Hotspots on the Baltic SeaTravemünde - Lübeck's sophisticated outpost on the River Trave

Jill Grigoleit

 · 29.05.2026

Hotspots on the Baltic Sea: Travemünde - Lübeck's sophisticated outpost on the River TravePhoto: Christian Tiedt
The Nordermolenbake off Travemünde marks the entrance to the Trave and warns shipping of the shallows off the Brodtener Ufer.
Where the River Trave flows into the Baltic Sea lies Lübeck's traditional harbour and seaside resort of Travemünde. Hanseatic history and water sports come together here between historic captain's houses, a wide beach promenade and modern marinas.

Topics in this article

  • Name: Travemünde, Germany
  • Location: mouth of the Trave, Bay of Lübeck
  • Position: 53°57'39.2 "N 10°52'06.4 "E

Highlight for water sports enthusiasts - the Travemünde Week

Every year in July, the town is transformed into a centre of international sailing for ten days. Travemünde has water sports in its DNA. As early as the end of the 19th century, the German sailing elite met here to compete on the Bay of Lübeck. Today the Travemünde Week is one of the largest sailing events in Europe.

For guest sailors: modern marinas directly on the Baltic Sea

As a landmark visible from afar, the 118 metre high "Maritim" hotel - coming in on starboard - points the way to Travemünde. The Bay of Lübeck offers a good selection of modern marinas with guest berths. Above all the Passat harbour with the local landmark to which it owes its name. The marina on the Priwall peninsula - with a view of Travemünde's old town opposite - has 490 berths. Guest yachts up to 16 metres long and five metres wide will find ten signposted berths in four to six metres of water to the east of the boat crane.

Alternatively, you can also moor directly on the city side, for example at the traditional Lübeck Yacht Club. For the unbeatable location directly on the promenade, however, you sometimes have to put up with a lot of swell from the busy ferry traffic. The boat is quieter in the Marina Baltica up the river. From here, it is a 20-minute walk to the old town centre.

Further discoveries in Travemünde

A trip here is also worthwhile away from the Travemünde Week. To the south, the tranquil Pötenitzer Wiek beckons, while to the north, the Brodtener Ufer stretches as far as Niendorf with its impressive cliffs. In Travemünde itself, old villas above the promenade are reminiscent of the heyday of the seaside resorts, when wealthy Hamburgers and Lübeckers spent their summers here.

The city's landmark is the four-masted barque "Passat", one of the legendary Flying-P-Liners of the shipping company F. Laeisz, which was launched by Blohm & Voss in 1911. Today it is a museum ship, youth hostel and popular event venue.

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Another highlight is the oldest lighthouse in Germany, which today houses a lighthouse museum. maritime museum is located. Over the course of its almost 700-year history, it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The 31 metre high cultural monument last fulfilled its original purpose in 1972, when the beacon was finally switched off due to the higher "Maritim" hotel. Since then, Europe's tallest beacon, at 117 metres, has been located on the top floor of the hotel.


You can find more tips for Lübeck and Travemünde in our area portrait:


Jill Grigoleit

Jill Grigoleit

Editor Travel

Jill Grigoleit was born in Hanover in 1985. An early childhood memory is the large collection of YACHT and SURF magazines from her sailing and surfing enthusiast father. However, growing up in a small Swabian village on the Neckar, she had less to do with water sports in her childhood, apart from a few trips to the Baltic Sea with her family. After studying journalism in Bremen and Hanover, she went into television for a few years. Through a few lucky coincidences, she ended up on the water in 2011 and then returned to the written word professionally. For over ten years, she lived with her family on a houseboat in their own harbor south of Hamburg and wrote a book about houseboat building and life with children on the water. Since 2020, she has mainly been writing travel reports and features about people who live and work on and near the water for BOOTE. She has been a permanent member of the Delius Klasing water sports editorial team since January 2024.

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