# Spreewald A day trip from Berlin by train: a punt boat from Lübbenau to Lehde, a canoe along the canals and the open-air museum of Spreewald farms. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/brandenburg/spreewald · Revisado: 2026-11-12 The Spreewald is a riverside forest south-east of Berlin where the River Spree breaks up into hundreds of canals. For centuries its villages lived off the water: people went to school, to the doctor and to market by boat. Today it is a biosphere reserve and the most distinctive day trip from Berlin: an hour by train to Lübbenau and you step into a flat-bottomed boat that a boatman pushes with a pole, in silence, between meadows, alders and wooden houses. It is also Sorbian land, with street names in two languages, and the home of the famous pickled gherkin. ## What to do in the Spreewald in a day The punt to Lehde. From Lübbenau's Großer Spreewaldhafen, the short route goes to Lehde in two hours with a stop, for €17 (€9 for ages 4 to 11). You do not need to book: you arrive, wait for the boat to fill and set off. If you have the whole day, the locks route lasts five and a half hours. The open-air museum in Lehde. Use the stop in Lehde to see the four nineteenth-century wooden farmhouses, furnished as they were then, with an oven, a boat workshop and Sorbian costumes. Children up to 14 do not pay. It is open from the end of March to early November. Eating in Lehde. Kaupen No. 6 is an old farmhouse beside the water, with a garden and its own mustard; it is open Thursday to Sunday. The Quappenschänke serves Spreewald game and fish, with tables inside boats on a covered terrace. In the afternoon, on your own. Walk back along the canal path or hire a canoe for a couple of hours at Bootsverleih Richter. ## How do you get there from Berlin? By train, the usual way: regional trains on the Cottbus line take about an hour from Berlin to Lübbenau station, and from there it is a 15 or 20-minute walk through the centre to the harbour. From BER airport there is a train in about 50 minutes. By car, about 100 kilometres along the A13 motorway, a little over an hour and a quarter. In Lübbenau leave the car and continue on foot or by boat. ## When to go From May to September all the routes run, the museum is open and the canals are green. In October there are still boats and the forest changes colour. From November to March the winter boats run, 75 minutes long and with a hot drink, and on Advent weekends there is a Christmas market in the harbour and at the Lehde museum. ## Where to sleep If you stay a night, you see the canals empty at sunset. Schloss Lübbenau has rooms in the palace stables and a spa in winter; the Hotelanlage Starick spreads its rooms across houses in Lehde; and the Camping Am Schlosspark, between the two, is open all year and has cabins. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Christmas markets of Europe - Cerca: Lübben (Spreewald) (a 9.7 km), Berlin (a 82.3 km), Meissen (a 85.5 km), Potsdam (a 85.6 km) ## Qué hacer - **Punt from Lübbenau to Lehde** (2 h · All ages · Desde 17 € per person; children aged 4 to 11, €9): What it is The Spreewald is a labyrinth of canals, the Fließe, through which the River Spree divides among meadows and alder forests. The classic way to explore it is in a Kahn, a flat-bottomed punt that the boatman pushes with a pole, in silence, while telling you how people live here. From Lübbenau, the shortest route goes to Lehde, a village of wooden houses that for centuries could only be reached by water. How it works The punts leave from the Großer Spreewaldhafen, next to Lübbenau's old town. From April to October, the short route to Lehde lasts two hours with a stop (or 90 minutes without) and costs €17, €9 for children aged 4 to 11; they leave from 11:00, when they fill up. The big round trip, of three hours, costs €20, and the locks route, of five and a half hours, €28. You do not need to book the regular routes. From November to March there is a 75-minute winter punt, with a hot drink, at 11:00 and 13:00. - **Lehde Open-Air Museum** (1 h 30 · All ages): What it is The oldest open-air museum in Brandenburg: four farmsteads moved from Lehde, Burg and other Spreewald villages, with wooden, reed-roofed houses furnished as they were in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There is a bread oven, a boat workshop, a fire station and a vegetable garden, Sorbian costumes and stalls where children wash clothes the old way, try on clogs or play games of the time. Opening times and price In 2026, from 28 March to 30 September it opens daily from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 October to 1 November, from 10:00 to 17:00, including public holidays. In winter it is closed, except on the Christmas market weekends. Children up to 14 go in free. It is at An der Giglitza 1a, in Lehde: you arrive by punt from Lübbenau or on foot along the village path, with wooden bridges with steps. - **Canoe or Kayak on the Spreewald Canals, on Your Own** (4 h · 19 km · Families with children who stay seated, teenagers and adults): What it is If you prefer to paddle yourself, you hire a canoe or kayak in Lübbenau and set out along the canals with a map. The water barely flows and there are no waves, so you do not need experience for a short outing. A classic route, the Lübbenau Spreewald Discoverers' route, makes a 19-kilometre circuit around Lehde in about four hours of paddling. How it works Bootsverleih Richter, at Dammstraße 75, hires out for 2, 3 or 4 hours or for the day, with departures from 9:00 to 16:00; they give you the boat, paddles and the map. It has leisure boats, touring kayaks and wider, more stable boats designed for families. On the canals you may only paddle until an hour after sunset. - **Walk from Lübbenau to Lehde along the Canals** (1 h 30 · All ages · Free): What it is If you do not want a punt, or you take one one way and walk back, there is a footpath from Lübbenau's old town to Lehde that runs between canals and meadows, with arched wooden bridges so that the punts can pass underneath. It is flat and quiet, and you watch the punts go by from the bank. How to do it Leave from Lübbenau harbour, near the tourist office, and follow the signs towards Lehde. In the village you have the open-air museum and the gasthäuser beside the water. Return by the same path or by punt. - **Spreewald Christmas Market in Lübbenau and Lehde** (4 h · All ages): What it is On Advent weekends, the Spreewald sets up its Christmas market in two places at once: at Lübbenau's Großer Spreewaldhafen and inside the open-air museum in Lehde, with the nineteenth-century farmhouses decorated. You go between the two markets by punt. When In 2026, on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, and Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December. The Lehde museum is open those days from 11:00 to 18:00. ## Dónde comer - **Kaupen No. 6** (Restaurant, Lehde, €€). Qué pedir: a dish made with its Spreewald mustard - **Quappenschänke** (Restaurant, Lehde, €€). Qué pedir: a Spreewald fish or game dish ## Car-free: The Spreewald without a Car Lübbenau is the easiest gateway to the Spreewald without a car: the train from Berlin drops you a walk from the punt harbour, and the canals are covered by punt, canoe or on foot. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–170 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Schloss Lübbenau** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lübbenau Palace Schloss Lübbenau is the palace of the Counts of Lynar, who have cared for it since 1621, on the edge of the old town and a short walk from the punt harbour. The hotel spreads its rooms, suites and apartments across the old stables (the Marstall), a half-timbered baroque building with its own garden; the Kanzlei has four separate suites. What it has The LINARI restaurant, with Spreewald and international cooking, the ROCCO's Bar and the palace park with its orangery. Between October and Easter its spa area opens, which makes the palace a good base for a winter getaway with a punt trip. How to get there By train from Berlin to Lübbenau station and about 15 minutes' walk through the old town. By car, park at the palace and get around on foot: the punt harbour is next door. - **Hotelanlage Starick** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lehde The Hotelanlage Starick is a four-star hotel spread across several houses in the village of Lehde, the one of wooden houses beside the canals: Haus Spreewaldhof, Haus Hirschwinkel, Haus Lokusche, Haus Fischkasten, Haus Hubertus and the Hexenhaus. Sleeping here means having Lehde to yourself when the afternoon punts leave. What it has Single and double rooms and suites, buffet breakfast, two gasthäuser of its own, the Hirschwinkel and the Quappenschänke, and a small Spreewald gherkin museum. It organises boat trips and hires out rowing boats, canoes and bicycles. How to get there Lehde is on the outskirts of Lübbenau, a walk along the canal path or a trip by punt. If you come by car from Berlin, ask when booking where to leave it, because the village is covered on foot. ### Servicios - **Lübbenau (Spreewald) Station**: Station on the Berlin–Cottbus line, a little over a kilometre from the old town and the punt harbour; there is also a direct train from BER airport. ## By plane: Fly to Berlin and Take the Train to the Spreewald For the Spreewald you fly to Berlin: BER airport has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and is south of the city, on the way. From the airport there is a train to Lübbenau in about 50 minutes, without going through Berlin; by hire car, a little over an hour on the A13 motorway. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Schloss Lübbenau** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lübbenau Palace Schloss Lübbenau is the palace of the Counts of Lynar, who have cared for it since 1621, on the edge of the old town and a short walk from the punt harbour. The hotel spreads its rooms, suites and apartments across the old stables (the Marstall), a half-timbered baroque building with its own garden; the Kanzlei has four separate suites. What it has The LINARI restaurant, with Spreewald and international cooking, the ROCCO's Bar and the palace park with its orangery. Between October and Easter its spa area opens, which makes the palace a good base for a winter getaway with a punt trip. How to get there By train from Berlin to Lübbenau station and about 15 minutes' walk through the old town. By car, park at the palace and get around on foot: the punt harbour is next door. - **Hotelanlage Starick** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lehde The Hotelanlage Starick is a four-star hotel spread across several houses in the village of Lehde, the one of wooden houses beside the canals: Haus Spreewaldhof, Haus Hirschwinkel, Haus Lokusche, Haus Fischkasten, Haus Hubertus and the Hexenhaus. Sleeping here means having Lehde to yourself when the afternoon punts leave. What it has Single and double rooms and suites, buffet breakfast, two gasthäuser of its own, the Hirschwinkel and the Quappenschänke, and a small Spreewald gherkin museum. It organises boat trips and hires out rowing boats, canoes and bicycles. How to get there Lehde is on the outskirts of Lübbenau, a walk along the canal path or a trip by punt. If you come by car from Berlin, ask when booking where to leave it, because the village is covered on foot. ### Servicios - **Lübbenau (Spreewald) Station**: Station on the Berlin–Cottbus line, a little over a kilometre from the old town and the punt harbour; there is also a direct train from BER airport. ## By car: The Spreewald by Car By car, Lübbenau is a little over an hour from Berlin along the A13 motorway. The car is useful for getting there and for continuing around the rest of the Spreewald; in Lübbenau and Lehde, leave it parked and get around on the water. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–180 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Schloss Lübbenau** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lübbenau Palace Schloss Lübbenau is the palace of the Counts of Lynar, who have cared for it since 1621, on the edge of the old town and a short walk from the punt harbour. The hotel spreads its rooms, suites and apartments across the old stables (the Marstall), a half-timbered baroque building with its own garden; the Kanzlei has four separate suites. What it has The LINARI restaurant, with Spreewald and international cooking, the ROCCO's Bar and the palace park with its orangery. Between October and Easter its spa area opens, which makes the palace a good base for a winter getaway with a punt trip. How to get there By train from Berlin to Lübbenau station and about 15 minutes' walk through the old town. By car, park at the palace and get around on foot: the punt harbour is next door. - **Hotelanlage Starick** (Hotel): Sleeping in Lehde The Hotelanlage Starick is a four-star hotel spread across several houses in the village of Lehde, the one of wooden houses beside the canals: Haus Spreewaldhof, Haus Hirschwinkel, Haus Lokusche, Haus Fischkasten, Haus Hubertus and the Hexenhaus. Sleeping here means having Lehde to yourself when the afternoon punts leave. What it has Single and double rooms and suites, buffet breakfast, two gasthäuser of its own, the Hirschwinkel and the Quappenschänke, and a small Spreewald gherkin museum. It organises boat trips and hires out rowing boats, canoes and bicycles. How to get there Lehde is on the outskirts of Lübbenau, a walk along the canal path or a trip by punt. If you come by car from Berlin, ask when booking where to leave it, because the village is covered on foot. - **Spreewald-Natur-Camping Am Schlosspark** (Campsite): A campsite on the water The Am Schlosspark campsite is on a peninsula between Lübbenau's old town and the village of Lehde, next to the palace park. From your pitch you set off by bike, canoe, paddleboard or punt along the canals. It is open all year, including for winter camping. What it has Pitches for tents, motorhomes and caravans, and accommodation for those who do not bring a home: a lodge and a tiny camper for two, small houses for two and for four, and a canoeists' hostel for groups of up to 19. Sanitary facilities, shop and bakery, filling and emptying point, wifi and a playground. Reception is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00. When to go All year. Book a pitch in advance, especially in summer and, according to the campsite, in winter too. ## As a family: The Spreewald with Children The Spreewald is among the day trips from Berlin that children like most: punts, canals, wooden houses and a museum where you wash clothes by hand and try on clogs. Everything is flat and quiet. ### What works best The punt to Lehde, two hours with a stop; children aged 4 to 11 pay €9 The Lehde open-air museum, free up to age 14 Paddling a family canoe, once they can sit still The Christmas market in Advent ### Where to sleep Camping Am Schlosspark, with cabins and a playground Schloss Lübbenau, with the palace park Hotelanlage Starick, in Lehde ### Where to eat Kaupen No. 6, with a garden beside the water Quappenschänke, with tables inside boats ### Keep in mind The Lehde museum closes in winter, except for the Christmas market The wooden bridges have steps: a baby carrier is better than a pushchair Before hiring a canoe with children, ask about life jackets ### Qué hacer as a family - Punt from Lübbenau to Lehde - Lehde Open-Air Museum - Canoe or Kayak on the Spreewald Canals, on Your Own - Walk from Lübbenau to Lehde along the Canals - Spreewald Christmas Market in Lübbenau and Lehde ## With young children: The Spreewald with Small Children With small children, the Spreewald is a day of punt and walking, with no rush. The punt goes slowly over still water and the Lehde museum has animals, houses and games from the past. ### What works best The punt to Lehde, slowly and on calm water The Lehde open-air museum, with games and workshops of the past The walk along the canals, watching the punts go by ### Where to sleep Camping Am Schlosspark, with cabins and a playground ### Where to eat Kaupen No. 6, with a garden ### Keep in mind The wooden bridges have steps There is no toilet on the punt: use the stop in Lehde ### Qué hacer with young children - Punt from Lübbenau to Lehde - Lehde Open-Air Museum - Walk from Lübbenau to Lehde along the Canals - Spreewald Christmas Market in Lübbenau and Lehde ## Consejos ### Leave Berlin early The boats leave as soon as they fill, and in summer there are queues at midday. ### Stop in Lehde The stop on the short route gives you time for the museum or a meal. ### Wrap up warm on the water Even when it is sunny, it is cool on the boat. ### Check the day before in winter The museum closes and some gasthäuser open only a few days. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How do I get from Berlin to the Spreewald? By train to Lübbenau, about an hour, and then on foot to the boat harbour. By car, along the A13, a little over an hour and a quarter. ### How much does the boat from Lübbenau to Lehde cost? €17 for adults and €9 for children aged 4 to 11, on the short two-hour route with a stop. ### Do you need to book the boat? Not for the regular routes; booking is recommended for the winter boat and the locks route. ### Can you go in winter? Yes: 75-minute winter boats run, and in Advent there is a Christmas market. The Lehde museum is closed. ### Can you go canoeing on your own? Yes, by hiring one in Lübbenau by the hour or the day; the water is calm.