The vast Rathausplatz forms the symbolic centre of Augsburg, dominated by the Rathaus built between 1615 and 1624 by the city architect Elias Holl. It is one of the most important examples of Mannerist architecture north of the Alps, and on the third floor it hides the famous Goldener Saal, the Golden Hall, with its gilded coffered ceiling, frescoes, and panoramic views over the square. Beside it rises the Perlachturm, a 70-metre tower originally medieval and reshaped by Holl in the early seventeenth century, which can be climbed by 258 steps for one of the best views in the city. In the centre of the square stands the Augustusbrunnen, the Augustus Fountain, the first of the city's three great Renaissance fountains, completed in 1594 in honour of the city's Roman founder.

Augsburg's long ceremonial boulevard, Maximilianstraße, follows the line of the ancient Roman Via Claudia Augusta that once connected the Alps with the Danube. Along its length stand three of the most celebrated Renaissance fountains in Europe, all part of the UNESCO World Heritage water system. The Mercury Fountain by the Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries, erected in 1599, shows the swift messenger god in mid-stride, a symbol of Augsburg's role as a centre of trade and communication. A few hundred metres further south, his Hercules Fountain of 1602 depicts the muscular hero wielding a flaming club against the seven-headed Hydra, a Renaissance allegory of human triumph over the chaos of water itself. The original bronze figures of all three fountains are now kept in the Maximilian Museum to protect them from weathering, with high-quality casts standing in their original places outdoors.

In 2019, UNESCO recognised Augsburg's historic water management system as a World Heritage Site, an unusual inscription that covers not a single building but a network of 22 elements spread across the city. From the fifteenth century onwards, Augsburg pioneered the separation of drinking water from industrial water, channelled through hand-carved wooden pipes, canals, and a series of waterworks and water towers. The most striking ensemble survives at the Rotes Tor, the Red Gate, the only fully preserved of the city's medieval gates, redesigned in the early seventeenth century by Elias Holl. Around it stand the Waterworks at the Red Gate, a cluster of towers and pumping stations that supplied the upper city for three centuries and that today form one of the most evocative corners of the old town. The system also includes hydroelectric power plants, some of them still in operation, that began to convert the city's canal network into electricity from 1875 onwards.

Of the five historic gates that once pierced Augsburg's medieval defences, only a handful survive, and the Vogeltor, the Bird Gate, is among the most atmospheric. Standing on the eastern edge of the old town along Vogelmauer, it dates back to the fifteenth century and once carried the city wall along the Lech canals. Together with the Jakobertor and the Fischertor, it gives a clear sense of the scale and ambition of Augsburg's old fortifications, much of which is best appreciated by walking the surviving stretches of wall and bastion. The Vogeltor also formed part of the wider water system: a small waterworks once stood beside it, distributing drinking water to this part of the city through wooden pipelines. The area around the gate is quiet and residential, a good place to slip away from the busier corners of the centre.

A short walk from the Rathausplatz lies the Fuggerei, a small walled settlement founded by the wealthy merchant Jakob Fugger in 1521 for poor citizens of Augsburg in need of housing. It is widely considered the oldest social housing complex in the world that is still in use for its original purpose, and its residents continue to pay an annual rent of less than one euro, a sum that has not changed in over five centuries. In return, they are asked to say three daily prayers for the Fugger family, a small ritual that has linked five hundred years of tenants in a quiet, continuous thread. The Fuggerei's narrow lanes, tidy gabled houses, and modest gardens make it one of the most unusual places to visit in Germany, and a window into a kind of civic generosity that has otherwise largely disappeared.

Augsburg's main station has been thoroughly modernised in recent years and now sits at the centre of one of Bavaria's busiest regional rail hubs. It is located a short ride from the historic centre, with the Rathausplatz, Maximilianstraße, and the Fuggerei all reachable in around ten minutes by bike along flat, well-signposted streets. Cycling infrastructure around the station and through the old town is generally good, and the central area is largely flat, making it easy to move between sights by bike. Bike racks and parking facilities are available at the station for shorter or longer stops. For onward travel, Augsburg Hauptbahnhof connects back toward Ulm, Ingolstadt, and the wider Danube region, so the city works equally well as a one-night detour or as a longer base for exploring this corner of Bavaria.