Schleswig-Holstein · Germany
Where to stay in Lübeck
Lübeck is a city in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, home to about 217,000 people. This guide covers 1 apartment building, 1 aparthotel and 1 hotel in Lübeck, with about 50 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 3
- Best months
- June to September
- Nearest airport
- LBC8 km · Lübeck Blankensee Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Berlin
- Language
- German
About
About Lübeck
Lübeck, officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (German: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and the second-largest city in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, after its capital, Kiel.
Lübeck was an independent city state until 1937, when it lost that status due to a Nazi era law. Lübeck accumulated considerable wealth as the "first among equals" of the Hanseatic League from the 11th to the 17th century. Many merchants made a fortune on shipping salt to other Baltic port cities in exchange for valuable goods needed in Germany. Many impressive warehouses are located at the old harbour and can be accessed by tourists since they host museums, shops, restaurants or pubs today.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Lübeck
See
The main attraction is the medieval Altstadt (old city) located on an island surrounded by the Trave river and its various channels. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it offers an astonishing variety of different architectural styles. The streets of Lübeck are a delight for a connoisseur of architecture. Lübeck's Altstadt is not an open-air museum but a living city centre, so don't expect a complete medieval site. You'll find many beautiful old buildings intertwined with modern ones and a modern infrastructure. A particularly well-preserved 13th-century part of the Altstadt is the Koberg area at the island's northern end.
- St. Marien
- The Dom
- St. Petri
- St. Jakobi
- St. Aegidien
- St. Katharinen
- Holstentor
- Burgtor
- Heiligen-Geist-Hospital
- Behnhaus/Drägerhaus
- Rathaus
- Willy Brandt House
Do
- Freibad an der Falkenwiese
- Theater Lübeck
- Stadthalle
- Filmhaus
- Kino Koki
- Lübeck Nordic Film Days
- Lübeck Cougars
- VfB Lübeck
- Weihnachtsmarkt
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Lübeck
3 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Bob W Lübeck Old Town apartment building | 33 |
| Holiday Inn - the niu, Rig Lübeck hotel | |
| Lübeck Holstentor aparthotel | 17 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
When to go
The best time to visit Lübeck
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Lübeck are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; July is the wettest, with about 78 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Lübeck: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lübeck Blankensee Airport (LBC), about 7.5 km from the city centre in a straight line; Hamburg Helmut Schmidt Airport (HAM, 53 km) and Rostock-Laage Airport (RLG, 104 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Regional Express trains from Hamburg run every 30 minutes daily. Local trains from Kiel, Lüneburg, Schwerin, and the coastal resorts of Travemünde and Timmendorfer Strand, generally depart on an hourly basis. Most long-distance travellers from Berlin or Munich will find it most efficient to change at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.
Getting around
As most of the attractions are within or close to the compact Altstadt (Old Town), you can get almost everywhere quickly on foot. For longer distances, Lübeck has an extensive local bus network. The central hub for local buses is the ZOB, located directly next to the Hauptbahnhof. Most lines pass through the Altstadt (stops: Kohlmarkt or Breite Straße).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
LBC · Lübeck Blankensee Airport
HAM · Hamburg Helmut Schmidt Airport
RLG · Rostock-Laage Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Lübeck
Eat
There are several restaurants within the city centre which will satisfy most tastes. At the pinnacle is the Michelin starred Wullenwever. Other good options include Markgraf and Schabbelhaus while the most popular spot for tourists is the Schiffergesellschaft. If you're in for locally brewed beer, check out the slightly Bavarian-themed Brauberger in Alfstraße. Lübeck is well known for its high density of cafés and "Kneipen" (pubs), so peep into some of the smaller streets as well and see if you can find something that fits your taste.
Drink
The following three venues are all on "Wallhalbinsel" ("Walli") and known as "leftist" or "alternative" spaces, which in the past has led to conflicts with centre-right Christian Democratic Union politicians.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Lübeck
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 3 places
of 3 places
Questions
Lübeck: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Lübeck?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Lübeck are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; July is the wettest, with about 78 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Lübeck?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lübeck Blankensee Airport (LBC), about 7.5 km from the city centre in a straight line; Hamburg Helmut Schmidt Airport (HAM, 53 km) and Rostock-Laage Airport (RLG, 104 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Lübeck?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Lübeck
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.