The Best Weekend Getaways from Bremen, Germany

A weekend is never enough to discover the many layers of the gorgeous city of Hamburg, but it’s certainly enough to allow for a great introduction to the city and for you to make a promise to yourself to come back soon. A perfect weekend in Hamburg should include a tour of its stunning series of architecture, especially Speicherstadt, the largest warehouse complex in the world and the icon of Hamburg. Depending on whether you wish to learn about chocolates, spices, ships or emigration, take your pick from the fantastic museums in town. Also, don’t miss the world’s largest model railway, the Miniatur Wunderland that is a sheer example of engineering and technological genius.

A weekend in the quaint port city of Rostock means rich history, a tryst with nature, views to die for, dollops of culture and a lovely beach. Our itinerary for a perfect day in Rostock would take you to the major architectural and cultural highlights of the city, as well as the picture-postcard Am Strom promenade a half-hour’s train ride or drive away from Rostock. The rest of your holiday can be spent very pleasantly soaking up the sun and surf at Warnemünde Beach, visiting a creepy but interesting prison and checking out some of the museums of Rostock (for example, the cultural history museum housed in the Gothic Abbey of the Holy Cross, the Shipbuilding and Maritime Museum occupying a huge docked ship and Rostock Art Gallery, a museum of modern art.)

The little resort town of St. Peter Ording in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park holds special appeal for windsurfers and kite-surfers. However, less sporty travelers love it too for its beautiful sand dunes and sparkling ocean, best enjoyed from cute, canopied beach baskets. St. Peter Ording is also known for its therapeutic wellness options, especially sulfur spring baths and thalassotherapy.

Ink-blue choppy water backed by sheer red-sandstone cliffs, rows of colorful clapboard houses, rolling dunes, miles of soft, sandy beaches and duty-free shopping—that’s Heligoland for you, Germany’s only high-sea island. The best way of getting to Heligoland from Bremen is to drive or take the train to Cuxhaven (a distance of around 100km), and catch the Halunder Jet catamaran operated by FRS Helgoline from the Alte Liebe harbor in Cuxhaven at 11.30 a.m. (late April to early November) that whisks you off to the remote island in around 75 minutes.

Around a three-and-a-half hour drive would take you to the magical city that features in bucket lists around the world—Amsterdam! Amsterdam has more to offer than anyone can possibly fit in a weekend, but any time spent in the city is guaranteed to be stellar. Make sure you do the quintessential Amsterdam activity of lazing down canals in little boats. Alongside, take your pick from amazing museums, gorge on scrumptious pancakes and simply soak up the infectious energy at the Domplatz.

You can easily spend an entire day exploring the globally-famous Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover. This extensive stretch of green is made of four unique gardens: the Great Garden (Großer Garten), the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten. The gardens are peppered with landmarks of architectural and historical importance, and exhibit gorgeous landscaping. Use the rest of your weekend in Hanover checking out the series of beautiful architecture that makes up the skyline of of the city: New Town Hall, Lower Saxony State Museum and the ruins of the Aegidienkirche. Do take time to explore the beautiful nature spots in Hanover, like Maschsee, Tierpark, Hanover Zoo and Eilenriede Forest.