Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [325]
Looking across the valley, you can make out the limestone quarry (adult/child €2/1; 9am-5pm) where you can dig for fossils. At the base of the quarry is the Museum Berger ( 4663; Harthof; adult/child €2/0.50; 10am-5pm daily Jun–mid-Sep, 1.30-5pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun Apr, May & mid-Sep–Oct), which displays geological samples.
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Sleeping & Eating
Municipal camp site ( 908 147; fax 908 146; Pirkheimerstrasse; campsite €7; Apr-Nov) This basic camping ground is on the northern bank of the Altmühl River, about 1km southeast of the town centre. It closes for 10 days during the Volksfest (a mini-Oktoberfest) in late August or early September.
DJH hostel ( 980 410; www.eichstaett.jugendherberge.de; Reichenaustrasse 15; dm under/over 27yr €19.50/23.50; closed Dec-Jan) This comfy, well-maintained place has 122 beds and commanding views of the Altstadt. The double rooms, if available, have their own shower and toilet.
Fuchs ( 6789; www.hotel-fuchs.de; Ostenstrasse 8; s €40-48, d €60-80; ) A super-central, family-run hotel with underfloor heating in the bathrooms, which adjoins a cake shop with a sunny dining area. It’s convenient to a launch ramp on the river, and you can lock your boat in the garage.
Hotel Adler ( 6767; www.adler-eichstaett.de, in German; Marktplatz 22; s €67-75, d €91-115; ) A superb ambience reigns at this ornate 300-year-old building right on Markt. The rooms are bright, airy and modern, and it offers all the trappings, including bike and boat hire and a generous breakfast buffet. There’s wheelchair access.
Café im Paradies ( 3313; Markt 9; mains €5-17) This sophisticated spot on Markt is prime for people-watching. Recharge with a snack or full meal, either in the antique-lined interior or out on the terrace.
Gasthof Krone ( 4406; Domplatz 3; mains €6-18) Traditionally garbed waitresses bang down monster platters of local nosh in the beer garden and two-tiered dining room of this lively tavern. Altmühltaler lamb is the speciality here, its meat infused with special flavour by the park’s herb-rich meadows.
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Getting There & Away
Trains run hourly or more between Ingolstadt and Eichstätt (€5.10, 25 minutes). Alternatively take the hourly, weekday-only Schnellbus (€4.90, 45 minutes) from Ingolstadt bus station (ZOB) or Eichstatt’s Residenzplatz.
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INGOLSTADT
0841 / pop 122,000
Even by Bavaria’s elevated standards, Danube-straddling Ingolstadt is astonishingly affluent. Auto manufacturer Audi has its headquarters here, flanked by a clutch of oil refineries in the outskirts. But industry has left few marks on the charming medieval centre, with its cobblestone streets and historic buildings. Ingolstadt’s museum church has the largest flat fresco ever made. And few people may know that its old medical school figured in the literary birth of Frankenstein, the monster by which all others are judged.
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Orientation
The Hauptbahnhof is 2.5km southeast of the Altstadt; buses 10, 11, 15 and 16 run between them every few minutes (€1.80). The Danube is south of the Altstadt; the Audi factory is about 2km north of the centre.
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Information
Dresdner Bank (Rathausplatz 3)
Post office (Am Stein)
Stadtbücherei ( 305 3839; Hallstrasse 2-4; internet access per 30min €0.50)
Surfen bei Yorma’s (Hauptbahnhof; internet access per hr €3)
Tourist office (www.ingolstadt-tourismus.de) City centre ( 305 3030; Rathausplatz 2; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun, shorter hours & closed Sun Nov-Mar); Hauptbahnhof ( 305 3005; Elisabethstrasse 3; 8.30am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2pm Sat)
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Sights
ASAMKIRCHE MARIA DE VICTORIA
The crown jewel among Ingolstadt’s sights, the Asamkirche Maria de Victoria ( 175 18; Neubaustrasse 11/2; adult/concession €2/1.50; 9am-noon & 1-5pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, 1-4pm Nov-Feb) is a baroque masterpiece designed by brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam between 1732 and 1736. Its shining glory is the trompe