On the map, it looks like a curve of Baltic coast that somehow broke loose from Western Pomerania, with the Achterwasser and Stettiner Haff lakes rushing in to fill the gap. Though anchored to the German coast with bridges at both north and south ends (and a railway over the northern bridge), Usedom lies so far east that the eastern tip is actually part of Poland—you can walk down the beach from Ahlberg to the large commercial port of 2winouj1cie. But it's the German side that's the tourist magnet, a beloved getaway since the early 19th century. Only 250km (155 miles) from the German capital, Usedom has been nicknamed the "Bathtub of Berlin."

I prefer Usedom's other nickname, though—"the singing island," so called because the white sand of its 40km-long (25-mile) strand is so fine, it squeaks when you walk on it. The most popular section is southeast, from Bansin through Heringsdorf to Ahlberg—you can hardly tell when you're leaving one town and entering the next—known collectively as the Dreikaiserbäder, or "three imperial spas." (A fourth resort, Zinnowitz, lies up the coast to the northwest.) The architecture of these towns is enchanting—elegant pale hotels and brightly painted villas, in the historicist or Art Nouveau styles of the late 19th century. A handful of "wellness hotels" and thermal baths preserve old-world spa traditions. Landscaped garden promenades, open-air concert pavilions, and tree-lined side streets hark back to genteel seaside holiday traditions; note the canopied chairs lined up for rent on the beaches. Each resort town also has a long pleasure pier extending into the Baltic, where you can still envision a parade of ladies with parasols and bustled dresses and gents in well-cut linen suits. (Upscale Heringsdorf has the longest pier, with a restaurant at the end.) Horse-and-carriage rides along the promenades, pleasure-boat excursions from the piers—it's the antithesis of spring-break beach-party madness.

For more rural atmosphere, try Koelpinsee, located on the narrow strip of land dividing Achterwasser from the Baltic shore; it's only a short walk from tree--covered dunes to serene panoramas of wooded lakeshore and gliding swans. Northwest of Koelpinsee, the old fishing village of Koserow is another relaxing resort, where you can hike up Streckelsberg Hill for horizon-wide vistas of island and sea. Several small towns along the waist of the island—Zempin, Trassenheide, Loddin—still look like old farming villages, with thatched cottages and weathered beachside huts for salting fish—though, never fear, they too have resort accommodations. For a break from the beach, investigate the hilly wooded interior—easily explored, with more than 400km (249 miles) of hiking trails and 100km (62 miles) of bike paths. To find picturesque sleepy villages with tiny medieval churches, check out the 16th-century castle in Stolpe and the medieval town gate in Usedom, the southern gateway to the island. Don't expect charm, though, at the infamous town of Peenemünde, on the northwestern tip—the top-secret World War II research center here produced the deadly V2 missile, a high-tech history now explored in several museums in town.

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