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James Bedford

Northern Germany

Head to Germany's north because you love the water. From the posh pleasures of Sylt in the west, to the fabled Baltic heritage of historic towns like Lübeck, Wismar, Stralsund and Greifswald, you can sense the legacy of the Hanseatic League in beautiful old quarters created with iconic black and red bricks.

Even inland there is water. Mecklenburg's lakes are a maze of places to paddle. But really, most visitors will be happiest right at the edge of the sea. There are beaches everywhere, and while the temperatures aren't tropical, the drama of the sea crashing onto the white sand is irresistible.

Then there's Hamburg, a city with a love of life that ignites its fabled clubs, where proximity to the water has brought the city both wealth and vigour through the centuries. It's well on its way to being one of Europe's coolest cities.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Northern Germany.

  • See

    Mahnmal St-Nikolai

    St Nikolai church was the world’s tallest building from 1874 to 1876, and it remains Hamburg’s second-tallest structure (after the TV tower). Mostly destroyed in WWII, it is now called Mahnmal St-Nikolai. You can take a glass lift up to a 76.3m-high viewing platform inside the surviving spire for views of Hamburg's centre, put into context of the wartime destruction. The crypt houses an unflinching underground exhibit on the horrors of war. The museum's exhibition focuses on three events in World War II: the German bombing of Coventry in 1940; the German destruction of Warsaw and Operation Gomorrha; and the combined British and American bombing of Hamburg over three days and nights in 1943 that killed 35,000 and incinerated much of the centre. Note that St-Nikolai remains open despite any scaffolding for reconstruction. A new evening opening time was trialled in the summer of 2018, with the tower staying open until 10pm for four to six evenings a month. The Hamburg panorama, bathed in the light of early evening, is pretty special, so we hope they extend the trial – check the website.

  • See

    Fischmarkt

    Here's the perfect excuse to stay up all Saturday night. Every Sunday in the wee hours, some 70,000 locals and visitors descend upon the famous Fischmarkt in St Pauli. The market has been running since 1703, and its undisputed stars are the boisterous Marktschreier (market criers) who hawk their wares at full volume. Live bands also entertainingly crank out cover versions of ancient German pop songs in the adjoining Fischauktionshalle (Fish Auction Hall). Vendors artfully arrange their bananas, cherries, kumquats and whatever else they’ve picked up that week (some comes direct from farms but a lot comes from wholesalers). Others pile up eels, shellfish, cacti and all manner of goods. It’s not yet 5am when the first customers begin to trundle in. ‘Don’t be shy, little girl', a vendor might shout with a lascivious wink to a 60-year-old, waggling a piece of eel in front of her face. Almost always, the ‘girl’ blushes before taking a hearty bite as the crowd cheers.

  • See

    Marienkirche

    Central Rostock’s pride and joy is the 13th-century Marienkirche, the only main Rostock church to survive WWII unscathed (although restorations are ongoing). Behind the main altar, the church’s 12m-high astrological clock was built in 1472 by Hans Düringer. At the very top of the clock is a series of doors. At noon and midnight the innermost right door opens and six of the 12 apostles march out to parade around Jesus (Judas is locked out). Zodiac symbols and moon phases feature in the centre, while the lower section has a disc that tells the exact day on which Easter falls in any given year. The replaceable discs are accurate for 130 years – the current one expires in 2017, and a new one is ready. The clock is the only one of its kind in the world still with its original mechanisms. Also note the unusually tall, organically shaped baroque organ (1770).

  • See

    Elbphilharmonie

    Welcome to one of the most Europe's most exciting recent architectural creations. A squat brown-brick former warehouse at the far west of HafenCity was the base for the architecturally bold Elbphilharmonie, a major concert hall and performance space, not to mention architectural icon. Pritzker Prize–winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron were responsible for the design, which captivates with details like 1096 individually curved glass panes. Enter via Europe's longest (and really rather beautiful) escalator up to the Plaza, from where you can emerge onto the wraparound balcony for terrific city and harbour views in all directions. And make sure you return for a live performance.

  • See

    Holstentor

    Built in 1464 and looking so settled-in that it appears to sag, Lübeck’s charming red-brick city gate is a national icon. Its twin pointed cylindrical towers, leaning together across the stepped gable that joins them, captivated Andy Warhol (his print is in the St Annen Museum), and have graced postcards, paintings, posters and marzipan souvenirs. Discover this and more inside the Museum Holstentor, which sheds light on the history of the gate and on Lübeck's medieval mercantile glory days. The Latin inscription on the west face ‘concordia domi foris pax’ means ‘harmony at home and peace abroad’.

  • See

    Hamburger Kunsthalle

    A treasure trove of art from the Renaissance to the present day, the Kunsthalle spans two buildings linked by an underground passage. The main building houses works ranging from medieval portraiture to 20th-century classics, such as Klee and Kokoschka. There’s also a memorable room of 19th-century landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich. Its stark white modern cube, the Galerie der Gegenwart, showcases contemporary German artists. Look for Rebecca Horn, Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, alongside international stars including David Hockney, Jeff Koons and Barbara Kruger. The view out of the gallery’s huge picture windows is also worthy of framing.

  • See

    Nikolaikirche

    This masterpiece of medieval architecture dates to 1270 and is modelled on Lübeck's Marienkirche. Its interior is awash with colour and is filled with art treasures. The main altar (1708), designed by the baroque master Andreas Schlüter, shows the eye of God flanked by cherubs and capped by a depiction of the Last Supper. The main portal of is reached via an entrance off the Alter Markt. Also worth a closer look are the sculpturally rich rich high altar (1470), 6.7m wide and 4.2m tall, showing Jesus' entire life, and, behind the altar, a 1394-built (but no longer operational) astronomical clock.

  • See

    Europäisches Hansemuseum

    Opened in 2015, this brilliant museum tells the remarkable story of the Hanseatic League, Lübeck and the region. For 600 years, city states in northern Europe and along the Baltic discovered that shared interests in trade made everybody's life better than war. Transfixing exhibits use every modern technology to tell a story as dramatic as anything on Game of Thrones. The complex includes the beautifully restored medieval Castle Friary.

  • See

    Museumsquartier St Annen

    This museum quarter includes an old synagogue, church and medieval buildings along its uneven streets. The namesake St Annen Museum details the diverse history of the neighbourhood as it traces 700 years of art and culture. The adjoining St Annen Kunstalle has ecclesiastical art (including Hans Memling’s 1491 Passion Altar) and contemporary art, including Andy Warhol's print of Lübeck’s Holstentor. There's a chic little cafe in the courtyard. Renovations of the many historic buildings in and around St-Annen-Strasse are ongoing.