What is the Lübeck self-guided walking tour?
The Lübeck self-guided walking tour is an audio walk through the centre of Lübeck: you follow the route on your phone and the narration tells you what you are looking at. Plan on about 3 hours, of which 44 minutes are walking, for 3.4 km and 10 stops. The old town fills an island, and the route crosses it from the northern gate to the cathedral at its southern edge.
At the Hospital of the Holy Spirit you hear how 13th-century merchants cared for the poor, the old and the sick, and about the small wooden chambers that once filled its long hall. The Buddenbrookhaus brings Thomas Mann, whose grandparents lived there and whose novel made it the home of a merchant family. St Mary's is called the mother church of Brick Gothic, a model for about 70 Baltic churches, and its bells still lie broken where they fell in the air raid of 1942. At the Holstentor the narration translates the Latin motto over the gateway: harmony within, peace outside.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 44 min · 3.4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
How the walk works
Listen
The narration starts as you reach each stop: the history of the place, the legends told about it and the details most people walk past. Prefer reading? The same text is on screen.
Walk
Between stops you simply follow Google Maps. The whole route is 3.4 km, roughly 44 minutes on foot, and the speed is yours.
Pause
Stop for lunch, a coffee or a museum and carry on later, the same day or another one.
Eat and shop
The app suggests places to eat and local shops near the route, and that is also where you change the first stop and the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who will enjoy it
Curious walkers
If you like knowing the story behind a façade or a square, every stop gives you one.
Couples and families
Children hear the legends, adults get the history, and nobody has to keep up with a group.
Return visitors
Even if you know the streets, the stories add history and legends you may not have heard before.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: the Burgtor, the market square, the Holstentor, the cathedral
10 stops · about 44 min walking · start: Burgtor · finish: Lübeck Cathedral
The Burgtor at the northern end of the old town island is the first stop. The route heads south past the brick gable of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit on the Koberg and Theater Lübeck on Beckergrube, then turns into Mengstraße for the Buddenbrookhaus. St Mary's and the town hall stand side by side at the market square, and from there the route reaches the Holstentor and then St Peter's Church. Lübeck Cathedral, founded by Henry the Lion in 1173, closes the route, reached by way of the Museumsquartier St. Annen. Start and order can be changed in the app, and no stop charges admission.
Open the route map ↗
1BurgtorStart
The Burgtor is the northern gate of Lübeck's old town island and, together with the Holstentor, one of only two city gates that survive. Built of brick in late Gothic style, it takes its name from the castle that once stood nearby.
Read the full story →
2Hospital of the Holy Spirit
Lübeck merchants founded this hospital in the 13th century to care for the poor, the old and the sick, and it is one of the oldest social institutions in Europe. Its brick gable with slender turrets faces the Koberg square, and the long hall behind it once held small wooden chambers for the residents.
Read the full story →
3Theater Lübeck
The city theatre on Beckergrube is an art nouveau building from the early 20th century, with a decorated facade and a grand foyer. It is Lübeck's main stage for opera, drama and concerts.
4Buddenbrookhaus
The house with the white baroque facade on Mengstraße belonged to the grandparents of the writers Thomas and Heinrich Mann. Thomas Mann, who later won the Nobel Prize in Literature, made it the home of the merchant family in his novel Buddenbrooks, and today it is a museum about the Mann family.
5Marienkirche
Lübeck's merchants and city council built St Mary's in the 13th and 14th centuries next to the town hall and the market. Called the mother church of Brick Gothic, it was the model for about 70 Baltic churches, and its 38.5-metre nave vault is the tallest brick vault in the world. The bells that fell in the air raid of 1942 still lie broken in the south tower.
Read the full story →
6Lübeck Town Hall
Lübeck's town hall stands on the market square right beside St Mary's, the church of the city council. Built in several stages from the Middle Ages onwards, it is one of the oldest town halls in Germany and still the seat of the mayor and the city parliament. Look for the tall facade walls with round openings, which let the wind blow through.
7Holstentor
The Holstentor is a late Gothic city gate and the best-known symbol of Lübeck. Two massive round towers with pointed roofs flank its gateway, and the Latin inscription Concordia domi foris pax means harmony within, peace outside. Inside, a museum tells the story of the Hanseatic city.
8St Peter's Church
St Peter's was first recorded in 1170 as one of Lübeck's market churches, together with the forerunner of St Mary's. Burnt out in the air raid of 1942 and later rebuilt, it no longer has a parish and is used for exhibitions and events, and a lift takes visitors up the tower to a viewing platform.
9Museumsquartier St. Annen
This museum quarter grew around the former convent of St Anne, built at the start of the 16th century. It shows medieval church art from Lübeck, including Romanesque sculptures from the earlier St Mary's Church and a Passion altarpiece by Hans Memling.
10Lübeck CathedralFinish
Henry the Lion founded Lübeck Cathedral in 1173 at the southern edge of the old town as the church of the bishop. Two slender towers rise above the brick building, and inside hangs a large triumphal cross by the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. Like St Mary's and St Peter's, it burned in the air raid of 1942 and was rebuilt.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Wiebke– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Der Spaziergang war klasse, die Installation und so weiter wurde leider nicht gut erläutert.
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was great to do at own pace. For the cost a fantastic value which let you tap into some history and a feel for major events that shaped the city.
Nuria– Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Correcto aunque falta laguna cosa
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Normal.