Lübeck is one of the most well-known Hanseatic cities (Hansestädte) in Germany, and for good reason. It’s a beautiful city, just off the Baltic and nestled right on the edge of Schleswig-Holstein (bordering Mecklenburg-Vorpommern).
After spending over a week there I want to share a few highlights that might help you get the most of your trip there.
What to do in Lübeck
Explore the old town
There’s a reason Lübeck’s cute island-shaped old town has been listed as a world heritage site. The place is quaint and picturesque. There’s 5 (!!) Gothic churches, the beautiful Holsten Gate (which has a museum inside, by the way), and loads of cute shops and cafes. You can spend most of a day just walking around and exploring. To keep this cheap and flexible we used the free walking tour guide from SmartGuide which was honestly pretty good. Lübeck’s old town is small enough that you won’t get lost easily either. Alternatively you can grab yourself a map and make your own way around.
Explore the alleys & courtyards
Lübeck is full of old, tiny alleyways dating back to the 14th century (e.g. Füchtingshof). It’s like exploring a medieval labyrinth. There are also plenty of great photo opportunities. Just an FYI: These are all public spaces and the courtyards are often surrounded by peoples houses, so be respectful!
Take a boat tour
If the above sounds like too much walking and you’re more aquatically-minded then you can also jump on a boat tour of the harbor and the old town. Since the old town is basically an island then you can do a full loop of it from the water, but of course don’t expect to see as much as when you’re exploring through the town on foot. The official Lübeck tourist site has a great list with more info and prices. You can expect to pay around 20 € for a tour.
Gorge yourself on Marzipan
Lübeck is a marzipan lovers dream, as their history with the stuff dates back to the 14th century. Seriously, you’ll find marzipan-infused-everything there. I absolutely love marzipan so there’s a whole dedicated section below with recommendations.
Take in the views at St. Petri
If you’re a fan of nice views and fancy taking a few areal shots of the old town you can head up St. Petri for a nice view, although given all of the scaffolding, I ended up taking more shots of the interior of the tower. They also seem to have some nice events and art galleries in the church so worth checking out the schedule, especially on a rainy day.
Hansestadt museum (Rainy day plans)
Speaking of rainy day plans, there’s the Hansestadt museum which is ideal if you want to learn about the Hanseatic cities and Lübeck specifically. Just brace yourself for a long visit if you want to read all the info. The museum also has a somewhat quirky interactive method. Before you enter, you get a card and select set your language as well as what specific area of history you’re interested in (e.g. English -> Lübeck-> “every day life”). You then beep this card as you go around and get info.
It’s kinda neat, but also kinda annoying to constantly have to ping your card against a lot of the displays which then anyway show the same content and then disappears again if you’re not fast enough. You’ll also need to use your smartphone to get access to the audio content, and personally I’d rather not have the temptation to be on my phone in a museum. Overall a worthwhile trip and I learnt a lot about the Hanseatic cities in Germany as well as their impact on the world.
Lübeck ❤️ Jazz!
One thing that absolutely needs to be highlighted is that if you love jazz, be sure to check out TraveJazz and time your visit for when this is happening (usually September). The old town transforms into a vibrant little jazz festival with super good vibes and great music. We stumbled into this on our first trip to Lübeck and it was a very fun surprise!
Day trips from Lübeck
There are two trips I can recommend in particular:
Travemünde & Timmendorfer Strand
Grab some rental bikes (or take a 30min train journey) and head up to Travemünde and Timmendorfer Strand, this is especially worth it in summer as the beach is lovely. Honestly though, that is pretty much all that is there and it’s a very touristy spot (especially Timmendorfer Strand screams “fake tourist town”). But it’s a nice cycle and you can grab some ice cream, enjoy the beach, and take picturesque shots of the Baltic. Good for half a day, not more.
If you’re there for Easter, have a look out for special events taking place at night, as once a year the locals like to burn a giant effigy of the seahorse. Don’t ask me why.
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a beautifully picturesque, medieval old town. Situated a one hour train ride south of Lübeck in Lower Saxony, it’s famous for being the location for the German soap opera Rote Rosen, as well as for it’s beautiful red-brick Gothic-style buildings. You can easily spend a whole day there meandering around the quaint little streets and shops. I wrote a short guide on how to spend a day in Lüneburg here.
What to eat in Lübeck
If you read any blog post on this site you’ll soon realize I’m food obsessed. And Lübeck have a speciallity which gets its own section: Marzipan.
Marzipan, Marzipan, Marzipan (and where to get coffee & cake)
Marzipan (essentially just almonds and butter) is one of the best sweets in the world. Fact. Lübeck has a looong history of marzipan production (even claiming to have invented it). Anyway, if you’re like me and absolutely love the stuff, I recommend trying out a few different marzipan shops, and above all, if you also like coffee, make sure to get a marzipan coffee. I can recommend:
The Marzipan-Speicher for the best Marzipan Cappuccino. Pair it with their Marzipan cream cake and you’re in Marzipan-heaven. I’m craving it just writing this. They also have a nice outdoor section right by the water as well as the Holsten Gate in view, so it’s also a nice place to stop and chill and people-watch for a while.
Café Niederegger is arguably the most famous producer of Marzipan in town (if not all of Germany). Honestly, I’d skip the café but definitely checkout the shop. Even if you’re not buying anything, it’s usually filled with insane Marzipan sculptures which are fun to look at. There’s even a free Marzipan museum in the back. I couldn’t resist grabbing a basket and trying a range of random Marzipan treats. The wallet (and my belly) took a hit, but no regrets.
The Wiener Cafehaus gets an honorable mention as they serve Wiener Melange (which is Austrian, but still delicious) as well as decent Marzipan coffee – plus in winter and spring they have nice fires going outdoors so you can still enjoy the vibes outside in the old town without freezing to death. Didn’t think much of the cake here but it’s a nice coffee stop for sure.
Restaurants
The top choice has to be fish at Fangfrisch. It’s a little pricey, but phenomenal quality fish. I tried the salmon, and it was truly the best I’ve ever had. The fish and chips also looked excellent. There’s a reason this place has won some awards. If you’re in a rush you can grab a “Fischbrötchen-to-go” over the road at their kiosk, but honestly it felt overpriced for a kiosk, despite the quality still being high. That’s why I’d recommend instead going to the restaurant.
TASTE is a café that makes for a great laid-back lunch spot. Delicious coffee, tea, juices, as well as bagels, soups, salads.
Okay, I know this isn’t traditional German food, so bare with me: get Pizza at Portofino. I know, I know. It’s damn good pizza though! And with a cosy courtyard to boot, it’s worth a stop for a beer and a pizza, if that’s your thing.
For something a little healthier (compared to fried fish and pizza, at least) head to the Kartoffelspeicher for a dose of hearty baked potatoes topped with all kinds of delights. My partner and I honestly didn’t expect this place to be so good, given the touristy location, but it was a pleasant surprise. You get a lovely view of the historic Salzspeicher to boot.
Where to stay in Lübeck
If you can afford it, make sure to stay close to or in the old town, as that’s where you’ll be spending most of your time as a tourist. My partner and I stayed just outside of the old town in Bob W Lübeck Old Town and we can fully recommend it! It’s a short 5min walk into the old town and you can also quickly walk up to the old town walls if you want to walk the perimeter. It’s also a short walk from the main train station which makes taking day trips a breeze.
As a photographer, the coolest part was that the room came with a fully loaded Instax Mini 12 which we were encouraged to use, for free, during our stay. We created a bunch of cute little instant photos to take with us as souvenirs for our trip. Such an awesome touch! We were also provided free coffee and chocolates as well as cute little postcards which were free to take as well.
The small apartment we took was also very nice and modern and having a small kitchen saved us from having to go out every night (always expensive in a tourist town). That would probably be overkill if you’re just staying for a couple of days, which is enough to see the highlights in Lübeck anyway.
When to visit Lübeck
If you’re a fan of live music, there are two great local events which may influence when you want to visit: the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (usually between July-August) and the TraveJazz Festival (September).
Summer is great if you want to make the most of the outdoors, rent some bikes and head up to the nearby beach, but it will be much more full. This is why we enjoy visiting in the quieter months where there are still special events – like in April, around Easter, where you will find plenty of nearby Easter fires by the beach. Or September, for the Jazz festival.
Getting to Lübeck
The train is the best way to get to Lübeck and it’s super simple from Hamburg (40mins direct) or Berlin (4 hours, with a switch in Hamburg). From Kiel you can also get directly to Lübeck within around 1 hour by train. If you need to fly in, then Hamburg is also the closest airport.
Conclusion
All in all, Lübeck is a beautiful Hanseatic city with tonnes of history and charm. I fully recommend stopping there for at least 1-2 days if you’re touring the Baltic coast area or looking to explore Schleswig-Holstein. It can also make a great base for visiting plenty of interesting cities and towns in the area like Lüneburg, Schwerin, Kiel, Hamburg, and Wismar.