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We've compiled the best of the best in Schleswig-Holstein and the Baltic Coast - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Taste the "Divine beer of the Vikings," a malty cold-fermented amber lager, at Schleswig's only brewery. While the Luzifer Restaurant offers typical brewpub fare, it is the small Viking twists, like roast meat served only with a knife and horned glasses that make this place worth a visit.
Wismar's first brewery (1452) is the only place that still brews Wismarer Mumme, a dark beer with enough alcohol to keep it fresh for export as far away as St. Petersburg. The restaurant serves good-value typical pub food in an old half-timber house near the harbor.
Located where St. Pauli meets Schanze, Hatari offers traditional southwestern German food in the far north. Sit at one of the long, rustic wooden tables and enjoy a plate of Käsespätzle or delicacies from the Rhineland at affordable prices. The folksy decoration gives the impression of a modest eatery frozen in time, but the clientele here is mostly made up of hip Schanze locals who flock to this restaurant for its unique vibe.
Kiel has been a center of German brewing since the Middle Ages, when industrious citizens brewed around the clock for export and visiting merchant seamen. In this brauhaus you can try the Kieler Original and other north German beers in pitchers, or order Kiel beer in large wooden barrels to tap yourself at the table.
A long-time neighborhood favorite, Eisenstein sits inside a handsome 19th-century industrial complex turned art center and serves fantastic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine at affordable prices. Sharing space with a movie theater, the restaurant is popular with pre- and postmovie crowds and probably best known for its gourmet wood-fired pizzas like the Pizza Helsinki (salmon, crème fraîche, and onions) and the Blöde Ziege (Stupid Goat) with rosemary-tomato sauce, crispy bacon, and goat cheese.
Ski lifts are a rare sight in Hamburg and North Germany, which is known for its flat landscape, but they are part of the decoration of this bistro serving Alpine delicacies. The menu includes an excellent selection of cheese and German favorites such as Käsespätzle (egg noodles) but this restaurant is best known as a great place to have a proper breakfast.
