Lübeck
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…
Must-see attractions in Schleswig-Holstein
Lübeck
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…
Lübeck
This museum quarter includes an old synagogue, church and medieval buildings along its uneven streets. The namesake St Annen Museum details the diverse…
Schleswig-Holstein
With its steeple towering above the Altstadt (old town), the Dom St Petri provides an excellent point of orientation. It’s also home to the intricate…
Schleswig-Holstein
Some of the prettiest Kaufmannshöfe (merchants' courtyards) can be found off the very picturesque Rote Strasse, which is up from the harbour by the…
Schleswig-Holstein
Dedicated to the North Sea, this state-of-the-art ecological museum has multimedia exhibits that keep both kids and adults entertained (especially on…
Schleswig-Holstein
Once a notorious thoroughfare known by sailors for its brothels, cobblestoned Oluf-Samson-Gang has been transformed into one of the prettiest streets in…
Schleswig-Holstein
Stunning Uwe Dune, at 52.5m, is Sylt’s highest natural elevation. You can climb the wooden steps to the top for a 360-degree view over Sylt and, on a good…
Schleswig-Holstein
Vikings ruled from their base here at Haithabu, across the Schlei from Schleswig, some 1000 to 1200 years ago. Located just outside the historic…
Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum
Schleswig-Holstein
The Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum, in Schloss Gottorf, is filled with art treasures. A roomful of paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and a wood…
Lübeck
Thomas Mann, winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in Lübeck in 1875, and his family’s former home is now the Buddenbrookhaus. Named…
Lübeck
Born in Danzig (now Gdańsk), Poland, Günter Grass had been living just outside Lübeck for 13 years when he collected his Nobel Prize in 1999. But this…
Schleswig-Holstein
By far the biggest and most impressive collection of Emil Nolde’s work is in his architecturally arresting former atelier at Seebüll. The exhibition is…
Lübeck
Sometimes described as a ‘fairy tale in stone’, Lübeck’s 13th- to 15th-century Rathaus is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in Germany. Inside,…
Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz
Schleswig-Holstein
Sprawling over 753 sq km between Lübeck to the south and Kiel to the north, the Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz is the region's largest outdoor playground…
Schleswig-Holstein
View a reconstruction of the famous Gottorfer Globus, which has been placed in its own house, a five-minute walk through the castle's lovely formal…
Lübeck
This fine Gothic church boasts the world's highest brick-vaulted roof and was the model for dozens of churches in northern Germany. Crane your neck to…
Kiel
The 99km-long Nord-Ostsee-Kanal reaches the Baltic Sea from the North Sea at Kiel, with some 60,000 ships passing through every year. It's easy to view…
Lübeck
The former Heiligen-Geist-Hospital has an elegant old entryway and a few resonances of Germany's first hospital (dating back to 1227). Through an early…
Kiel
The splendid waterfront promenade known as the Kiellinie begins northeast of the Schlossgarten. Sailing clubs, a tiny aquarium, cafes and restaurants line…
Lübeck
The Dom was founded in 1173 by Heinrich der Löwe when he took over Lübeck. Locals like to joke that if you approach the Dom from the northeast, you have…
Schleswig-Holstein
Even if you’re not familiar with the 19-century author Theodor Storm, his tidy wooden house will whet your appetite. Well-placed biographical titbits fill…
Lübeck
Art lovers will enjoy the Katharinenkirche for its sculptures by Ernst Barlach and Gerhard Marcks, plus The Resurrection of Lazarus by Tintoretto. It has…
Lübeck
Even if you think you don't like puppets, don’t miss this wondrous collection of some 1200 puppets, props, posters and more from Europe, Asia and Africa…
Schleswig-Holstein
This hilltop museum features two wings: one contains a collection of rooms and furniture from Schleswig-Holstein history, including a remarkably painted…
Lübeck
Just behind the Holstentor (to the east) stand the Salzspeicher: six gabled brick shop-filled buildings once used to store salt transported from Lüneburg…
Lübeck
Besides Gunther Grass, Lübeck's other big Nobel Prize winner was chancellor of West Germany (1969–74) and was honoured for his efforts to reconcile with…
Schleswig-Holstein
An engrossing museum right on the old harbour. Displays here give the history of rum and the seafarers who shipped and drank it. Cool models show how…
Schleswig-Holstein
The town takes great pride in its historic four-masted sailing ship-turned-museum, Passat, which used to do the run around South America's Cape Horn in…
Schleswig-Holstein
Enter the 5000-year-old Denghoog, next to the town church, which measures 3m by 5m and is nearly 2m tall in parts. The outer walls consist of 12 stones…
Lübeck
Thanks to a lift, even the fitness-phobic get to enjoy panoramic views from the 50m-high platform in the tower of the 13th-century Petrikirche. No longer…
Schleswig-Holsteinisches Freilichtmuseum
Kiel Region
Beekeepers, bakers, potters and many more traditional craftspeople ply their trade in Molfsee, 6km south of Kiel. This excellent museum features some 70…
Schleswig-Holstein
This tiny fishing village is near the mouth of the Schlei. It makes for a good stroll, with some historic buildings and old boats. You can cycle here …
Lübeck
Among Lübeck's famous Höfe (courtyards), this is one of the most beautiful, although it's not always open.
Lübeck
The Glandorps Gang is one of Lübeck's most stunning centuries-old gänge (walkways).
Lübeck
Sheds light on the history of the gate and on Lübeck's medieval mercantile glory days.
Schleswig-Holstein
The days before tourism are recalled in this 1739 house made from brick and thatch.
Kiel Region
Hundreds of subs like this one once called Kiel home; Wolfgang Petersen’s seminal film Das Boot (1981) was set on a similar U-boat. You can climb through…
Schleswig-Holstein
Northern Germany has its own version of the Great Wall of China: the Dannewerk, a 30km-long earth-and-stone wall that stretched across today's Schleswig…
Kiel Region
Nearly 100m tall, this memorial was opened in 1936 to commemorate German seamen killed in WWI. After WWII it became a memorial for sailors killed in both…
