Choosing Hamburg or Lubeck from Kiel

We are docking in Kiel in July. We are debating about going on our own to either Hamburg or Lubeck. Which city would you experienced travelers recommend and why? Thanks.:)

It's an apples/oranges question to a certain extent.

Luebeck is much smaller. The interesting medieval inner city is very compact and easily walked. It was damaged in WWII but beautifully restored in the original style.

Hamburg is a huge financial and industrial center although the heavy industry is on the periphery and you won't see it unless you look for it. There is much to see but it is quite spread out. Hamburg was massively damaged during WWII and much of the reconstruction has been in a more modern style although there are patches of the old city. Surrounding the small lake in the city center are very high end stores. This area is just minutes by foot from the Hamburg main train station (Hbf). It is a bit like Fifth Ave in NYC. A few feet south of the lake (Binnenalster) is an old area with many cafes, etc. St. Pauli is only a memory of what it used to be and probably not worth the trouble.

Both cities were members of the Hanseatic League and have history to match. There's more of it in Hamburg but spread out and harder to get to.

I guess if you want to see a medieval city go to Luebeck. If you want more modern history and 21st century German dynamism go to Hamburg.

Agree with the above...and keep in mind that Hamburg is a very large cosmopolitan city where you need to have a decent plan on where you want to go and how you intend to get there. Hamburg does have excellent public transit (both above and below ground) but you will need a map.

Hank

I agree as well. Luebeck for the sights of an old town, nice day or half day of walking around.

Hamburg is a big modern city, but you can take the water ferry as public transport and see it from the harbor. Lake cruise which is quite nice and relaxing, but it is a big city. Imagine coming to Chicago and sightseeing...you have to know what you want to see and where it is located.

Hamburg is hosting the International Garden Show this year so if you love gardens of any kind you might want to go to Hamburg. The theme is "Around the World in 80 Gardens."

http://www.igs-hamburg.de/en/exhibition/

. . . but we recently spent four nights in Hamburg between cruises. An amazing city. Lots of canals, a lot to see. But as was pointed out by a previous poster, you need a plan.

Since I have some German and familiarity, we just bought a Hamburg card for unlimited local transit of all modes -- buses, underground light-rail. The best bang for the buck: No. 36 bus line. Most tourist stops are along that one bus line -- Town Hall, Reeperbahn, Altona. Amazing mansions on the banks of the Elbe.

The train ride from Kiel to Hamburg was about 80 minutes and worked out great.

We are docking in Kiel in July. We are debating about going on our own to either Hamburg or Lubeck. Which city would you experienced travelers recommend and why? Thanks.:)

I don't know if this is too late, but Lubeck, hands down. It was real easy to get to the train station in Kiel, and once in Lubeck it was only a 10 minute walk to the visitors centre, where you can choose from a variety of tour options. There was a hop-onhop-off bus, or a walking tour for 5 Euros that is self guided. They said it took an hour and half, but it took me about5. It was an amazing city. The end of the walking tour ends in the city centre and there was a great cafe there. I would easily go back to Lubeck.

And don't forget to look into the train deal, I think it was 5 people for only 30euros total (so under 10 Euros per person).

Good topic. I have been to neither, but will face the same issue next year on a cruise that stops in Travemunde and Warnemunde (I am hoping to visit Berlin before the cruise).

My comments, which are really qiestions, are how much time does one need in Lubeck, is it possible to visit both cities in one day, and are there any must-see sights in Hamburg or is it simply imbibing life in Germany's second largest and most properous city?

I will add that a sight in Hamburg that draws raves is the Miniatur Wunderland, the world's biggest collection of model trains.

I am a Hamburg native (and still live here), of course I have to recommend that you visit Hamburg! ;)

To be serious, Luebeck is a beautiful town. If you ask me, you will not need all day to discover it. From Luebeck to Hamburg by train it takes about 40 minutes.

If you come to Hamburg, as people wrote before, you need a plan. How much time do you have? What are your interest (shopping?history?art?museums?Boat trips?There is plenty of all the mentioned).

If you need any advice, I will be more than happy to help!

(The miniature wonderland... well... I find it boring but my husband has been there twice and loves it)

Puschi, I will readily accept your kind offer. Some general questions, your answers to which will doubtless point me and others in the right direction:

1. How much time would you recommend for Lubeck?

2. Between Wismar and Schwerin, do you have a strong preference? If one is going to visit Lubeck, would you still recommend a visit to Wismar?

3. Regarding Hamburg, one of the particular sites that I would want to visit would be, yes, the Miniatur Wunderland. But if I go to Hamburg, my main reason for going is not to see museums or spend much time in buildings, but to get a feel for Germany's second largest and most prosperous city.

4. Do you know of any tour companies in Hamburg that provide guides? Reviewing the Hamburg section of the Rick Steves's Germany book, I did not see any discussion of tour guides (though he mentioned a bus that tours the city). I also have not found much Hamburg tour guide information on the Internet. I agree with you that a plan to tour Hamburg is a must, but I do not know what resources exist.

5. Assume you have never seen Hamburg. What would you want to do and see there in half day? What about in a full day?

On the cruise I am booked on next July, I want to visit Berlin before the cruise, and during the cruise, we have stops in Warnemunde and Travemunde. As far as seeing Hamburg, the possibilities are taking a train from Warnemunde to Hamburg on the day the ship is docked in Warnemunde, or seeing both Lubeck and Hamburg on the following day when the ship is docked in Travemunde. However, on that second day, I do want to visit Lubeck, and it might simply be that at the end of the cruise visiting both Lubeck and Hamburg is too much, and a leisurely day in Lubeck is the better option.

Ok I will try to answer your questions :)

1. , I would say that if you are in average walking conditions, you need not more than half a day, probably less.

2. Wismar is a beautiful town but Schwerin has a really beautiful castle. So I would say if you visit Luebeck than skip Wismar and go to Schwerin Castle. The town itself it not that interesting to my opinion.

3. If you want to visit the miniatur wunderland, you should purchase the ticket in advance in the internet to avoid waiting time! If you have purchased your ticked online, you can just pass by the (mostly long!) waiting line and go directly to the entrance.

4. I have heard a lot of good reviews for this tours: http://www.newhamburgtours.com/

And it's for free (just a tip is expected if you liked the tour). The hop-on-hop-off busses are also a nice thing. I did that before with visitors. The tours are available in English.

Well,this website is only in German:http://www.velo-stadtrundfahrt.de/index.html

but it is very nice to have a sightseeing tour with them. The drivers know a lot and many of them speak English. They wait in front of our town hall for guests. Each can take 2 guests.

5. That is a question I have to think longer about. But I will give it a short try.

I would like to see the harbour, get on a harbour boat tour and enjoy. And combine that with a boat tour (or just walk) through our famous "Speicherstadt" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speicherstadt), the miniatur wunderland is there!

If your don't travel with children, I would of course have a look at our red light district (Reeperbahn).

And just walk through downtown, that can take hours :). Downtown, that means everything from main train station, to town hall, River Alster, Streets Jungfernstieg and Moenckebergstraße, Neuer Wall and many more.

Are you a beer drinker? If yes I have some nice little breweries in mind with great beer and food.

If I start thinking about it, I will probably have much more things in mind...

http://english.hamburg.de/tourist-information/

Puschi, thank you for the response and the information. And I would welcome any brewery suggestions.

In Hamburg I would recommend The Groeninger: http://www.groeninger-hamburg.de/index.php/haupt-menu/home/

The website is in German, but there is a map http://www.groeninger-hamburg.de/index.php/top-menu/anfahrt/

It's walking distance from downtown and from the miniature wunderland.

Also nice and right behind the Town Hall and the Chamber of commerce is Brauhaus Johann Albrecht: http://hamburg.brauhaus-joh-albrecht.de/index.php/anfahrtsskizze

The Groeniger is more unique I think because it is in a huge cellar. You can order barrels if you are very thirsty or enough people :)

We dock in Hamburg with the Carnival Legend in September.

Does the ship dock where you can just get off the ship and walk into Hamburg?

Is there a shuttle bus into Hamburg city center maybe?

It is a port intensive cruise and we want take it easy and not do a big tour in Hamburg.

What do you suggest?

thanks

That depends where the ship docks. "Altona Cruise terminal" or "Hafencity". Do you know that? If not, I will find out and let you know what I suggest for you to have an easy going day in Hamburg :)

That depends where the ship docks. "Altona Cruise terminal" or "Hafencity". Do you know that? If not, I will find out and let you know what I suggest for you to have an easy going day in Hamburg :)

Thank you so much. It is such a port intensive cruise, we just want to take it easy and walk around and see things. We are on the Carnival Legend if that helps

Carnival usually docks at Cruisecenter Altona (Altona is the name of the city district). It is not really downtown but there is a wonderful way to go near to the city. Right next to the cruise terminal is where the boats dock:

http://www.hadag.de/e_hafenfaehren.php

They run every 15 minutes and belong to our public transportation system HVV. Just get a ticket for the day and it is valid for subway and buses as well. Their should a vendor machine for the tickets.

Take boat #62 direction "Landungsbrücken". This is the terminal stop, it is maybe a 10 minute boat ride. "Landungsbrücken" is our port area, very nice, a lot to see. From there you can easily just walk to many nice and interesting places including downtown or our historic "Speicherstadt" or the famous St. Michaelis Church.

http://english.hamburg.de/museums-attractions-hamburg-en/

If you don't want or can't walk a lot, "Landungsbrücken" is as well a subway station. Make sure to get a map of the subway system:

http://www.hvv.de/en/timetables-lines-routes/plans-line-route-networks/usar/index.php

A city map is all you need and just walk around and see what you like. The boats go all day every 15 minutes back to the cruise terminal.

If you have any specific interest or need to no more just let me know. I will be more than happy to help.

Carnival usually docks at Cruisecenter Altona (Altona is the name of the city district). It is not really downtown but there is a wonderful way to go near to the city. Right next to the cruise terminal is where the boats dock:

http://www.hadag.de/e_hafenfaehren.php

 

They run every 15 minutes and belong to our public transportation system HVV. Just get a ticket for the day and it is valid for subway and buses as well. Their should a vendor machine for the tickets.

 

Take boat #62 direction "Landungsbrücken". This is the terminal stop, it is maybe a 10 minute boat ride. "Landungsbrücken" is our port area, very nice, a lot to see. From there you can easily just walk to many nice and interesting places including downtown or our historic "Speicherstadt" or the famous St. Michaelis Church.

 

http://english.hamburg.de/museums-attractions-hamburg-en/

 

If you don't want or can't walk a lot, "Landungsbrücken" is as well a subway station. Make sure to get a map of the subway system:

 

http://www.hvv.de/en/timetables-lines-routes/plans-line-route-networks/usar/index.php

 

A city map is all you need and just walk around and see what you like. The boats go all day every 15 minutes back to the cruise terminal.

 

If you have any specific interest or need to no more just let me know. I will be more than happy to help.

Thank you so much, this is incredible information and I thank you very much for your time.

You're welcome. I hope you enjoy your day in Hamburg (were I was born and still live:))!

Puschi, is the Holsteinische Schweiz region with Eutin and Plon a serious option? Is there much to see? Are there lake cruises available? How much you rank a visit to this area compared to Lubeck?

Puschi, is the Holsteinische Schweiz region with Eutin and Plon a serious option? Is there much to see? Are there lake cruises available? How much you rank a visit to this area compared to Lubeck?

That depends on what your interests are. Holsteinische Schweiz has beautiful nature landscapes and Plön itself is a nice little town with a beautiful small castle: http://www.bad-malente.de/plnerschloss.html

Eutin is also very nice.

In Plön at the lake (Plöner See) you can make a boat tour. I have found this website but it is in German: http://www.grosseploenersee-rundfahrt.de/bildergalerie.html

But the pictures might help.

You can also send an email to the tourist information of Plön: touristinfo@ploen.de

They might have more information!

I don't know if this is too late, but Lubeck, hands down. It was real easy to get to the train station in Kiel, and once in Lubeck it was only a 10 minute walk to the visitors centre, where you can choose from a variety of tour options. There was a hop-onhop-off bus, or a walking tour for 5 Euros that is self guided. They said it took an hour and half, but it took me about5. It was an amazing city. The end of the walking tour ends in the city centre and there was a great cafe there. I would easily go back to Lubeck.

And don't forget to look into the train deal, I think it was 5 people for only 30euros total (so under 10 Euros per person).

Please email details of where I find that train details. Thank you soultravelers70@hotmail.com