Blond sand beaches facing a sprawling sea, islands which are among the sunniest places in Germany, forests and hikes within easy reach of deckchairs, superb medieval towns…

Appreciated across the Rhine, but still little known by French, the Baltic coast deploys its treasures on nearly 300 km between Hamburg and Poland.

Flagships of local tourism, the island of Rügen, with its spectacular chalk cliffs, and that of Usedom can serve as a base for exploring the region. Once the summer crowds are gone, they find their old-fashioned charm and a romantic atmosphere that invites you to daydream. With, within reach of the car, the magnificent ports of the Hanse.

Go and discover this little-known Germany. The Baltic is exotic.

The German Riviera

Sandy beaches, seaside resorts with Belle Époque charm, lakes, idyllic bays, nautical activities … Welcome to the German Riviera which is in the northeast of the country, on the Baltic Sea!

Located around 2:45 from Berlin and Hamburg, the islands of Rügen and Usedom are famous holiday destinations across the Rhine. The proximity to unspoiled nature makes the charm of these northern islands: here, the forest, the wheat fields and the national parks are never far from the deckchair.

Largest island in Germany (60 km by 40 km), Rügen has a varied physiognomy: jagged coasts, an interior dotted with lakes and a geological curiosity that made the island famous, the chalk cliffs.

But Rügen is mostly 60 km of sandy beaches and beautiful resorts, like Binz and white houses of wood built by wealthy Berliners in the XIX th century. The beaches, with their wooden and wicker armchairs (Strandkorn) which protect bathers from the sun or the wind, invite you to laze around.

Neighboring Rügen, the island of Usedom, which Germany shares with Poland, also aligns splendid buildings of the Belle Époque. As if taken from a Thomas Mann novel, the residences of Herringsdorf and Ahlbeck (photo) seem to remember the crowned heads who stayed there.

As on Rügen, lovers of cycling (180 km of tracks), hiking (400 km of trails) and water sports (40 km of beaches) will be partying on Usedom. Small peculiarity: this island, which passes for the sunniest place in Germany (1,906 h of sun per year), produces the most northern wine of the country: the Loddina Abendrot.

The chalk cliffs of Rügen

Some people only dream of coming to Rügen to see them: the Stubbenkammers (photo), these famous cliffs of chalk and granite, immortalized by a world-famous painting by Caspar David Friedrich. For the record, the site that would have inspired the great romantic painter (the Wissower Klinkens) disappeared after a landslide in 2005.

Because these cliffs, which rise up to 120 m above the Baltic, are subject to erosion. Winter storms can sweep entire blocks of rock over 100 million years old, discovering fossils. It is very dangerous – and prohibited – to approach the edge.

The most famous site, the Königsstuhl (king’s chair), is located a few kilometers north of Sassnitz, in the Jasmund National Park. In addition to the cliffs, the park contains a natural wonder that has earned it a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the primary beech forest of Germany, some of whose trees are 8 centuries old.

Right next to Königsstuhl, an interpretation center offers exhibitions, films and activities in the park. Paid entry (7.5 €), which must be paid to see the cliffs. Please note, parking is also subject to charges and there is a crowd in summer.

If you want to avoid paying, go after 6 p.m. or go to the Victoria Blick, a viewpoint a few hundred meters away on the forest trail between Sassnitz and Königsstuhl.

Another solution: take a boat and take a cruise from the port of Sassnitz, preferably in the morning to take advantage of the light. On your return, stop for lunch in this fishing port, where there are quite a few small pubs and nice restaurants.

Hanseatic towns

Rügen can be used as a base to explore the Baltic coast and, more particularly, the Hanseatic cities, remarkable for their Gothic red brick buildings.

Little history: between the XII th and the XVII th. Major trading ports of the North Sea and Baltic have joined together in the Hanseatic League, a trade association of exclusive privileges. From Bergen to Tallinn, via Hamburg, the Hanseatic cities controlled a flourishing maritime trade. They enjoyed considerable political and diplomatic power.

From this golden age remain splendid old cities, which have kept their medieval aspect. Gateway to the island of Rügen, Stralsund (photo) contains jewels of Gothic architecture sown over its winding streets.

The Church of St. Nicolas (XII th c.) And City Hall (XIV th c.), Whose facade evokes a lace red brick, are the jewels of the Gothic in northern Germany. The medieval town has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.

Further west, Rostock was also one of the most important ports in the Hanseatic League. We admire its well-renovated gable houses, the spectacular Neuer Markt town hall or the Gothic Marienkirche basilica.

A little further away, Wismar and Greifswald are worth a visit. These two jewels of the Hanseatic era have kept their mansions, churches and cobbled alleys from the medieval era. Listed as a UNESCO site, Wismar invites you to daydream, as its atmosphere seems unreal. It is not for nothing that Murnau chose it as the setting for his famous Nosferatu …

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