Hanseatic Ports of Northern Germany
8 Days
![Facade of the historical city hall of Stralsund, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_90,f_auto,c_lfill,w_400,h_400,x_w_mul_0.47,y_h_mul_0.39,g_xy_center/ee-web/2024/03/Stralsund-1222790611.jpg)
![Lion statue beside Holstein Gate at Lubeck, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_90,f_auto,c_lfill,w_400,h_400/ee-web/2024/03/Holstein_150001223.jpg)
![Sanssouci palace and park, Potsdam, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_90,f_auto,c_lfill,w_400,h_400/ee-web/2024/03/Germany_1680716680.jpg)
![Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_90,f_auto,c_lfill,w_400,h_400/ee-web/2024/03/Orangerie-in-Sanssouci-park-in-Potsdam-Germany.jpg)
This itinerary was crafted to show you a fascinating glance into Germany’s rich past. In just over a week you will visit German cities along the North Sea and the Baltic Sea of immense cultural heritage. And despite the fact that no fewer than four UNESCO World Heritage Sites are featured in the itinerary, you’ll find that these destinations are unspoiled and not jam-packed with tourists. This tour also gives travelers the chance to experience Germany’s two largest cities: Berlin and Hamburg.
Highlights
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Historic waterfronts and town halls
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Gothic brick architecture
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Vibrant Berlin's top attractions
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Visit Potsdam's Sanssouci Park
Itinerary Details
International Arrival
Panoramic tour of the city by private coach en route to your hotel
1 Night
Hamburg
Included activities
DAY 1: Arrive in Hamburg
At the conclusion of your flight to Hamburg, your group will be met by a guide in the airport's arrivals hall and taken on a panoramic tour of this maritime metropolis' key highlights by private coach en route to your hotel. After checking in, enjoy free time to explore or freshen up before tonight's welcome dinner in the hotel's restaurant. After dinner, your evening is free to maybe take a stroll along the banks of Binnenalster Lake or to enjoy Hamburg's world-famous night life.
![Classic view of famous Speicherstadt warehouse district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, illuminated in beautiful post sunset twilight at dusk, Hamburg, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/Hamburg_1193445700.jpg)
Travel by private coach to the historic city of Luneburg en route to the city of Bremen, transfer to the hotel upon arrival
1 Night
Bremen
Included activities
DAY 2: Arrive in Bremen
After breakfast in the hotel, your group will check out and head south by private coach to the historic city of Luneburg. Luneburg participated in the Hanseatic Diet starting in 1363 and remained in the League right through to the 17th century. The city's several-hundred-year monopoly on salt production in the region linked the city with Lubeck, the chief Hanseatic city. The cityscape attests to the city's earlier wealth and intensive trading during the Hanseatic boom. Your walking tour of the Old Town includes the picturesque riverside quarter, the Town Hall- one of northern Germany's largest and most beautiful medieval town halls- and "Am Sande" Square featuring some magnificent brick buildings. The tour continues with a visit to the German Salt Museum where your group will learn how a nondescript mineral is a vital building block of life and is nicknamed "white gold." Today concludes with a transfer to your hotel in Bremen. Evening at leisure in beautiful Bremen.
![Bremen](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/bremen-town-square.jpg)
![Colorful houses in historic Schnoorviertel in Bremen, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/EE_Bremen_334338527.jpg)
![Historic town of Bremen with old sailing ship on Weser river, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/EE_Bremen_231373708.jpg)
Travel by private coach to the city of Lubeck
2 Nights
Lubeck
Included activities
DAY 3: Arrive in Lubeck
After breakfast in the hotel, your group will checkout and leave its baggage with the reception staff before beginning an exciting city tour. The 1,200 year old city of Bremen, located on the Weser River, was a major trading port in the Hanseatic League and remains an important commercial and industrial city today. This morning will begin with a walking tour through Bremen's Old Town. Walk along the moats of the former medieval city walls in Wallangen Park and through the bustling pedestrian zones. The highlight of your tour will undoubtedly be Market Square, dominated by the "Weser Renaissance" facade of the UNESCO-listed Town Hall and statute of Roland. Your tour continues along artistic Bottcherstrasse and the Schlachte riverside promenade and eventually ends back at the hotel where you will collect your baggage and proceed by private coach to the city of Lubeck. Upon arrival in Lubeck you will be taken to your hotel to check in. The remainder of the day is free to explore at your leisure.
DAY 4:
Lubeck was the formal capital and "queen city" of the Hanseatic League. The entire Old Quarter is located on an island in the Trave River and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today's tour will commence after breakfast in the hotel. The tour will feature the Old Town gates, the Town Hall, and the many beautiful churches including Marienkirche, the world's tallest brick church. Other sights include the historic salt warehouses and the Medieval Hospital of the Holy Ghost. The tour will finish by lunchtime, and the remainder of the day is at leisure to continue exploring the city's large historical quarter; we suggest you seek out one of Lubeck's most well-loved delicacies: marzipan.
![Lion statue beside Holstein Gate at Lubeck, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/Holstein_150001223.jpg)
Travel by private coach to the city of Stralsund
1 Night
Stralsund
Included activities
DAY 5: Arrive in Stralsund
Following breakfast this morning you and your fellow group members will travel east by private coach for a short tour of coastal Wismar whose Old Town shares a UNESCO listing with Stralsund. Stralsund played an important role in the rise of religious architecture and the brick gothic style. The architectural heritage in the Old Town is typical of an established Hanseatic town during the trading alliance's 14th-century heyday. In Stralsund you will enjoy a tour of the historic center, including the old market square bordering the 13th-century gothic Town Hall and many houses from different periods. You will also view the spectacular gothic interior of the refectory of the Monastery of Saint Catherine, the Johanniskloster Franciscan monastery built in 1254, and St Mary's 17th-century organ, the largest of its kind still existing in Europe. After the tour your group will check into its hotel in Stralsund, have some time to freshen up, and then head out to a local restaurant for dinner.
![Facade of the historical city hall of Stralsund, Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,x_w_mul_0.47,y_h_mul_0.39,g_xy_center,c_lfill/ee-web/2024/03/Stralsund-1222790611.jpg)
Travel by private coach to the city of Berlin
2 Nights
Berlin
Included activities
DAY 6: Arrive in Berlin
After breakfast in the hotel and check out, your group will travel inland by private coach to the vibrant metropolis of Berlin, Germany's capital. When you arrive in Berlin you will have time on your own to grab some lunch before reconvening for an afternoon tour of this fabulous city. Highlights include the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Unter den Linden, and Berlin Cathedral. The tour will finish back at the hotel, and after check-in you will have the remainder of the day to explore this energetic city on your own.
DAY 7:
After breakfast in the hotel, your group will travel outside of Berlin by private coach to Potsdam, a baroque city surrounded by parks. You will have a guided tour of the most spectacular of them, Sanssouci Park. With its ornate palaces, manicured gardens and picturesque pavilions you will be amazed at the incredible detail around each corner or bend in the path. Upon returning to Berlin, enjoy free time before reconvening with your fellow group members for a farewell group dinner at a local restaurant near your hotel.
DAY 8:
After breakfast and checkout, your group will travel by private coach to the airport for its return flight to the USA or Canada.
Travel by private coach to the airport
International Departure
![Hanseatic Ports of Northern Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/shutterstock_314149679.jpg)
![Gendarmenmarkt square, Berlin](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/gendarmenmarkt-square-berlin.jpg)
![Hanseatic Ports of Northern Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/shutterstock_776741824.jpg)
![Hanseatic Ports of Northern Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/shutterstock_2323529337-e1719324971878.jpg)
![Berlin](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/berlin-munich-prague1.jpg)
![Hanseatic Ports of Northern Germany](https://res.cloudinary.com/enchanting/q_70,f_auto,w_720,h_410,c_fill,g_face/ee-web/2024/03/shutterstock_403996540.jpg)
Inclusions
Includes
- Visit four UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Ground transportation via air conditioned luxury coach
- Accommodations: Hamburg 1 night, Bremen 1 night, Lubeck 2 nights, Stralsund 1 night, Berlin 2 nights
- Meals: Continental breakfast daily. Lunch and dinner as noted in itinerary
- English speaking assistants and guides
- Admission tickets as outlined in itinerary