Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [648]
Weinhaus Uhle ( 562 956; www.weinhaus-uhle.de; Schusterstrasse 13-15; mains €9-18; from 10am) Step back in time at this traditional family wine merchant, where the pianist plays beneath stained-glass windows and barrel-vaulted ceilings in the formal restaurant (with tables divided by olive-coloured velvet curtains) and the occasional customer still wears an opera cloak in the wood-lined Weinstube (traditional wine bar). Specialities include chateaubriand, carved at the table, as well as venison and fish.
Lukas ( 565 935; Grosser Moor 5; mains €9.80-15.40; from 11am) Framed by giant glass windows, this conservatory restaurant feels a bit like dining inside a fishbowl. Future meals similarly swim in a large aquarium – before appearing on laden seafood platters.
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Drinking
Schwerin’s watering holes are concentrated along Arsenalstrasse, Mecklenburgstrasse and Puschkinstrasse.
Zum Stadtkrug ( 593 6693; Wismarsche Strasse 126; from 11am) The homebrew at this 1936-established microbrewery/pub consistently rates among the best in Germany. It’s full of antique brewing equipment, and opens to a convivial beer garden.
Booze Bar ( 562 576; Arsenalstrasse 16; from 5pm) Connected to the somewhat cheesy Madison Club, this central cocktail bar has an eye-catching Marc Chagall-style mural behind the bar and an extensive – and inventive – drinks list.
Zeitgeist (Puschkinstrasse 22; from 6pm Tue-Thu, from 7pm Fri & Sat) Young and contemporary – this hip bar has an alternative, creative bent.
Rösterei Fuchs ( 593 8444; Am Markt 4; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat) The aroma of freshly roasted coffee fills this small, chic place, which roasts its own coffee in-house, and also sells beans (ground or unground) as well as gourmet chocolates. At the very least, drop by for an espresso, which comes with an individually wrapped chocolate-covered coffee bean.
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Entertainment
Staatstheater Schwerin ( 530 00; www.theater-schwerin.de; Alter Garten) The state theatre offers a varied range of concerts and theatrical performances.
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Getting There & Around
Schwerin has two train stations in the city centre: Schwerin Mitte, southwest of the Altstadt, and the Schwerin Hauptbahnhof (central train station), northwest of the Altstadt. Bear this in mind when you check timetables.
Trains arrive regularly from Hamburg (from €21.50, one hour), Rostock (from €15.20, one hour), Stralsund (from €26.30, two hours) and Wismar (€6.90, 30 minutes), with less frequent direct connections to/from Berlin (€32.30, 2¾ hours).
Schwerin is signposted off the A241.
City buses and trams cost €1.50/4.60 for a single/day pass. A ferry crosses the Pfaffenteich (€1) from late April to mid-October.
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LUDWIGSLUST
03874 / pop 12,500
Such was the allure of Ludwigslust’s sturdy ducal residence ( 571 90; www.schloss-ludwigslust.de; adult/child €5/3; 10am-6pm daily mid-Apr–mid-Oct, 10am-5pm Tue-Sun mid-Oct–mid-Apr) that when the ducal seat moved 36km north to Schwerin in 1837, some family members continued to live here until 1945. Now part of the Schwerin State Museum, its high point is the stately, gilt-columned, high-ceilinged Golden Hall.
A planned baroque town, Ludwigslust’s neat, orderly layout is an attraction in itself.
Trains run from Schwerin every two hours (€6.90, 30 minutes). To get to the castle from Ludwigslust station, walk south on Bahnhofstrasse to Platz des Friedens, cross the canal to Kanalstrasse and turn right on Schlossstrasse.
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GÜSTROW
03843 / pop 31,083
Best known for its small but stately Renaissance Schloss, this charming 775-plus-year-old town is also the place