Combine your shopping spree with a visit to the cultural highlights of the Schleswig-Holstein capital Kiel and experience the fjord’s “stark beauty” from its best side: ships, water and shopping!!!

The tour starts at the Main Railway Station (“Hauptbahnhof”), where you find the Bahnhofsbruecke. Fjord ships depart here for Laboe every hour. A few meters away is the Norwegenkai. If you’re lucky, you might see one of the big Color-Line ferries, the only ferry connection between Germany and Norway. On the opposite side of the fjord, a new waterfront district , the “Kai-City Kiel” featuring a hundred apartments, offices and a waterfront boardwalk offering a wide range of activities, is under construction.

The best places to go shopping in Kiel are the shopping centre “Sophienhof” and the new shop gallery Kleiner Herzog, located opposite the Main Railway Station. Visitors will find here anything they may be looking for: boutiques, knick-knacks, music, restaurants and cafés. The Sophienhof is especially proud of “Sophies Markthalle”, which is based on the “Viktualienmarkt” in Munich and offers fresh goods every day.

As you leave the shopping centre through the Holstentoern, you will enter the pedestrian zone Holstenstrasse. Just follow the road. You’ll find several cafés, shops and little shopping galleries. Finally you’ll come the reforbished Holstenplatz. The Tourist-Information Kiel, which will gladly answer all your questions and will also offer you sightseeing-tours, is in the New Town Hall (“Neues Rathaus”) on Andreas-Gayk-Strasse, on the right-hand side of the Holstenstrasse.

Lovers of modern art will be delighted with the Stadtgalerie in the New Town Hall. The Europaplatz with the famous Sparkassen-Arena is located on the left side of the Holstenstrasse. This indoor arena is the side of the home matches of the THW Kiel (team handball) and of major top acts in music, sports and entertainment from around the world.

Back on Holstenstrasse, you’ll now come to the Asmus-Bremer-Platz, a square named for a former mayor of Kiel who governed from 1702 till 1720. The building housing the Kieler Nachrichten, Kiels most important daily newspaper, is located here.You can also get to the Opernhaus and to the Old Town Hall (“Altes Rathaus”) through a passageway from here. The tower with a height of 67 meters is open for the public.

The next crossing is the Berliner Platz. On the right you see the Schwedenkai. Every day, the Stena-Linie-Ferries depart here for Gothenburg in Sweden. The Alte Bootshafen, which is more than one hundred years old, is here as well. To the left of the Berliner Platz is the Kleine Kiel. Once a branch of the fjord, it has been filled in and its trees and parks make it a popular area for strollers.

The Alte Markt in Kiel’s Old Town (“Altstadt”) is the city centre. This is a good place to take a break. The nice cafés, bars and restaurants are a perfect opportunity. The Schlossstrasse will take you to the Kieler Schloss with the Landesbibliothek (Library) and the “Historische Landeshalle”, which were destroyed during the bombing raids in World War II and rebuilt in 1961.

The best way to get back to the Alte Markt is through the most beautiful road of the Altstadt, the Daenische Strasse. The history of Kiel can be sensed in a manor house from the 17th century, the Stadtmuseum Warleberger Hof. The Kieler Kloster in the Falkstrasse, a cloister built in 1240, isn’t far away, either.

Finish your sightseeing-tour at the St. Nikolaikirche. This church still houses a medieval altar and baptistery. Now you’ve really earned a freshly drawn beer and a hearty meal. Definitely one of the best places for that is the Kieler Brauerei at the Alte Markt. If their menu doesn’t suit your taste, have a look at our restaurant guide for alternatives.

Link: If you want to stay in Kiel for two or three days, visit our site “Two or three days in Kiel”.