Northern Germany

Eight of the 13 German nature reserves are close to the ocean or encompass large bodies of water, such as the marshes of Lower Saxony, Hamburg or Schleswig-Holstein or the National Park of Müritz. The Hanse cities of the North Sea and Baltic add a fascinating cultural experience to your holiday.

The Mecklemburg Lakes: The Mecklemburg plateau, between Berlin and the Baltic Sea, is the largest geological plateau of interconnected lakes in Central Europe. Lake Müritz, which measures 117 km²/45 mi², is the largest lake in Germany and one of more than a thousand lakes in this region. The name is derived from old Slavic and means "small sea". This impressive natural region can be accessed by river from Hamburg or Berlin. A large part of this region falls under the protection of the Müritz National Park (332 km²/124 mi²).  

The state of Lower Saxony, the second largest federal state in Germany, stretches from the Frisian islands in the North Sea (Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge) to the mountains of Harz.  
The Hanse cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck and Rostock make for an interesting destination. You will also find other cities worth exploring such as Kiel, Schwerin, Hannover and more. For more information on the cities in northern Germany, please see the itinerary section. Here you will find more detailed information about each one of these places of interest.