124km (77 miles) NE of Hannover, 132km (82 miles) E of Bremen, 55km (34 miles) SE of Hamburg

This proud old city once provided what all the world wanted, salt. For seven prosperous centuries Lüneburg’s salt mines yielded what in the Middle Ages became known as White Gold, making the city a valued member of the Hanseatic League. Streets of gabled brick houses in the distinctive Hanseatic style attest to the onetime wealth, and the heavy salt deposits still put the town on the map as a spa where warm, briny waters sooth weary modern bones.

Lüneburg is also the ideal starting point for excursions into the Lüneburg Heath, especially beautiful in late summer when the heather is in bloom.