Warnemünde

Warnemünde sits where the Warnow meets the Baltic and grew from a fishing village into a bathing resort from 1805, with a beach around three kilometres long and in places over a hundred and fifty metres wide, the widest on the German Baltic coast. The lighthouse of 1898, thirty-seven metres, is climbed for views over the beach and the harbour. The Alter Strom, the old channel, is lined with fishing cottages now holding restaurants and boats selling fish rolls direct from the deck. The cruise terminal takes large ships, so the village can fill suddenly when several are in port at once.

What you actually see

• The wide beach - the broadest sand on the German Baltic coast.
• The 1898 lighthouse - a climbable tower at the harbour mouth.
• The Alter Strom - a channel of fishing cottages and boats selling fish.
• The cruise terminal - large ships berthing beside the village.

When to go

May to September; the beach is busy in July and August. Cruise arrivals fill the village unpredictably. Winter is cold with strong winds off the Baltic.

Honest expectations

Cruise days overwhelm the small centre. The beach is crowded in high summer. Prices on the Alter Strom reflect the visitor trade.

Nearby

Rostock lies upriver; Bad Doberan is west.