Passau Things to Do

On the Inn River side of Passau you will find the Pilgrimage Church - and to be honest - you can't miss its imposing site as it looks over the "floating area" of the town between the three rivers.
Walk up along the streets in Innstadt if you can, since there are some great view points along the way. You will also pass some wonderful old roman walls.
The covered stairway you can see leading up to the church are the Pilgrams' Stairs - all 321of them.

The cathedral of St. Stephan is a must visit while in Passau.
The frescos, the stucco figurines, even the gilt pulpit would not look out of place in an Italian church. Just remember to always look up to see the frescos.
Although there were no organ concerts on while we were there - it would be worth a visit to hear the great organ played.
Be forewarned though, the cathedral is really very chilly inside - which although a bonus in summer - is not great the rest of the year!

An adorable pink church that is worth a peek.
The alters and the statues inside are lovely and the inside of the church is not as overpowering as the Stephansdom - more intimate actually.
As you come out of the church to the right of it is the oldest of the five gates to the city, so the entire area around St. Paul's is worh a little investigating!

Passau is a really great place to just wander around in - although the little alleys and side streets can get a bit confusing at times.
We found it best to just walk around first thing before we actually went in to any specific buildings. You get a great overview of the town this way.

Take a walk in the old town of Passau and you will pass by plenty of interesting buildings and some of them you will never find decribed in any of your guidebooks , like the one on my picture, a giant painting showing holy Christophorus.
Most of the streets in the old town are pedestrian area today or strictly reserved for local trafic, so strolling through Passau will be great fun.

The Jesuit church / Jesuitenkirche of St.Michael dates back to the year 1677 and shows today mainly the style of the early 18th century with great paintings and impressive stucco-works.
Just click on my picture and see the great altar and the famous pulpit !

The new residence of the bishop dates back to the year 1712 and is connected with the old residence and the cathedral.
Look at the great baroque facade - inside of that building you may see the treasury of the bishop in the "Domschatz- und Diözesanmuseum". You cannot enter that museum on Residenzplatz ( the square seen on my picture), BUT the entrance is inside the cathedral.

The pilgrimage church Mariahilf is on the right bank of the river Inn and you may see it already from far away, with plenty of steps going up the hill.
This pilgrim-church dates back to the year 1627 and it finally became the status of a special church for the fact that the austrian emperor Leopold I found shelter in Passau, while Vienna was besieged by the Turques.
In 1683 the emperor could return to Vienna and the miracle-working image of Mariahilf became famous for the help given to the Habsburg-family.