While in Hamburg you may want to take a day trip out to a smaller German city. There are so many options, but we finally decided on a day trip to Lübeck. We’re so glad we did because it is a beautiful city with some really interesting things to see. If you’re also visiting on a day trip or staying a night or two, we’ve put together a list of some things to do on your visit to this amazing little city. Lübeck is so charming, it’s the perfect option for a day trip from Hamburg!
How To Get There From Hamburg
Luckily, getting from Hamburg to Lübeck is so quick and easy. There is a regional train that does the journey once an hour all day and night called the RE8. From the main Hauptbahnhof Nord station in Hamburg to Lübeck Hauptbahnhof it takes only 46 minutes. The easiest way to buy tickets is at the station, and for us it cost about €30 each for the return journey.
What To Do in Lübeck
Holstentor
Cost: Free
On the walk into Lübeck from the train station you will likely pass through Holstentor or the Holsten Gate. It is only a 10 -15 minute walk from the station and is the entrance to the old town. Built in 1464, this gate is the western entrance to the city and is one of only two gates left from the medieval city fortifications. The other gate is the Burgtor or the Citadel Gate which is in the north of the city, dating from 1444.
Both gates are built in a gothic style and while they’re both impressive, Holstentor is more famous for a reason. It has two huge columns on either side with large black spires on top and is really worth a visit. There is also a museum inside you can visit on your way in that we will discuss more later.
The Old Town
Cost: Free or €4 entry to St Mary’s Cathedral
After the gate you will enter Lübeck’s historic old town which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is is actually located on an island and has so many cute little streets to get lost in. There are also some wonderful cafes, restaurants, and shops to look around in the old town. The best part is when you’re done with the town, there are lots of beautiful places to relax by the water. And if you’ve got time, you can even walk around the perimeter of the island in 1-2 hours.
A great thing to do while wandering around the old city is to visit some of the beautiful old churches. Lübeck is known as the “city of the seven towers” which come from the five main city churches. Saint Giles, St. Peter’s and St. Jacob’s have one spire each, and St Mary’s and Lübeck Cathedral have two spires each. All of them have free entry except for St Mary’s which has a €4 entry fee for adults. The four free ones are worth a visit if you’ve got time. St Mary’s is particularly stunning if you’re interested in churches.
Another great landmark to visit is the Hospital of the Holy Spirit which is another beautiful building. One of the oldest hospitals in Europe, it dates from 1286 and has a beautiful church hall inside. It is a gothic style building, like a lot of the cities architecture, and has 4 magnificent spires on top. If you want to visit it is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am – 5pm and has free entrance.
See the Alleyways
Cost: Free
Our favourite thing about Lübeck is that it is full of the most magical alleyways that you can explore. The city used to have 180 of them but only 80 are still around. However it is important to note that not all of them are open every day. The ones that do have limited opening hours that are usually around 9-12pm and then 3-6pm every day. You can usually find the hours posted on the wall next to the entrance to the alley so keep an eye out for those. Make sure you do allocate some time to find some because they really are worth a visit!
Finding the alleys is actually part of the fun, because sometimes they’re tiny entrances or gates you might walk past. The best way to find one is to keep an eye out for signs ending in either “hof” (meaning courtyard) or “gang” (corridor). Once you find one that’s open, walk down the alley until you get into the little courtyard. Here are some of the most gorgeous old houses that you can walk around and take photos of. However please remember that people live there so be respectful and quiet when visiting!
Now of course you wont be able to visit all 80, so here are some we recommend:
- Füchtingshof
- Haasenhof
- Von-Höveln-Gang
- Dunkelgrüner Gang
- Kalandsgang
- Glandorps Hof
Eat Marzipan (if you like it!)
Free: However much you’d like to spend on marzipan
If you get a bit peckish while exploring, you might want to try some famous Lübeck marzipan. This sweet is made of sugar and either almond meal, extract or oil. It is usually used to make small fruits, covered in chocolate, put in biscuits or used to to cover cakes. It seems to be a love it or hate it product and personally we both think it tastes terrible, so we definitely didn’t try any. However if you do like it, Lübeck is the place to try it!
Lübeck marzipan is held to a higher standard than most marzipan and is regulated by the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Classification. Marzipan made here has to have no more than 30% sugar and the famous Niederegger brand is considered to make the highest quality product. Basically, the more almonds and less added sugar, the better the marzipan and Niederegger make a point of doing this. The reason Lübeck has become so famous for marzipan is because of its history as a trading hub. This meant it had more access to almonds and could put more in their products, making better quality products.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, pay a visit to Café Niederegger in the old town. Here you can buy lots of flavours of marzipan, including cheesecake, chocolate and caramel. However if you’re not a fan, you can also buy nougat, praline and lots of delicious flavours of chocolate so there’s something for everyone! There are also other manufacturers of the product such as Lubeca, Carstens, and Marzipan-Land so you should be able to find it everywhere.
Museums
Cost: Between free and €8 entry
If you’ve got some extra time in Lübeck or are staying overnight, there are some great museums worth visiting!
The first one worth seeing has been located inside the Holsten Gate since 1934. The Holsten Gate Museum teaches visitors all about Lübeck’s foreign and domestic trade as well as the cities power and wealth. You can also see legal instruments, suits of armour, weapons and models of ships. The artefacts are exhibited in 7 decorated rooms and there is also a section on the history of the Holsten gate itself. Tickets are €8 each or you can purchase the Lübeck day pass for €12 for a one day pass to most museums in the city.
There are some great museums in the Old Town such as the Buddenbrookhaus which is open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm and costs €8. There’s also the Günter Grass House which is also open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm and costs €8. Both of these museums are dedicated to famous German writers. And the Museumsquartier St. Annen which is a German art and culture museum housed in an old Augustinian nunnery. That is also open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm and costs €8 per entry.
If you are a marzipan fan, you can visit the Niederegger Marzipan Museum. This can be found in Café Niederegger and entry is free of charge. The museum shows the history of marzipan, almonds and sugar as well as a history of the Niederegger company. However, the best things in the museum are the twelve life size statues of famous German figures made completely out of marzipan.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re visiting for only the day, or lucky enough to stay a couple of nights we hope this has given you some ideas of how to fill your time in this beautiful German city!
We had a great time on our day tip to Lübeck while we were in Hamburg, and you can see what we did in our vlog:
Do you also love taking day trips while you’re travelling? Check out some of our other posts about day trips in Europe:
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