Routes · Europe

Chicago to northern Germany: Hamburg and Lübeck

Chicago → Hamburg → Lübeck

Harbour city, warehouse district & Hanseatic brick Best season (general guide): May–Sep

Northern Germany was the heart of the Hanseatic League, a trading network of port cities. This route spends four nights in Hamburg and two in Lübeck. From Chicago you'll fly to Hamburg via a European hub.

How to pace it: Spend days one to four in Hamburg: day one, the harbour and Elbphilharmonie plaza; day two, Speicherstadt and Miniatur Wunderland; day three, Sunday fish market; day four, harbour boat tour. Then spend days five and six in Lübeck: day five, train to Lübeck, then the Holstentor; day six, marzipan and the Baltic at Travemünde.

Hamburg is a large port city with more bridges than Venice. The Speicherstadt, a district of red-brick warehouses on canals, is listed by UNESCO with the nearby Kontorhaus district.

The Elbphilharmonie, a concert hall with a wave-shaped glass top built on an old warehouse, has a public plaza with harbour views. Miniatur Wunderland, in the Speicherstadt, is one of the largest model railways in the world.

On Sunday mornings, the Fischmarkt by the Elbe sells fish, flowers and more. Harbour boat tours show the giant container port.

Lübeck, under an hour away by train, was the capital of the Hanseatic League. UNESCO lists its old town on an island, entered through the twin towers of the Holstentor. The city is famous for marzipan.

Travemünde, Lübeck's seaside district, has a beach on the Baltic Sea.

May to September is the mildest and sunniest time.

Hamburg's districts each have a different feel, from the harbour to the lakes around the Alster, where small boats can be hired. Walking along the Elbe in the evening shows the cranes and ships lit up. Lübeck's old town is small, so spend time inside its brick churches and on the waterfront. Marzipan shops offer tastings, and cafés serve marzipan cake. If the weather is fine, take a local train to Travemünde for a walk along the beach promenade and back. Book a table at a fish restaurant near the harbour on your last evening in Hamburg.

Good to know: Book Miniatur Wunderland and Elbphilharmonie concerts ahead. Public transport is excellent, and a day ticket covers trains, buses and harbour ferries in Hamburg.

Safety: Canada's advice for Germany is to exercise a high degree of caution (updated 11 August 2026).

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