Lübeck is the queen of the Hanseatic League, and from the old road in you can see why. The brick skyline of seven church spires rises from an island in the Trave, with the great Holstentor gate, built in the fifteenth century and so heavy that it has sunk into the soft ground, standing guard at the western entrance. The whole old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and with over two hundred thousand people around it, the city has everything a rider could want: fuel, restaurants, shops and a lively old centre.
For centuries Lübeck controlled the trade of the Baltic. Merchants brought salt from Lüneburg, which was shipped east, and returned with furs, wax, timber and grain from Russia and Scandinavia, and the wealth of those merchants is written in the brick gables of the old town. The Buddenbrooks house on Mengstraße, now a museum, recalls the novel by Thomas Mann, who was born here and made the city's merchant families famous in literature. His brother Heinrich and the novelist Günter Grass are also connected to the city.
Food is a pleasure. Lübeck marzipan, made from almonds and sugar, has been famous since the nineteenth century, and the shop and cafe of Niederegger on the market is a must for sweet-toothed visitors. The Lübecker Rotspon, a red wine that is matured in the city's cellars, is another local product, and the old inns serve Labskaus, a sailor's dish of corned beef, potatoes and beetroot, topped with a fried egg and a pickled herring. The Hospital of the Holy Spirit, a huge medieval hospice with a painted hall, is worth a look.
Riding in is easy, along the Trave from the north or through the leafy suburbs. Park near the Holstentor or the station, and explore on foot, because the old town is an island and busy with traffic. Stockelsdorf, four kilometres away, is the nearest suburb. If you stay for the evening, the spires are floodlit, and the reflections in the river are fine. It is a lovely place to end a day, and a good place to eat well.