Kiel

The Baltic's sailing capital, with Kiel Week and the Kiel Canal locks, and Laboe's U-boat and the Viking site of Hedeby close at hand.

Kiel is the capital of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, on the eastern side of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of the Kiel Fjord, which reaches about 17 km inland. It is one of Germany's most important Baltic ports, the eastern entrance to the Kiel Canal and a major German naval base. The city was almost entirely destroyed in World War II and its centre is largely postwar, so its charm lies mainly on the water: sailboats, ferries and cruise ships criss-cross the fjord, earning Kiel the title "Sailing City". In town, stroll the Kiel Fjord waterfront promenade, watch huge cargo ships pass through the Holtenau locks, then visit the Town Hall, St. Nicholas' Church, the Maritime Museum and the Kunsthalle art gallery; in summer, head to Falckenstein beach or the Olympic sailing harbour at Schilksee. A fjord ferry takes about an hour to Laboe on the opposite shore, where you can climb the Naval Memorial and tour the U-995 submarine. Day trips: about 45 km northwest, Schleswig has the UNESCO-listed Hedeby Viking Museum, the Danevirke earthworks and Gottorf Castle; to the southeast is the Holstein Switzerland lake district, with Plön Castle, cruises on the Great Plön Lake, the Malente Five Lakes cruise and Eutin Castle; there's also Eckernförde's beach, Rendsburg's canal high bridge and the Molfsee open-air museum, and in summer you can catch the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg. The best time is Jun–Aug; Kiel Week in late June is one of the world's largest sailing events, so book hotels early. Winters are grey, cold and windy with short days. Trains from Hamburg take about 1 hour 15 minutes, and ferries sail from Kiel to Oslo, Gothenburg and Klaipėda. Plan on 2–3 days. Regional trains and fjord ferries run frequently, and the Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket gives unlimited travel for a day.

Top sights

• Kiellinie – A waterfront promenade along the western shore of Kiel Fjord, where you can watch sailing boats, ferries and giant cruise ships come and go…
• Kiel Canal Holtenau Locks – The eastern locks of the Kiel Canal, the world’s busiest man-made waterway, where you can watch freighters rise and fall through the locks…
• Laboe Naval Memorial – An 85-metre-high memorial tower shaped like a ship’s bow, standing at the mouth of Kiel Fjord. Its top offers views over the fjord and the…
• U-995 Submarine – A WWII Type VII C submarine on display on Laboe beach, where visitors can squeeze into its cramped compartments to experience a submariner'…
• Eckernförde Beach & Old Town – A seaside town northwest of Kiel with a sandy beach right in its center, known for smoked sprats and brightly colored fishermen's cottages.
• Open-Air Museum Molfsee – A spacious state folk-life open-air museum with more than 70 original farmhouses, windmills and workshops relocated here.
• Kiel City Hall – The 106-meter tower modeled on Venice's St. Mark's Campanile is Kiel's landmark, with a small lake and opera house forming the city-center…
• Kiel Maritime Museum – A maritime museum housed in the old fish market hall, showcasing the history of Kiel's port, navy and sailing, with museum ships moored at…
• St. Nikolai, Kiel – Kiel's oldest building, a 13th-century brick Gothic church, with Ernst Barlach's sculpture The Spirit Fighter out front.
• Kunsthalle zu Kiel – A university-affiliated art museum in Kiel with a collection of German painting from the 19th century to the present, strong in North Germa…
• Zoological Museum of Kiel University – A university museum on the fjord promenade, famous for huge whale skeletons and specimens of North Sea and Baltic animals.
• Botanical Garden of Kiel University – A large botanical garden north of the university campus, with greenhouses, an alpine rock garden and world flora sections worth exploring.
• Falckensteiner Strand – Kiel's most popular natural beach, facing the mouth of the fjord, with a view across to the Laboe memorial tower.
• Olympic Harbour Schilksee – The sailing venue for the 1936 and 1972 Olympics and the hub of Kiel Week events, with a beach and promenade along the harbor.
• Rendsburg High Bridge & Transporter Bridge – A railway steel bridge over the Kiel Canal completed in 1913, with trains crossing the high span while a suspended transporter ferry carrie…
• Karl May Festival, Bad Segeberg – Germany's most popular open-air Western show, staged in an amphitheater below a limestone hill, where tickets are hard to get in summer.

Where to eat

• Ahlmanns – A one-Michelin-star restaurant in a former banker’s villa, where chef Lasse Knickrehm serves seasonal creative tasting…
• Kieler Brauerei – A brewpub beside the Alter Markt in the old town, with copper brewing kettles in the restaurant, serving North German h…
• Moby Fischbrötchen – A container fish-sandwich stand on the Kiel Fjord promenade beside the Kiellinie sailing camp, where you eat on beach c…
• Schiffercafé Holtenau – An old harbor café beside the Kiel Canal lock in Holtenau, where you can watch large ships pass through the lock while…

Itineraries

• North Sea to Baltic Coast Loop: 14-Day Self-Drive Itinerary – Embark on a road trip from Hamburg around the North Sea and Baltic Sea, covering Sylt, Viking heritage sites, and Rügen…
• Schleswig-Holstein Lakes & Viking Heritage: 7-Day Railway Itinerary – Take the train from Lübeck through the lake district and Kiel to Schleswig, exploring the Baltic Sea and Viking heritag…