Germany’s 5 most beautiful islands

Unbeknownst to most of us, Germany has a number of beautiful islands well worth visiting. Here are five of the best of these well-kept secrets, according to global travellers.*

Rügen

The largest island in Germany, Rügen is famous for its forest-topped, white chalk cliffs that rise out of the Baltic Sea and turn the waves lapping them a mesmerising milky blue. Part of the Jasmund National Park, the island is 926 square kilometres of romantic neoclassical seaside resorts, fine sandy beaches and primeval beech forest. Start in the seaside town of Sellin and stroll along the ‘Seebrücke’ (a wooden pier with a 1920s-style pavilion at the end) before visiting Prora, an eerie, vast tourist complex that was started but never finished (though it’s recently been revamped into a luxury resort). Stay in the island’s main town of Binz at Apartment mit Meeresblick, just a 2-minute walk from the beach. Or base yourself in Berlin for a day trip to the island, staying at the central Casa Camper.

Sylt

Sylt has a glitzy reputation, with movie stars and well-heeled holiday-goers having frequented this Frisian island since the mid-19th century. But in addition to fine dining and fancy bars, it’s the wildflower meadows, heathlands, sand dunes, beaches and mudflats that’ll strike you. Connected to the mainland by a causeway crossed only by train, it feels blissfully remote, with the rippled Wadden Sea mudflats the perfect place for a contemplative walk through nature. For glorious countryside views, stay at the highly rated Kontorhaus Keitum.

Hiddensee

This car-free Baltic island is nicknamed ‘Söte Länneken’ (sweet little isle) by locals, and it certainly lives up to it; shaped like a seahorse and less than 400 metres wide at its narrowest point, it’s a world of cows grazing in grassy fields, horse-drawn carts and windswept, pale sandy beaches. With only about 1,300 inhabitants, enjoy the solitary feeling of standing facing the sea with the reeds whistling in the sand dunes among enigmatic Baltic scenery. Check into a charming, red and white farmhouse at Hotel Hiddensee Enddorn.

Helgoland

Having passed through the hands of the Danish and British, and now in German possession as a strategic location in the North Sea, the archipelago of Helgoland is one for the history-lovers. Often compared to Gibraltar, it’s a red sandstone rock topped with colourful fishermen’s cottages and noted for its quiet (it’s car-free). And despite having been ruled by various different powers over the years, the island has its own distinct, slow-paced culture. As a traditional fishing community, it’s celebrated for its lobster, or Helgoland knieper (a local crab speciality of sweet crab meat doused in sauce). Stay just three minutes’ walk from the beach at Apartmenthaus Hohenfels.

Frauenchiemsee

An island in the lake of Chiemsee, Frauenchiemsee is a real Bavarian beauty spot. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and home to only a few hundred inhabitants, visitors come here for the tranquility and the local smoked herring. Visit the Benedictine abbey, founded around 772 AD, to learn of its long history as a monastery, regaining the status of an abbey once more in 1901; along with the Nonnberg in Salzburg, it’s the oldest surviving German-speaking monastery north of the Alps. Enjoy a private beach area and garden on the island staying at the Peterlhaus property.

**These islands were the most highly rated in Germany by Booking.com customers for ‘scenery’.