Lubeck

Lübeck takes 1 day to see: the Holstentor, the 15th-century brick gate that is the city's symbol, in a walk through the old town on an island in the Trave river, and a stop at Niederegger, a marzipan maker since 1806, on the same day. April-October is best. It's mid-priced by German standards. It was the de facto capital of the Hanseatic League, the network of trading cities that dominated northern European commerce for centuries, nicknamed the «Queen of the Hanse», and it's the birthplace of writer Thomas Mann, author of «Buddenbrooks», set in the city itself.