My wife and I want to visit Northern Germany in July of next year. We are looking for advice on where to stay and what to visit. We will have 8 days to spend there. We will be leaving and returning to Frankfurt (my wife has family there).
I've seen some posts but not alot on areas like Hamburg, Schleswig, Lübeck, etc. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. We plan on traveling by train unless someone suggests differently.
Thanks.
Hamburg, Bremen and Lüneburg are really good options.
You might find time to toss in Hameln, Rinteln (both known for their Weserrenaissance buildings) and/or Celle.
Trains: The Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) Ticket has you covered for travel in this area. See map of coverage on p. 4 of this flyer.
Honest opinion for 8 days: travel "Hamburg, Schleswig and Lübeck", maybe add Bremen or a beach location on a sunny warm day or choose a day trip by ferry to scenic Helgoland. The tourist page of state Schleswig-Holstein contains a lot of good ideas.
If you like beer consider to visit Germany's most northern brewery in Flensburg - legendary brand in Germany.
If you want to add a different impression I recommend Harz mountains (near Hanover) with nice old towns of Goslar and Quedlinburg.
Spend all eight days in North Germany. Where to go, depends on your preference for only smaller places, big cities, a particular geographic area, landmarks both historical and cultural, war monuments, statues, etc
You list Schleswig...the town or the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein? Some real lovely, historically and culturally interesting places here, small towns such as Eutin/Holstein, Schleswig, Plön, Stade, Husum.
You choose to stay in the Hamburg, Lübeck, Lüneburg area. My favourite small town in Germany is Lüneburg, have been here over and over.
If you're interested in Prussian history, a number of places up north deal with that...Lüneburg, Pinneberg bei Hamburg, Friedrichsruh, Eutin/Holsten, Schleswig.
Info: Stade is located in state Lower Saxony, not Schleswig-Holstein.
Thanks, technically correct but still in North Germany. To use a historical metaphor, as Schlieffen said of the lovely Pregeltal in East Prussia, a minor detail.
Let me answer with a saying of real Northern Germans:
"Alles südlich der Elbe ist Nord-Italien." (= Everything South of river Elbe is Northern Italy).
Always nice to exchange ;-)
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/germany/best-germany-tour
There you can see what Rick does in Eufort, Dresden, Berlin, and Hamburg.
Instead of west of the Elbe, it's south,,,ein absichtlicher Widerspruch und alles östlich des Flusses ist Preußen.
