Hanseatic city of Lubeck on Trave River.

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.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Schwerin Castle, Schwerin, Germany; Shutterstock ID 418483972; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Northern Germany destination page

    Schloss & Gardens

    Northern Germany

    Gothic and Renaissance turrets, Slavic onion domes, Ottoman features and terracotta Hanseatic step gables are among the mishmash of architectural styles…

  • Sunday morning market in Fischmarkt

    Fischmarkt

    St Pauli & Reeperbahn

    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…

  • St. Mary's Church in Rostock. Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.; Shutterstock ID 418416580; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Hamburg & the North Destination Page

    Marienkirche

    Rostock

    Central Rostock’s pride and joy is the 13th-century Marienkirche, the only main Rostock church to survive WWII unscathed (although restorations are…

  • HAMBURG, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 04: Visitors walk through the large hall of the newly-completed Elbphilharmonie concert hall on November 4, 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. Designed by the archiecture firm Herzog and de Meuron and begun in 2007, the Elbphilharmonie was originally slated to be completed by 2010 at a cost of EUR 241 million. Instead it was finally finished on October 31, 2016 at a cost of EUR 789 million. Germany has been burdened with a string of high-profile construction projects whose completion has been years delayed and whose costs have ballooned. The first public concert at the Elbphilharmonie is scheduled for January 11, 2017 as part of its official opening. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

    Elbphilharmonie

    Hamburg

    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…

  • Holstentor.

    Holstentor

    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…

  • Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg, Germany; Shutterstock ID 696145270; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiT Destination Page Images

    Miniatur Wunderland

    Hamburg

    Even the worst cynics are quickly transformed into fans of this vast miniature world that goes on and on. The model trains wending their way through the…

  • luebeck new Hanseatic museum and historic facades; Shutterstock ID 312039476; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Northern Germany destination page

    Europäisches Hansemuseum

    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…

  • (GERMANY OUT) Deutschland, Hamburg Veddel: Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt. (Photo by Uwe Steffens/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt

    Hamburg

    Sort of a bookend for New York's Ellis Island, Hamburg's excellent emigration museum looks at the conditions that drove about 5 million people to leave…

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