Last Updated on: 27th December 2024, 12:44 pm
Lübeck is a small town that can easily be seen on a day trip from Hamburg. This guide will introduce you to Lübeck’s medieval charm, tell you what you can see and things to do on a day trip to Lübeck, how to get there, how you can see it for almost nothing if you’re really in a pinch, and extra tips for winter and Christmas.
Introduction
Lübeck is a popular tourist destination that is easily accessed from Hamburg via a direct train that takes less than an hour one way, and can be done as an easy day trip. Lübeck was founded in the 12th century and is a popular tourist destination for its medieval architecture, and its marzipan, a confectionery made with almonds and sugar. Its most famous landmark is the Holsten Gate (Holstentor in German) and you can even find models of it made out of marzipan.
Lübeck is a compact and highly strollable town with a small river running through it, and anyone with basic level of fitness can walk around it between all the main attractions. The main attractions are all within 1.7km of the train station and less than 1km within each other, and can easily be reached when strolling slowly on foot in a leisurely day trip while checking out the things in between (it’s much less of a chore when you stroll than when you try to walk the entire 1.7km in one go).
Don’t want to or can’t walk? Not a problem. The attractions are also well served by buses from the train station so those who cannot walk, can take the bus., details below
What Lübeck is known for
Lübeck is known for 2 main things: marzipan and the Holstentor (Holsten Gate).
Marzipan
Marzipan is a solid but soft confectionery made with almond meal and sugar. Not everyone likes the taste of marzipan. I personlly am not a fan of marzipan. Because it is soft, it can be moulded into any shape, and painted or dyed in any colour, so marzipan is a deceptively delicious looking work of art, if nothing else.
The exact origins of marzipan is unclear, but thanks to its ideal geographical location near transport and trading routes and a historical abundance of raw materials, Lübeck became a town for marzipan production, and now famous for its marzipan. In fact, Lübeck specific marzipan is a protected product since 1996.
There is a shop in Lübeck that sells Lübeck marzipan, Niederegger. They’ve been making marzipan since 1806, and have a cafe as well as a marzipan museum on the top floor, where you can learn about the history of marzipan and admire life-sized statues of famous figures made of marzipan.
If you are also not a fan of marzipan, fear not: Niederegger also sells delicous individually wrapped chocolates. The chocalates can be purchased individually from loose selections which they will pack in clear plastic pouches, or you can purchase them in a pack, the unit price is the same.
During Christmas time, they also have Christmas chocolates which makes great gifts for friends or to eat yourself.
Holstentor (The Holsten Gate)
The Holsten Gate (Holstentor) of Lübeck is one of two remaining medieval city gates and the most famous one, and also a museum. It was built in the second half of the 1400’s in brick Gothic style as one of three city gates that allowed entry to the city, and the Lübeck’s most famous landmark. In fact, there are several marzipan models of it around the city, including in the Lübeck train station.
The Holsten Gate consists of two round towers, one on either side with the gate in the middle. Its unique shape is easily spotted 800m away from the train station.
There is no charge to walk through the gates.
The Holsten Gate is also a historical museum, with exhibits showing Lübeck’s trade, legal, military and medieval artefacts. The museum requires a paid ticket to enter. To read more about the gate itself, see their official website here.
How to get to Lübeck
Lübeck is a 51 minute train ride from Hamburg. You can buy the tickets at the train station from a counter or from a ticket machine. Always check the departure platform, which may change. Note that in winter, it is possible that trains are delayed or even cancelled due to snow.
Lübeck’s medieval charm
Apart from the Holstentor, Lübeck’s historical city center is also worth a stroll around, and is where the marzipan shop is located. Every city and town in Germany has an Altstadt, or “old city”, the historical city center. Germany preserves its city centers well and retains their old world features and charm. Lübeck’s altstadt has cobblestones and paved brick grounds and classical European architecture to look at. At Christmas, the Christmas market is held along its altstadt streets beneath its gothic churches and has a charming, cosy vibe.
What to do in Lübeck: Activity Suggestions for day trips
Visit the Niederegger shop to:
Eat at the Niederegger cafe:
If you like cafes, you can try the Niederegger cafe on level 2. The cafe has good reviews, and is on people’s recommended list for tourists because the Niederegger shop is famous. However, I personally feel it is just a cafe, so if you aren’t a fan of cafe food, you can skip dining there. But, you might want to go there to see the musuem and to get chocolate, below.
Buy some chocolate:
If you aren’t a fan of cafe food, hopefully you still like chocolate. You can’t go wrong with European artisanal chocolate, and Niederegger chocolate is delicious. There is a large variety to choose from, and they have Christmas themed chocolate too, like chocolate with bratapfel (baked apple) flavoured fillings, so you can be in there for a while, longer if going around or after Christmas. Tip: if you forget to buy Niederegger chocolate, you can also buy them at the shop at the train station and also in supermarkets in Kiel (another town nearby) and Hamburg, but with less variety. The great thing is that the prices are the same no matter where you buy them. Also artisan European chocolate is delicious anywhere so you don’t have to get Niederegger if you don’t want to. Shopping centers can also have artisanal chocolate.
Buy marzipan:
If you like marzipan, you can buy some at the Niederegger shop, which is famous for it or at the Christmas market. Same as above, it can also be purchased at the train station and in supermarkets, but with less variety. If you go in December, they have pig shaped marzipan in various sizes. Pigs are a symbol of a happy new year in Germany, so you can buy these as gifts.
Check out the marzipan museum: (Free)
If you don’t like eating marzipan, the museum is still worth seeing. The marzipan museum is inside the Niederegger cafe on the third floor and can be accessed by an elevator. It is completely free to enter and you can just walk right in to the shop, head to the back on the right hand side, and take the lift to the museum. The museum is a small museum but has quite detailed information written in English and German with beautiful illustrations, a video about how marzipan is made, and a set of life sized sculptures of some local famous people made out of marzipan. If you like to read all the details, allow 30-40 minutes depending on how fast you read, or can be done in just 5-10 minutes if all you want to do is walk around it and look at the life sized marzipan scuptures.
How to get to the Niederegger marzipan shop/cafe/museum:
The Niederegger shop is located at Breite Straße 89, Lübeck. (89 Broad Street). You can take buses 3, 5, 10, 11, or 12 from the bus stop interchange at the main train station, and ride 2 stops and then walk 150m. Use a local map or online map in cases buses change. Remember to press the button to request your stop. Stops are generally announced on buses in Germany.
Accessibility note: Although the inside of the shop is flat, and the cafe and museum can be accessed by an elevator, the shop itself has 4 stairs from the street with hand rails on either side.
Time to spend at the Niederegger shop if you don’t eat at the museum: Allow 30-40 minutes for the musuem if you want to see it properly, and another 10-20 minutes if you want to shop around for the chocolate.
Check out the Holstentor (Holsten Gate): (Free and must do)
You can’t go to Lübeck and not see the Holsten Gate, the Holsten Gate is the most famous landmark of Lübeck and is the symbol of Lübeck. Plus it is on the way to the Niederegger marzipan museum/shop and altstadt from the main train station (the hauptbahnhof or the transport interchange, Lübeck ZOB).
The Holsten Gate in Lübeck is free to walk through, you only need to pay if you want to enter it to see the museum. It has 2 sides, the side facing the lawn with two lions, and the side facing the city. You can get some nice photos taken, and admire the facade of the building on either side.
The side facing the lawn (the west) is obviously the most famous view and offers the best place for photos, especially from afar if you want to capture the whole building (there is no space on the other side to do this). In spring, summer or even autumn, you can get nice photos of it with a green lawn.
In winter at night, the row of pointy buildings next to the Holsten Gate, the Salzspeicher (“Salt storage”) is lit up with lights.
Getting to the Holstentor (Holsten Gate):
The Holstentor (Holsten Gate) is located at Holstenplatz on what is essentially an island, with the river on the west and east side of it and the gate facing west (the lawn) and east (the city).
You can walk 900m from Lübeck’s main train station or take buses 3, 7 ,9, 12 or 16 and ride one stop. The Holsten Gate has roads on either side of its towers that are parallel to each other. The buses to the Holsten Gate stops right outside the Holsten Gate on those roads. Remember to press the button to request your stop. Stops are generally announced on buses in Germany.
Walk along the river in spring or summer (free)
There is a river that runs through is the path along the river Stadtgraben in Lübeck, Germany. It is a great place for a stroll in spring or summer and can be accessed via stairs from the pedestrian footpath on the Puppen bridge (Puppenbrücke) located just after the roundabout from the main central train station (Hauptbahnhof) and transport interchange (Lübeck ZOB) travelling in the direction of Holstentor.
To get from the train station to the Holstentor, you need to pass a roundabout and cross a bridge, the Puppen Bridge (Puppenbrücke). After the roundabout, there are stairs that lead down to the water. In spring or summer, it is a great place to enjoy a stroll along the water on a footpath. If you pack some food, you can even enjoy a picnic there. Be sure to take your rubbish with you!
Note: the buses in either direction do not stop along the bridge. On foot it is about 700m from the train station.
Spot the Ampelmännchen (free)
In some cities in Germany, Berlin and Lübeck being two of them, the pedestrian traffic lights have a small animated man called the Ampelmännchen (“ampel” meaning traffic light, and “männchen” is a diminuitive and cute form of “man”, or “little man”), that tells you when to cross the road. Look out for the cute little Ampelmännchen when you cross roads at pedestrian crossings.
The red Ampelmänchen is a silhouette of a man seen from the front with a hat, feet together and arms outstretched to either side, to indicate to the pedestrian to stop.
The green Ampelmänchen is a silhouette of a man seen from the side with a hat, feet a stride apart, and arms outstretchedin front, to indicate to the pedestrian to walk.
Go to the Christmas market in winter (free)
Saving the possibly best till last: the Lübeck Christmas market is a delightfully cosy Christmas market set in the altstadt around traditional churches. The medieval architecture and cobblestone grounds makes the Christmas market all the more fun. It is the perfect size for a cosy atmosphere: not too large, and not too small, with regular stall holders like Käthe Wohlfahrt, and a variety of stalls selling regional dried sausages, wine, spices, and the usual favourites, sweets, roasted nuts, and of course, glühwein. The Christmas market is free to enter, stall items vary in price.
Check out this article on Christmas in Lübeck for more details and photos.
