Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [669]
The Regenbogen Resort ( 901 20; www.regenbogen-camps.de, in German; Nordstrand; adult €4.50-8.45, tent €3-12.60, car €2.10-4.30) is the island’s largest camping ground, idyllically situated in the woods behind the dunes. You’ll find cafes and restaurants by the beach and up in the town.
Göhren is the eastern terminus of the steam train route Rasender Roland (Click here).
PUTBUS
038301 / pop 2700
Putbus appears like a sci-fi mirage from the middle of modest farming villages. At its heart lies a gigantic circular plaza, known as the Circus, resembling a roulette wheel, with its alternating wedges of green and paving, and 16 large white neoclassical buildings dotted around it. Nearby, the town’s 75-hectare English park is filled with ginkgos, cypresses, Japanese spruces and other exotic botanical species. This civic oddity was conceived and realised in the 19th century by ambitious local prince, Wilhelm Malte I of Putbus (1783–1854), and stands today as the last European town to be purpose-built as a royal seat. Priding itself on being Rügen’s cultural centre, it has the island’s only theatre ( 8080; www.theater-putbus.de, in German; Markt 13), built in 1819.
Although hotels are limited and hence the town is best seen on a day trip, you can make accommodation enquiries at Putbus Info ( 431; www.putbus.de, in German; Orangerie, Alleestrasse 35; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun May-Oct, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun Nov-Apr). It’s inside the Orangerie ( 745; adult/concession/child €2.50/2/1; hours same as Putbus Info) gallery, a town highlight.
The Rasender Roland steam train (Click here) and RE trains to/from Bergen (€2.10, nine minutes) use the same train station.
LAUTERBACH
038301
The standout feature of the yacht harbour southeast of Putbus is its Schwimmenden Ferienhäuser (Swimming Holiday Homes; 8090; www.im-jaich.de; Am Yachthafen; apt 2-4 people €65-115, 6 people €80-140 plus final cleaning fee €35): new Scandinavian-style bungalows and two-storey huts that float in the harbour on individual pontoons. The same company also runs a sailing school and organises boat hire, and has land-based accommodation.
Lauterbach Mole is the westerly terminus of the Rasender Roland steam train (Click here).
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North Rügen
JASMUND NATIONAL PARK & AROUND
The rugged beauty of Jasmund National Park first came to national attention thanks to the romanticised paintings of Caspar David Friedrich in the early 19th century. His favourite spot was the Stubbenkammer, an area at the northern edge of the park, where jagged white-chalk cliffs plunge into the jade-coloured sea.
By far the most famous of the Stubben-kammer cliffs is the Königsstuhl (King’s Chair; admission €1) – at 117m, it’s Rügen’s highest point, although the scenery is often marred by everyone else trying to see it too. Fewer people make the trek a few hundred metres east to the Victoria-Sicht (Victoria View), which provides the best view of the Königsstuhl itself.
The Nationalpark-Zentrum Königsstuhl ( 38392-661 70; www.koenigsstuhl.com; adult/child under 14yr €6/3; 9am-7pm Easter-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Easter) has multimedia displays on environmental themes, a ‘climbing forest’ and a restaurant.
Buses 20 (from Göhren, Sellin and Binz, Prora and Sassnitz) and 23 (from Bergen, Binz, Prora and Sassnitz) go to the Königsstuhl, and offer a Königsstuhl Ticket (adult/family €15/30) that includes bus travel and entry to the Nationalpark-Zentrum Königsstuhl.
From April to October, Reederei Ostsee-Tour ( 038392-3150; www.reederei-ostsee-tour.de, in German) operates several daily trips from Göhren (€17), Sellin €16.50), Binz (€15.50) and Sassnitz (€11.50) around the chalk cliffs.
If you’re feeling energetic, a spectacular way to approach the area is by making the 10km