Lübeck has its own small airport but most travellers fly into Hamburg, an hour away by train. Direct regional trains run from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof to Lübeck Hauptbahnhof every 30 minutes; the journey takes 45–50 minutes.
The Hauptbahnhof sits just west of the Altstadt, a five-minute walk across the Holstentor bridge to the historic centre. Lübeck is also linked by direct trains to Copenhagen via the Vogelfluglinie route through Puttgarden. By car, the A1 motorway connects to Hamburg in about 90 minutes; the A20 runs east toward Rostock and the Baltic coast.
The Baltic resort of Travemünde, technically part of Lübeck, is 20 minutes north on the local S-Bahn.