The cobbled streets of this Hanseatic city, founded in the 12th century at the mouth of the River Trave, are lined with leaning towers and facades reminiscent of Amsterdam. You can admire some fine patrician residences, including Buddenbrook House, which you can visit and which once belonged to the family of Thomas Mann, who used it as the setting for his novel of the same name. Afterwards, wander from monastery to monastery, from churches to museums. Among these, the Behnhaus Drägenhaus exhibits dark Caspar David Friedrich paintings and a few canvases by Edvard Munch, who lived in Lübeck for a time. Alternatives: the museums dedicated to the writer and Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass and Chancellor Willy Brandt, a native of the city. The trip ends with a stop at Niederegger, the famous chocolate-covered marzipan factory.
How to get there: From Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, there are trains to Lübeck every half-hour or so. The journey takes 35 minutes by ICE and 45 to 50 minutes by regional train.
Information: www.bahn.com/fr and www.luebeck-tourismus.de
