Fehmarn and other Germany Off The Beaten Path Tips

The island of Fehmarn is probably only worth visiting if you're on your way to/from Denmark. It's a flat agricultural island without any cultural sights. The beaches are alright, but there are nicer ones on Germany's Baltic sea coast.
The most beautiful part of the island is the North-West. There's a great cycling path along the dike from Westermarkelsdorf to Putgarden, this is also where you'll find most of the campgrounds.

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With the entire historical center being a UNESCO Cultural heritage site, Lübeck is one of the more attractive towns in former West Germany. But even here you'll see some bad examples of 60s functionalist architecture next to beautiful medieval buildings. This doesn't affect, however, the positive general impression of Lübeck, and some parts of the Old Town, esp. in the eastern part are truly amazing with rows of gorgeous old houses, all of them restored and inhabited.
The town's landmark, 15th century Holsten Gate is at the western end of the historical center and houses a mildly interesting museum.
Fans of the famous German writer Thomas Mann might want to visit the museum in the 'Buddenbrook Haus'.

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Wismar is one of those typical Northern German 'Hansestädte' (Hanseatic trading town) with many beautiful gabled houses. The largely intact Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The large medieval market square is arguably one of the most beautiful in Germany and the old quarter (Alter Hafen) opposite the port is a great place to visit at night with some lovely pubs and restaurants.

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North-eastern Germany's largest city has a very attractive city center with colorful gabled houses, old town squares and remains of the medieval city wall. Most of the center is pedestrianised.
Rostock's beautiful university was founded in 1419 and is the oldest in northern Germany. Another beautiful building is the pink 12th century town hall on Neuer Markt.
One drawback is that Rostock's Old Town doesn't have a lot to offer in terms of outdoor cafés and pubs (most of them are in the KDV quarter west of Kröpeliner Tor).

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Schwerin truly is Germany's best-kept secret, a hidden gem and my personal favorite among German towns. In and around Schwerin there are countless lakes and parks, the fairy-tale Schwerin castle is the most magnificent in the country and the old town center is well-preserved with plenty of outdoor cafés and restaurants. Despite being a state capital, Schwerin has the feel of a pleasant provincial town.

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Güstrow is most famous (so i've been told because i'd never heard about it before) for its magnificent Renaissance castle, a wonderful place, indeed, especially with its fragrant lavender garden.
But the whole town is extremely attractive and a great place to stop for a few hours en route between Rostock and Schwerin.

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Yet another 'Hansestadt' and UNESCO World Heritage site, Stralsund is still a bit more edgy than Lübeck or Wismar, and this is exactly what's so charming about this town.
The old red-brick port buildings have all been restored and now house clubs and cocktail bars, a very enjoyable quarter.
Colorful, gabled houses, some still undergoing restoration, can be seen throughout the city center and the massive, imposing Nikolai church is visible for miles.
Stralsund is also the jumping-off point to the beautiful island of Rügen, just 3km offshore.

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Germany's largest island in the Baltic sea is a place of extraordinary beauty : long, white-sand beaches, pine forests, lakes and the famous white chalk cliffs of the Jasmund NP make Rügen one of Germany's major tourist destinations. In summer it's hard to find accommodation, even campgrounds on the coast are booked for months and the narrow island roads are jammed with cars, but still, if you visit only one place on the German coast, make it Rügen!!

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The small university town of Greifswald has an image problem. Among western German students it's a running gag to tell someone with bad grades that he certainly has to go to Greifswald because no other university will accept him. Being sent to Greifswald is the biggest fear a western German student has.
I have no idea where these negative ideas about Greifswald come from, maybe it's because the town is in a very remote corner of Eastern Germany, maybe it's because there have been some problems with neonazis in recent years. I don't know, but i found Greifswald very attractive and enjoyable, if slightly too calm and provincial.
As in other Hanseatic trading towns there's a beautiful large market square with colorful, gabled houses, plenty of nice cafés and it's only a couple of minutes to the Baltic sea, so in my opinion not a bad place for students (and visitors) at all.

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42 km of uninterrupted white sand beach and stylish turn-of-the-century spa towns make the island of Usedom in Germany's far north-east one of the most attractive and popular places on the Baltic sea coast. The coastline and the pine forests are perfect for sunbathing, cycling and hiking, and you're never far from the Polish border if you need cheap cigarettes and alcohol (Germany shares Usedom with Poland).

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