Lübeck

The Holstentor, St. Marien and the hidden Gänge over two days

Two days are enough to see Lübeck's old town island on foot. Day one covers the Holstentor, the Rathaus, St. Marien, the St. Petri tower, Niederegger and a harbour boat trip; day two runs from the Burgtor and the European Hansemuseum through the Koberg and the hidden Gänge to the Dom.

Day one, morning. Walk from the station across the Puppenbrücke to the Holstentor, the leaning fifteenth-century gate that once guarded the western approach and now holds the city history museum. The Salzspeicher stand right behind it. Cross the bridge onto the island and head up Holstenstraße to the Markt, where the Rathaus shows its black-glazed brick and arcades.

Afternoon. Step into St. Marien next door for the bells and the soaring nave, then take the lift up St. Petri for the overview. Coffee and a slice of marzipan cake at Niederegger, opposite the Rathaus, is the local ritual. Spend the rest of the afternoon on a harbour boat around the island.

Evening. Walk the Obertrave westward as the light drops, then eat in the Schiffergesellschaft, the old guild hall of the ship captains on Breite Straße, with model ships hanging over the long tables.

Day two. Start at the northern end with the Burgtor and the European Hansemuseum next to it. Then drift south through the Koberg, St. Jakobi (the sailors' church) and the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital, one of Europe's oldest surviving hospitals. After lunch, hunt out the Gänge around Glockengießerstraße and Engelsgrube. End at the Dom at the quiet southern tip, where Bernt Notke's great triumphal cross hangs over the nave.

UNESCO added the Hanseatic City of Lübeck to its World Heritage List in 1987 for its medieval merchant layout: gabled houses, the salt warehouses by the Trave, the spires of its main churches and the narrow courtyards, called Gänge, behind the street fronts. Many of these passages are still lived in, so walk through quietly; the Füchtingshof on Glockengießerstraße, an almshouse courtyard, is the best known.

Niederegger marzipan, Rotspon and Baltic fish at the captains' hall

Lübeck's food specialities are Niederegger marzipan, sold at the flagship café on Breite Straße opposite the Rathaus, and Rotspon, French red wine matured in the cellars of the old merchant houses. Baltic plaice, smoked eel and Labskaus fill the menus, and the Schiffergesellschaft captains' hall is the classic place to eat.

Lübeck has made marzipan for centuries, and Niederegger is the name on every box. The flagship café on Breite Straße, facing the Rathaus, sells it in every form, from plain loaves to fruit-shaped pieces and marzipan nut cake, with a small museum upstairs on the history of almond paste. The range here is wider than at the station.

The local red is Rotspon: French wine, traditionally from Bordeaux, shipped in barrel and matured in the cool cellars of Lübeck merchant houses. Several restaurants and wine shops in the old town still pour it.

Fish comes from the Baltic. Look for Scholle (plaice) fried in butter, often with bacon and potatoes, smoked eel and sprats in season, and the simple Fischbrötchen sold from kiosks along the Travemünde promenade. Sailors' dishes like Labskaus, corned beef mashed with potato and beetroot and topped with a fried egg and herring, survive in the older taverns.

For atmosphere, the Schiffergesellschaft is unbeatable, if touristy. The Kartoffelspeicher on the Obertrave does nothing but potato dishes, and the Brauberger in Alfstraße brews its own beer. Students and locals favour the pubs in the side streets of the northern old town, while the alternative bars and venues on the Wallhalbinsel across the river run late.

Travemünde beach, Wakenitz canoeing and the Nordic Film Days

Lübeck is mild, with summer highs around 24 °C, so June to August is the time for its coast at Travemünde, with a sandy beach, the barque Passat and the Travemünder Woche regatta in late July. The Wakenitz river suits canoeing, and the Nordic Film Days in early November and the Christmas markets close the year.

The climate is gentle but never hot. Average highs sit at 24 °C in July and August and just 4 °C in January, when lows dip below zero. Rain is spread through the year, heaviest in high summer at roughly 70 mm a month, with April the driest.

That makes June to August the time for the coast. Travemünde, part of the city since 1913, has a long sandy beach, the four-masted barque Passat moored as a museum ship, and the Priwall peninsula reached by a short ferry. Big ferries to Scandinavia and the eastern Baltic sail from the Skandinavienkai, and watching them glide out past the lighthouse is free entertainment. In late July the Travemünder Woche brings one of the largest sailing regattas on the Baltic.

The Wakenitz, flowing from the Ratzeburger See into the city, has stayed wild because it marked the inner-German border for decades. Boats run upstream, canoes can be hired, and the Falkenwiese river bath is an old-fashioned place to swim.

Later in the year, the Nordic Film Days in early November fill cinemas with films from Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Then come the Christmas markets from late November, the most unusual set up inside the vaulted hall of the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital. Summer concerts of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival also use the city's churches and halls.