Wismar's old harbour retains a working character that many Baltic port towns have lost — fishing boats, small cargo vessels, and the smell of diesel and salt water rather than the polished marina aesthetic of tourist-reoriented ports. The harbour basin, the Stadthafen, is flanked by old brick warehouses and gabled buildings, some converted to cafes and restaurants but still recognisably industrial in origin. A walk along the harbour front gives a sense of what Wismar's Baltic trade looked like in its medieval heyday.
At the entrance to the harbour stands the Baumhaus, the historic harbour guardhouse, and the narrow mouth of the inlet is still defined by the same geography that made this a useful port in the thirteenth century. Boat trips run in summer out to the islands of Poel and beyond. The harbour is an easy ten-minute walk north from the Marktplatz through the old town streets, and the combination of the two makes a natural half-day itinerary.