Hotels in Lübeck

Lübeck was the capital of the Hanseatic League, the medieval trading network that ran the Baltic, and its island old town, ringed by the Trave river and canals, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with brick Gothic churches, merchants' gabled houses and narrow courtyard alleys. The twin-towered Holstentor gate is the postcard image, St. Mary's Church the architectural heavyweight, and the city is equally famous for marzipan and for Thomas Mann, whose Buddenbrooks is set here.

It is a compact city of around 212,000, so the historic core is easily walkable in a day or two, and the Baltic beaches of Travemünde are a short trip away. Wartime bombing left patches of plain postwar building among the showpieces, evenings are quiet rather than lively, and the old town fills with day-trippers from Hamburg in summer and during the Christmas markets. Stay on the old-town island itself so the main sights, restaurants and the station are all within walking distance.