51.94° N · 13.90° E
An hour by train from Berlin: punt boats through the town's locks, canoeing along the canals, the castle island and the boat route to Lehde.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Boat · 1 h 30 · €18 · Past the town wall, the castle, three locks and the Hain woods, with the Flottes Rudel punters
Boat · 6–7 h · €35 · Through the high Wotschofska forest to Lehde, with stops for lunch and to see the open-air museum
Canoe · 1–2 h 30 · From €22 · Kayak, Canadian canoe or rowing boat from Bootsverleih Gebauer, with three routes through the locks
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to October, with punts every day from 10:30 and canoe hire Thursday to Sunday. In Advent there is a market and winter punts with mulled wine.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Lübben works without a car: a regional train from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, around an hour, and then on foot, by boat or by canoe. The same train takes you to Lübbenau in ten minutes.
About 85 km from Berlin on the A13, around an hour and ten minutes. A car lets you sleep on the outskirts and combine Lübben and Lübbenau in one day.
You fly to Berlin: BER airport has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and lies south of the city, on the Spreewald side. From the airport or from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, take a regional train on the Cottbus line to Lübben; by hire car, about 70 km on the A13.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Lübben is small and flat, with water on every corner: slow boats, canoes and a water playground on the castle island.
With children up to six, Lübben is easy: short distances, flat paths and boats where you sit calmly.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Four-star family hotel beside the Berste canal, with an indoor pool, saunas, its own landing stage and canoe and bike hire.
Why we like it: Family hotel under centuries-old lime trees in Treppendorf, on the outskirts of Lübben, with rooms for one to four, a family studio and a garden.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a table on the terrace by the canal, watching the boats
What to order: potatoes with quark and linseed oil, the Spreewald dish, with pickles
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
51.87° N · 13.97° E
Car-freeBy planeBy car
52.52° N · 13.41° E
By planeCar-freeBy bike
52.40° N · 13.07° E
Car-freeBy planeBy car
52.38° N · 12.94° E
Car-freeBy carBy plane
Tips
The punt tells you everything; the canoe gives you silence.
Go by punt and eat there: in Lübben the restaurants on this page do not serve at midday on Sunday.
They are handed out on the lock punt.
Lübben is the small capital of the Spreewald, the riverside forest crossed by canals south-east of Berlin. It was the capital of Lower Lusatia and preserves a castle on an island, a stretch of town wall and a large brick church; all around, the Spree opens into arms and locks. It is the other gateway to the Spreewald, quieter than Lübbenau, about 15 km away: here the boats travel through the town itself and, by punt, you can reach Lehde.
The punt through the locks. An hour and a half in a flat-bottomed boat on the main Spree, past the wall and the castle, through three locks and along the Hain, a riverside forest of about 25 hectares in the middle of the town. It costs €18 and runs every day from April to October; on the boat you can try Spreewald gherkins.
The boat to Lehde. A whole day by punt, six to seven hours, to the village of wooden houses at Lehde and the high forest of Wotschofska. Book with the boatmen.
The canoe along the canals. You paddle yourself, from €22 for two hours in a single kayak, with marked routes of 4 to 7 km through the small locks.
The castle island and the castle museum. On the Schlossinsel there is a park, a harbour and a water playground; the Renaissance castle, with its medieval tower and the hall of coats of arms, houses the town museum.
The Paul Gerhardt Church. On the square, the church where the hymn poet Paul Gerhardt preached; from April to October you can climb the tower with the tower keeper.
By train, regional trains on the Cottbus line leave Berlin Hauptbahnhof and reach Lübben (Spreewald) in about an hour. From the station to the harbour and the castle island it is about a 20-minute walk.
By car, about 85 km along the A13, around an hour and ten minutes. There are car parks next to the harbour and on Lindenstraße.
One day: punt or canoe in the morning, lunch, museum or castle island in the afternoon. With a night you can take the full-day punt to Lehde or paddle in the Lower Spreewald, and combine Lübben with Lübbenau.
The Spreewaldhotel Stephanshof, ten minutes from the centre beside a canal, has an indoor pool, its own landing stage and the Eisvogel restaurant, open Monday to Saturday from 13:00. In Treppendorf, on the outskirts, the Hotel Lindengarten serves Spreewald cooking, with linseed oil and quark, in its lime-tree garden.
From April to October: punts run every day, canoes can be hired Thursday to Sunday and the church tower is open. In Advent there is a market and winter punts. The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday all year.
Questions
By regional train from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, about an hour, and then on foot to the harbour.
Lübbenau is the more visited gateway, next to Lehde; Lübben is quieter, with punts through the town and access to the Lower Spreewald.
€18 for the hour-and-a-half round; children under 12, €8.
The town round leaves every day from 10:30; the full-day trip to Lehde must be booked.
Yes: the punt is calm, the island has a water playground and the museum is free for under-18s.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/brandenburg/lubben
