Germany Guide
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Kühlungsborn
KÜHLUNGSBORN WEST is a relaxed rural place backed by woodland. The largest beach resort in Mecklenburg, it bills itself as the "Seebad mit flair", the latter provided by Jugendstil villas along Ostseeallee, a backdrop to the longest promenade in Germany – 4.8km of it extending either side of a pedestrianized core at the pier along a beach with tidy rows of Strandkörbe, the hooded wicker seats invented in 1882 by court furniture-maker Wilhelm Bartelmann in nearby Rostock. The tourist office at Ostseeallee 19 (May– Sept Mon– Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; Oct– April Mon– Fri 9am–4pm, Sat & Sun 10am–1pm; 
038293/84 90, 
www.kuehlungsborn.de ) is your best source of accommodation, which is in short supply in summer. Try Westfalia at Ostseeallee 17 ( 038293/434 90, www.westfalia-kuehlungsborn.de ; Price: €101-120) for good-value mid-range rooms, or for a splurge the swish Vier Jahreszeiten ( 038293/810 00, www.vier-jahreszeiten.eu ; Price: €151-200), a splendid pile at Ostseeallee 10–12. Thatched restaurants along the promenade west of the pier provide bucolic charm and sea views. For something more lively, go east for a clutch of smarter places above the marina.
Tourist cruiser MS Baltic runs from the pier to Rostock beach-resort Warnemünde (May– Sept daily except Thurs & Sat; timetables are posted at the front of the pier).