Regensburg sightseeing recommendations

(I looked around the section that covers Regensburg but only saw posts on topics such as where to live and buy English books in Regensburg so I'm posting this here. Mods-- please feel free to move the topic if it suits you since I don't know if you want German travel stuff in the World Travel section.)

My family and I are going on a trip in March and will be passing through Regensburg. I've never been there before-- people keep telling me that it's a nice Bavarian city and I should stop and visit/sightsee-- but I've not yet heard specific recommendations.

So if you were going to stop over in Regensburg for a few hours for some lunch (preferably local Bavarian cuisine) and a few hours of sightseeing, what places would you suggest?

Danke!

Yes it's nice – it's a World Heritage Site! Just have a wonder around the lanes of the Old Town – the cathedral and the Stone Bridge are the two obvious sights. Then lunch at Kneitinger on Arnulfsplatz. Have fun!

If you do have lunch at Kneitinger - very recommendable for sure! - drop by the Wurstkuchl at Steinerne Brücke for a beer or three. Some of the most interesting historic sites are described in the thread about World Heritage Site, follow up from there.
Have a great time!

The Steinenbrucke is worth seeing as medieval Europe's largest bridge and for many years the only Danube crossing. Close to the bridge is Europes oldest "hot dog stand" being founded in the 14th century. The Rathaus is fascinating as the Diät of the Holy Roman Empire concvened there at one time. The Cathedral is okay but nothing special. The Tor Praetoria behind it has the walls and gate of the Roman city that was at one point the most northern city of the Roman empire on continental Europe. Then there is the Sankt Jakobskirche (Schottenkirche) just outside the gates to the Altstadt which was a church builtby Scottish monks in the Dark Ages. But the best attraction of Regensburg is the old city as a whole. It wasn't bombed in the war and is largely pedestrianised now. Look out for the towers on medieval merchants houses - the height of the towers denotes the prestige of the owner of the house so there was a kind of arms race to build bigger towers than your neighbour. Suggest you just wander down the lanes of the old city and dip into thoings as you pass them. One of my favourite places in Germany!

If you are staying a while in Regensburg then check out the Kloster Weltenburg - you can get a fantastic ferry from Kelheim up the Danube gorge (which is spectacular) - which houses the worlds oldest continuous brewery (founded in 1050) and a famous Dunlkelbier. You can then cross the river on a little skiff and walk back through the forest to see the spectacular Befreiungshalle (a monument built by the Bavarian king Ludwig I - very Wagnerian) and then return to Kelheim. (travel: from Regensburg you can get a train to Saale and from there a bus to Kelheim)

Also there is a ferry from Regensburg that can take you to see Walhalla - another monument built by Ludwig 1 to look like the Acropolis.

Finally, you can also do day trips to Bamberg and Passau from Regensburg. Both well worth a visit in their own right.

I've decided to take a day off tomorrow and I'm going to do a day trip to Regensburg. Everybody says it's fantastic.

Is there anything to add to the above? I'll print out the advice above give it a go. Really looking forward to this.

You can climb up the tower of one of the churches for great views over Regensburg - I think it is the Dreieinigkeitskirche but someone can maybe confirm.

A great place for lunch or a beer is the Spital beer garden, just on the north side of the Steinerne Brücke (cross the bridge from the old town and turn left at the end). The beer is GREAT (Franconian style) and you can enjoy a view of the mediaeval skyline as you sip it.

if you can do the jewish catacombs tour this also comes highly recommended, I've never done it, but it is one of the only things that I really feel I have left to experience in that town. All the recommendations above are spot on, the ratshaus tour was surprisingly good.

Although BTC, I was told that the Spital brewery is the oldest continuous brewery. I know Weltenburg tries to claim that they are really the oldes brewery in the world because although they only have documents supporting back to 1050 it's pretty obvious that they were brewing beer before then. However the same can be said for Weihenstephan, which probably saw the first beer production on the mountain a couple hundred years before 1040.

Anyway Regensburg is awesome.