasn’t scheduled to leave until just after 11 am, so we could take our time in the morning. After checking out of our hotel, it was about a 15 minute walk over to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). We arrived just before 10 am.
There were multiple trains per hour that stopped in Ingolstadt, so we could have hopped on an earlier train. But we had seat reservations for the 11:03 train, so we waited. The train was an ICE (Intercity Express), one of Germany’s high speed trains. They would periodically post the current speed of the train on the monitors inside the train. It kept Keith entertained during our half hour ride to Ingolstadt. The highest speed we saw was 295 kph (183 mph). The same trip by car would have taken over an hour.
After arriving in Ingolstadt, we walked the 20 minutes from the train station to our hotel, Hotel Bauer Garni. It had rained earlier in Nürnberg, but had stopped in time for us to walk to the Nürnberg train station, but now it was raining again. Luckily we had our rain jackets and umbrellas handy for the walk to our hotel.
The hotel is located in a quiet residential area of Ingolstadt, southeast of the old town. We made it to the hotel just before the reception desk closed at noon. It was Sunday, so they take the afternoon off. However, they had already given us a code for the key box so we could have gotten in if we had arrived later.
Our room wasn’t ready yet, but we were able to leave our luggage and go find somewhere for lunch. The receptionist gave us a map and a few suggestions on where to eat. It was Sunday, so some of the places weren’t open. We ended up at Hermes, one of the recommended places, just a ten minute walk from the hotel.
To eat, Keith had the mixed salad with gyro meat. Ann tried the Hermes plate, which came with souvlaki, gyros, rice, and tzatziki, along with a side salad. Souvlaki is similar to a shish kebab, but this one just had meat, no vegetables. Ann believes the meat was pork. The rice was what Ann would call Spanish rice, as it was mixed with tomatoes and other seasonings. Tzatziki is a sauce made from yogurt, garlic, and cucumbers. The gyro meat was served with red onions. It was a tasty meal.
After lunch, we walked back to the hotel and hung out in our room until dinner. We needed some time to relax.
For dinner, we walked over to another recommendation, Sorrento, about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. We arrived a little before 6 pm and managed to get one of their last available tables, as most of them were reserved.
Sorrento is an Italian restaurant. Keith had the salame pizza while Ann ordered the spaghetti pesto. Keith was too full for dessert, but Ann decided to try the Tartufo. Tartufo is an Italian dessert. It consists of two different flavors of gelato formed into a ball and covered with cocoa powder. Ann believes hers was chocolate gelato wrapped around vanilla, served with chocolate sauce and cherry jelly. It was tasty, but she thinks she would have enjoyed the tiramisu better. However, she always likes to try new things.
On our walk back to the hotel, it started raining. We thought the rain was over for the day, so we didn’t have our rain jackets or umbrellas with us. Fortunately, it was mostly a fine mist, so we didn’t get very wet.
Monday, we explored the city of Ingolstadt. First we had a nice breakfast at Hotel Bauer Garni. In addition to a nice buffet, they also made eggs to order. Ann had a couple of Spiegeleier (fried eggs).
It was about a half hour walk from the hotel to the Altstadt (old town) area. Ingolstadt is a large city, but the Altstadt area is manageable, sitting along the Donau (Danube) river, being contained within what used to be its fortified walls. When we crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge, we noticed a city map with two walking routes. One route, the Altstadt Rundgang, wound through the old town past most of the sights. The other route, the Festungs Rundgang (fortress tour), circled the old town along the remains of the fortifications. We decided to walk both routes.
First we walked the Alstadt Rundgang. There were signs throughout the city for the two routes. Unfortunately, it was hard to rely on just the signs, because some turns were not marked. Fortunately, Keith had taken a picture of the map, so we could reference it when we weren’t sure which direction to head.
Several of the city gates remain along with an old Rathaus (city hall), Neues Schloß (New Castle) from the 15th century, churches and a cathedral. There are also several museums, but we didn’t go inside any of them. We just admired the architecture of the buildings from the outside.
After completing most of the route, we stopped for lunch at Mitten.drIN, a café near the Rathaus. Keith had potato soup while Ann had a burger with fries. For some reason, Ann wanted a burger. It was pretty tasty.
After our nourishment, we walked the Festungs Rundgang. Most of the time, the route was in the shade, among the trees of the green space that encircles the Altstadt. It was surprisingly very peaceful for the most part. A nice place to retreat to in a large city. There are remnants of the walls and some of the old fortifications and moats. Informational signs dotted the route, but they were all in German. Our German is decent, but not good enough to quickly read the signs with vocabulary we were unfamiliar with.
On our way around the Festungs Rundgang, we stopped at Schutterhof Biergarten, located in the former military bath. We both had Spezi to drink. Ann spotted something she hadn’t seen before, called Kiachal (or Ausgezogene), so she had to try it. It was a large, yeast donut without a hole, served warm with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. Ann appreciated that it wasn’t very sweet.
After we finished the Festungs Rundgang, we walked back to the hotel to take showers before dinner. Dinner was at the third and final recommendation from the hotel receptionist, called Gasthof Bonschab. They had a nice biergarten underneath some horse chestnut trees behind the hotel. The kids at a neighboring table were having a fun time collecting horse chestnuts off the ground.
To eat, Ann ordered one of the specials from the board, ratatouille with cheese baked on top along with toasted garlic baguettes. Keith opted for the cordon bleu with fries. Ratatouille is a French dish of stewed vegetables. Ann loves vegetables, melted cheese, and garlic, so she couldn’t resist and it definitely hit the spot.
As we were paying for our meal, we heard thunder. Dark clouds were rolling in. We didn’t think rain was in the forecast, so again, we didn’t have rain jackets or umbrellas. We tried to hustle back and beat the rain, but we didn’t succeed. The wind was blowing the leaves from the trees up into the air, then the rain came. We ducked under a roof overhang and waited for the rain to lighten up before making a dash the remaining distance to our hotel. Somehow, we managed not to get too wet. You would think we would eventually learn to always carry rain gear with us.
Ingolstadt may not be on many people’s list of travel destinations, but we had a wonderful short visit. The city had a nice mix of history, old architecture, and green spaces in the old center of town. It was a great place to stroll, take in the views, connect with nature, and enjoy some good food and drinks.
Check out our related video: Ingolstadt, Germany
(Ann)