Things to do in Ingolstadt

9 activities, venues and outings in Ingolstadt, from theatres and live music to parks and tours.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

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Adventszauber
Christkindlmarkt
At Christmas, the historic inner city transforms into a seasonal event. The heart is traditional Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market), with wooden stalls selling food, Christmas gimmicks, Glühwein (lit. "glowing wine", warm seasoned wine) and other things, a merry-go-round and a story-teller. Another highlight is the outdoor ice skating rink in front at Paradeplatz.
23 Nov-23 Dec: Sun-Thu 10:00-20:00, Fri 10:00-21:00
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Barthelmarkt
Even bigger than Ingolstadt's own beer festivals is the Barthelmarkt (St. Bartholomew market) in the village of Oberstimm, just south of Ingolstadt. Built as a horse market, it is now the biggest beer festival in the region, with its four beer tents being jam packed from early morning to late night. It happens on the last weekend in August, including Friday and Monday. Monday morning's horse market is the traditional highlight of the event.
Last weekend of August
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Beer festivals
Ingolstadt has two traditional Bavarian beer festivals (think Oktoberfest in small) lasting ten days each. The first and bigger one starts the Friday before Pentecost and is therefore known as the Pfingstfest. Herbstfest (autumn festival), the second one, starts on the Friday before the last Sunday in September, running in parallel to the second week of Oktoberfest. You can find beer tents, food, rides, games and stalls. It is a bit more traditional than Oktoberfest and not as bustling, but in the evenings (especially on Friday and Saturday) the beer tents become full blown party areas.
May/Jun & Sep/Oct
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Classical music open air
Each summer Audi sponsors a series of classic music concerts, with the classical music open air being the arguable highlight. For a weekend in July, a stage is built onto the large lawn in the Klenzepark. The Georgian Chamber Orchestra and the Audi Wind Orchestra each play one evening. Bring a picnic set, sit down and listening to the music sounding around the old classical fortress walls. There is also a fireworks show.
JulyFree admission
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Frankenstein tour
Ingolstadt's old university is the setting for the experiments of Mary Shelley's notorious doctor. Starting from there, an actor in the role of Dr. Frankenstein takes groups of tourists and locals on a tour of the dark history of Ingolstadt. Actors in monster costumes, who scare the crowd, and witch burnings are mixed in with historical facts. Tours are between March 21st and December 21st and take approx 90 min. The Frankenstein Tour has to be booked in advance. Tickets are available at the tourist office in the Old City Hall.
Mar-Dec every second Fri 21:00€10
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Guided city tours
Take a guided tour through the historical inner city. The city tourist office offers different guided tours: a historic tour (by an actor impersonating a famous historic figure of Ingolstadt), a tour of the fortifications, and guided cycling tours. The starting point of any of these tours is the tourist information office in the Old City Hall.
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Ice hockey game at Saturn Arena
Visit an ice hockey game of the ERC Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt's Premier League Ice Hockey Club and the German champion of 2013/14. During the season there is normally at least one home game per week.
Season: Sep-Apr
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Soccer game at Audi Sportpark
If you think German ice hockey can't hold a candle to US or Canadian ice hockey, and you want to see a sport which Germany is supposed to be really good at, why don't you try association football, Germany's national sport. Ingolstadt has a young professional club – Die Schanzer – which oscillates between second (in 2018-19) and first league.
Season: Jul-May
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Stadttheater Ingolstadt
City Theater

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Ingolstadt (CC BY-SA 4.0).