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Voykit pocket guide · Germany
Passau
Give Passau one full day and one night: old town, Veste Oberhaus and the three-rivers tip on foot; add a second night only for a Danube bike leg or a river cruise.
Passau sits where the Inn and Ilz meet the Danube, on the Austrian border, and almost everything worth seeing fits inside a walkable peninsula. River cruises and Danube cyclists supply most of the visitors; the old town is compact enough that a day trip from Munich or Linz works, but one night lets you see the confluence at dusk and the cathedral organ at noon.
- Country
- Germany
- Best months
- May–Sep; Dec for the Christmas market
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (cold, grey, some sights on shorter hours)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR). Card acceptance has improved but some bakeries, bars and small restaurants are still cash only.
- Daily spend
- Budget €60–90 excl. bed · Mid €90–150 excl. bed · High €150+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Telekom, Vodafone and O2 are the networks; Aldi Talk, Lidl Connect and congstar resell them cheaply in supermarkets and electronics shops.
- Emergency
- Fire and ambulance 112 · Police 110
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; UK and US devices need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: Round up or add 5–10%; say the total you want to pay as you hand over money or card.; Bar and café: Round up to the nearest euro.; Taxi: Round up by €1–2.; Hotel housekeeping: €1–2 a night, optional.; Free walking tour: €10–15 per person.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Restaurants usually sell bottled water; fizzy (mit Kohlensäure) is the default, ask for 'still' or 'ohne'.
- Toilets
- Station toilets cost €0.50–1.50 (Rail&Fresh WC); restaurant toilets are for customers; the 'WC' at motorway rest stops takes coins and gives a voucher.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee in a café | €2.50–4 |
| Beer, 0.5 l in a beer garden / supermarket | €4–5.50 / €1–1.50 |
| Lunch, main dish | €9–16 |
| Pizza or kebab | €6–10 |
| City bus single ride | €2–3 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- MUC · Munich Airport
- About 150 km west; train via Munich or Freising takes roughly 2.5 hAbout 93 mi west; train via Munich or Freising takes roughly 2.5 h
- LNZ · Linz Airport
- About 80 km south-east in Austria; few international routesAbout 50 mi south-east in Austria; few international routes
- NUE · Nuremberg Airport
- About 200 km north-west, but ICE trains to Passau can beat the Munich route on timeAbout 124 mi north-west, but ICE trains to Passau can beat the Munich route on time
Typical fares
- Passau Hbf → old town
- 300 m on foot, about 5 min
- Train Passau → Regensburg
- about €20–30, 1 h 15 min (check)
- Train Passau → Linz
- about €20–30, 1.5 h (check)
Get around
Walk. The old town, cathedral, Rathaus and the three-rivers tip are all within about 20 minutes on foot, and the station is 300 m from the centre. City buses run until about 23:00 and are cheap; taxis exist but cost more than the bus. A car is a liability in the old town — park and walk.Walk. The old town, cathedral, Rathaus and the three-rivers tip are all within about 20 minutes on foot, and the station is 300 m from the centre. City buses run until about 11:00 PM and are cheap; taxis exist but cost more than the bus. A car is a liability in the old town — park and walk.
See and do
Known for
- Three-rivers confluence (Dreiflüsseeck)
- St. Stephen's Cathedral and its organ
- Veste Oberhaus fortress
- Danube Bike Path (EV6)
- Danube river cruises
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Schärding, Austria | Regional train across the Inn, about 15 min | About 30 min |
| Regensburg | ICE or regional train along the Danube | About 1 h 15 min |
| Linz, Austria | Direct train | About 1.5 h |
| Munich | Direct regional or ICE train | About 2–2.5 h |
| Bavarian Forest (Freyung) | Ilztalbahn scenic train, mid-May to mid-October | About 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Altstadt (old town peninsula)
- Cathedral, Rathaus and river views on foot; book early in summer and at Christmas.
- Bahnhofstraße / station area
- 300 m from the old town and next to the Danube; best for one night with bags or an early train.
- Innstadt
- Across the Inn, quieter and cheaper, 10–15 min walk to the centre.
- Veste Oberhaus
- Hostel inside the fortress; cheapest beds and the best view, but a steep climb.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Grüß Gottgruess got |
| Thank you | Dankedahn-kuh |
| Please | Bittebit-tuh |
| The bill, please | Die Rechnung, bittedee rekh-noong bit-tuh |
| Can I pay by card? | Kann ich mit Karte zahlen?kahn ikh mit kar-tuh tsah-len |
| Where is the toilet? | Wo ist die Toilette?voh ist dee toy-let-tuh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Firm handshake with eye contact; 'Guten Tag' or 'Hallo'; avoid: Hugs with people you have just met
- Names: Herr / Frau plus surname until invited to use first names; avoid: Using 'du' with officials or older strangers
- Punctuality: Arrive on time for tours, dinners and appointments; avoid: Being more than 5–10 minutes late without a message
- Queues and rules: Follow signs, wait at red lights, sort rubbish; avoid: Walking in cycle lanes
- Conversation: Direct and factual; people say what they mean; avoid: Taking directness as rudeness, or joking about the Nazi era
- Home visit: Bring flowers (odd number, not red roses) or wine; shoes off if the hosts do; avoid: Arriving early
- Paying: Say the total including tip as you pay; avoid: Leaving coins on the table and walking off
Scams and watch-outs
- High water: the Danube and Inn flood the riverside paths and sometimes the lower old town; check levels before a bike day.
- The climb to Veste Oberhaus is steep — bus or taxi if knees are an issue.
- Many restaurants and shops close on Sundays and public holidays in Bavaria.
- Some sights run shorter hours from November to February; check before a winter trip.
Passau is a low-crime, walkable small city. The real risks are river flooding, ice on the fortress steps in winter and bicycles on the riverside paths; watch your bag in crowds at the station and on cruise days.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Passau yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Three-rivers confluence (Dreiflüsseeck)
- St. Stephen's Cathedral and its organ
- Veste Oberhaus fortress
- Danube Bike Path (EV6)
- Danube river cruises
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Passau official city site: www.passau.de/
- Passau tourist information: tourism.passau.de/service-info/tourist-information/
- Veste Oberhaus museum: www.oberhausmuseum.de/
- Ilztalbahn scenic railway: ilztalbahn.eu/
- Wikivoyage: Passau, revision 5264528 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5264528
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Passau
Zu dieser Adresse, bitte
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Passau; the US consulate-general is in Munich and most embassies are in Berlin. Austria and the Czech Republic are close by if you need their consulates.
Cash is still common in small Bavarian places; carry some euro.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/passau). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.