Looking for Hamburg tips? On our tour through Germany, we naturally didn’t want to miss Hamburg. This city not only has the second-largest port in Europe but also the most expensive philharmonic project in Germany. With just under 1.7 million inhabitants, Hamburg isn’t all that big, and some districts feel like a small town.

Hamburg! The first things that come to mind are the harbor, the colorful lights of the Reeperbahn, musicals, St. Pauli, and fish sandwiches. But the city has so much more to offer. The best way to experience its different facets is in the individual districts. Each district has a life of its own, so it’s not easy to describe the “top highlights.” We’ll show you our Hamburg tips and tell you what we saw and experienced during our trip.

• Hamburg Tips – Arrival
• Hamburg Tips – Hamburg Card
• Hamburg Tips – Local Transport
• Tours for a first overview
  • Out and about by bike
  • Experience the city from the water
  • Hop-on hop-off tours
  • Free walking tours
• The top highlights in Hamburg
  • Elbphilharmonie “Elphie”
  • Hafencity Hamburg
  • The Port of Hamburg
  • The charming Speicherstadt
  • Schanzenviertel in Hamburg
  • St. Pauli and Reeperbahn
  • Hip Karoviertel
  • Hamburg Old Town
  • Portuguese Quarter
• Time out by the water
• Time out in the countryside
• The best view from above
• Factory tour at Airbus in Finkenwerder
• Hamburg tips from our readers

Hamburg Tips – Getting There

Many people travel by car, while others use the long-distance bus or train services. From Berlin, it’s just under four hours by Flixbus, and from Rostock, only two hours. Those traveling from the Ruhr area can reach the Hanseatic city in just three hours. The long-distance buses depart from all regions of the country and are comparatively inexpensive.

Every now and then, you can even get tickets for under €10. From Stuttgart, the Deutsche Bahn ICE train takes you north in five hours. The airport is also not far from the city center, offering a relaxing way to get there.

The S1 train line takes you to the main station in no time. The “Hamburg Airport” stop is located directly in front of the terminals and is easily accessible via stairs, elevators, and escalators. The U1 takes you to the Ohlsdorf U-Bahn and S-Bahn station. From there, you can continue on the S1 to the main station. A single trip costs only €3.20.

Hamburg Tips – Hamburg Card

For a longer stay in Hamburg, the Hamburg Card is worthwhile. It allows you unlimited travel on public transport (depending on the fare). This card is available for solo travelers and groups. And from experience, we can say how relaxing it is not to have to worry about tickets before each trip. We were able to relax and explore the city and surrounding area for five days. You can get the pass for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days.

In addition, you receive discounts with the Hamburg Card. Some admissions are even free. For example, you can ride the ferry for free or save money on hop-on hop-off buses. Some harbor tours, city tours, museums, exhibitions, restaurants, and coffee shops are also included, guaranteeing you some savings.

Hamburg Tips – Local Transportation

Hamburg may be large, but many highlights are within walking distance. Thanks to the very well-developed transport network, you can easily get from A to B by train, subway, S-Bahn, and bus. And even the ferries offer a great way to enjoy Hamburg from the water (more information under the “Ferries” section).

Another way to discover Hamburg is by bike. In the city, you’ll find many rental stations where you can rent a bike or take guided tours. Tip: You can enjoy a relaxed sightseeing trip on the U3 line. The historic circular railway passes many of the city’s highlights.

Tours for a First Overview

Out and About by Bike

It’s often a good idea to start with a guided tour in a larger city. While we usually explore places on our own, this time a tour came in very handy. Since we didn’t have much time, we decided on a bike tour through Hamburg. We spent four hours cycling leisurely through the streets and felt like we visited every district (at least the city center).

With Hamburg City Cycles, we got a wonderful insight into the city’s history, passing by truly amazing hotspots. The guys from Hamburg City Cycles offer various themed tours, whether it’s Hamburg Compact, Harbor Tour, Hafencity, Maritime Flair, or individual tours.

You can of course also rent a bike and explore the city on your own. There are countless routes for every taste. You can find a great overview of cool routes here: Cycling Routes Through Hamburg. There are numerous bike rental stations in Hamburg’s city center. This means you can find a bike on almost every corner and get started right away. The first half hour is always free, after which you pay 8 cents per minute. Be sure to check out StadtRAD Hamburg.

Experience the city from the water

If you want to experience Hamburg from the water, the HVV ferries are the perfect option. They are arguably the cheapest and most authentic way to explore the city. Simply board one of the boats at the Landungsbrücken S-Bahn and U-Bahn station. Lines 62 and 64 travel towards Finkenwerder with various stops. Line 72 takes you from the Landungsbrücken to the Elbphilharmonie.

This way, you can relax and admire the new architectural masterpiece from the water and take photos. You can use the public ferries with standard HVV tickets. You can find all harbor ferry timetables here (Harbor Ferry Timetables).

Hop-On Hop-Off Tours

Like in almost every larger city, Hamburg also has red buses that take you leisurely through the city. The tour takes approximately 90 minutes without getting off and costs €17.50 per person (€15 with the Hamburg Card). Children, students, and seniors pay less. You can also find other tours on the homepage, such as harbor tours.

Free Walking Tours

It’s even completely free. The Hamburg Greeter and the Free Walking Tours offer free guided tours through Hamburg. The tour starts daily at 11 a.m. from the City Hall and at 2 p.m. from Landungsbrücken 5. The guides can be recognized by their bright yellow umbrellas.

The Top Highlights in Hamburg

Elbphilharmonie “Elphie”

If you’re in Hamburg, you shouldn’t miss the city’s new landmark. The Elbphilharmonie has been open to visitors since the beginning of the year. A whopping 760 million euros have been invested in it. The original plan was just under 80 million euros. But we all know how it is – it’s always the same. Construction delays here, communication problems there.

In the middle of the Elbe River, this masterpiece was built on around 1,700 reinforced concrete piles. The entire complex includes two concert halls, a hotel, 45 apartments, and a freely accessible visitor terrace 37 meters high. From up here, you have a fantastic 360-degree view of the harbor and the city.

We recommend visiting in the early morning or evening, so you can avoid the crowds. At the ticket counter, you can get a free ticket for the Plaza and take the escalators up.

If you’d like to see one of the concert halls, you can book a guided tour (reserve well in advance) or purchase a ticket for a performance. In the main concert hall, the orchestra is located in the center of the hall. A special material based on 3D calculations has even been developed to ensure perfect acoustics. This new material (“White Skin”) ensures the perfect listening experience.

Hafencity Hamburg

Directly behind the Speicherstadt begins Hamburg’s largest urban development project – Hafencity (also called the “City of the 21st Century”). Efforts are currently being made to expand the city and make it more vibrant, distinctive, and maritime. Since 2008, this area has been a separate district of Hamburg-Mitte. Today, 62 projects have been successfully completed, and another 70 are in the starting blocks. HafenCity is scheduled to be completely finished by 2025–2030.

Explore the harbor in a relaxed and convenient way with the HVV public ferries. You can take one of the ferries directly from the St. Pauli Landungsbrücken and explore the area from the water with a regular day ticket. On a private tour, you’ll get plenty of information about Hamburg’s highlights from a real sailor with wit and dialect.

The Port of Hamburg

There’s always something going on at the Port of Hamburg. You can sit comfortably on the shore, enjoy the sunset, feast, unwind, or discover Hamburg’s highlights. The spectacular Harbor Festival, which takes place every year in May, is particularly popular. Thousands of people celebrate the port’s birthday with great enthusiasm.

The best way to explore the port is with a harbor tour. As mentioned above, you can take the public ferries. Of course, countless other private tours are also offered. If you’re in the mood for something “different,” the three-hour harbor tour “Eye to Eye with the Giants” might be something for you. The company Jaspar offers tours of the enormous container terminals Burchardkai and Altenwerder (approx. €30).

The Charming Speicherstadt

One of the most beautiful areas in our opinion is Hamburg’s Speicherstadt. Bismarck commissioned the construction of this warehouse district here in 1888. Over the years, it grew to almost 500,000 square meters of storage and office space. Today, it is the largest contiguous warehouse complex in the world. Treasures from all over the world, such as coffee, tobacco, carpets, high-quality electronics, and cocoa, once lay here. The world’s largest oriental carpet warehouse is also located here.

The Speicherstadt also boasts several tourist highlights, such as the Hamburg Dungeon, the world’s largest miniature railway, trendy office complexes, advertising agencies, fashion showrooms, theaters, and restaurants.

Canal tours through the Speicherstadt are offered from Jungfernstieg. Then, you’ll cruise on the water through the narrow river alleys. The Speicherstadt is particularly beautiful in the evening and offers a great photo opportunity. But cycling through this district is also a lot of fun.

Schanzenviertel in Hamburg

One of the trendiest districts in Hamburg is the Schanzenviertel. The many small boutiques, restaurants, cafés, and a party mile exude a charm all of their own. South of Schanzenpark, you’ll find the chic old-building district, not far from the Karoviertel, the exhibition halls, and the Reeperbahn. As recently as 2008, the district belonged to Altona, Mitte, and Eimsbüttel. Only somewhat later did it become an independent district called Sternschanze.

The most popular streets in the district are Schulterblatt, Schanzenstraße, Susannenstraße, and Bartelsstraße. They form the center of this district with cool record stores, bars, cafés, and boutiques. Many locals appreciate the special atmosphere of Schanze, away from the heavily touristed Reeperbahn.

St. Pauli and Reeperbahn

On the Reeperbahn, also called the “Kiez,” things really get going, especially in the evenings and at night. This is Hamburg’s number one entertainment district. Numerous table dance bars, cabarets, discos, and student clubs are located here at an altitude of almost 930 meters. It’s truly quiet during the day, but only in the evening does the area come alive. Then thousands of people of all ages come to the red light district (well-known: Große Freiheit, Olivia Jones, Safari, Schmidt’s Tivoli, Schmidt Theater, Operettenhaus, Beatlemania).

In addition to well-known faces like Olivia Jones, the Reeperbahn is home to another celebrity: The Davidwache, which provides security here every day. The police station is located in one of the most beautiful buildings on the Reeperbahn. The curious thing is that the police are responsible for just one square kilometer and a mere 14,000 people. It’s not only the smallest police station but also the most famous in all of Germany.

St. Pauli is no longer just a red-light district. St. Pauli is different, shrill, and alternative. This district includes the Landungsbrücken (landing bridges), the harbor, the Karoviertel (Karo Quarter), Spielbudenplatz (playground), the Dancing Towers (dancing towers), St. Pauli Church, Planten un Blomen (plantation gardens), Heiligengeistfeld (holy spirit field), and the St. Pauli fish market. St. Pauli is especially popular with artists, freelancers, and creatives. It’s no wonder that rents here are skyrocketing.

Hip Karoviertel

Just as hip as the Schanze – the Karoviertel. This colorful island between Feldstraße and Schanzenviertel has developed from a former slum into a vibrant and lively part of St. Pauli. Here you’ll find truly cool knick-knack shops, boutiques, cafés, bars, and restaurants.

The Gretchen Villa, Café Klatsch, and Mangold are particularly popular for breakfast. If you’re a bit hungrier, then visit the restaurant ‘Gefundenes Fressen’. Centrally located in the Karoviertel is Markstraße, which has become the area’s official main street.

Hamburg Old Town

The Old Town is the immediate center of Hamburg. In just 1.3 square kilometers, you’ll find many Kontorhausviertel districts, three of the five main churches, the historic Deichstraße, museums, the truly impressive City Hall, the Cathedral Square, and shopping malls for both “ordinary people” and “luxury junkies.”

We particularly liked Deichstraße on the Nikolaifleet canal, a narrow street with a historic flair. Here you can see remnants of Hamburg’s old town, with merchant houses dating back to the 17th century. In 1842, a massive fire raged through the center of Hamburg, destroying many parts of the old town.

50 people died in this disaster, and 20,000 were left homeless. More than 4,000 homes, 61 streets, 120 squares, three churches, the town hall, the old stock exchange, and the city archives were destroyed. And this fire started right here on Deichstraße. The beautiful half-timbered houses here have been lovingly restored and look particularly charming from the waterside.

Portuguese Quarter

Not far from the Landungsbrücken (landing bridges) and the harbor, the Portuguese Quarter begins. It’s a colorful harbor village with people and influences from all over the world. We had great weather that day, and the streets were full of hungry visitors enjoying the balmy evening in front of the restaurants with a delicious meal and a glass of wine.

At first, we couldn’t decide: grilled fish, paella, tapas, galao, pizza, pasta, or perhaps steak? In the end, we settled on an excellent Italian restaurant and stuffed our stomachs there. This area is truly perfect for feasting and enjoyment! Highly recommended!

Time out by the water

Hamburg and water – they belong together like a man and a woman, like St. Pauli and the Reeperbahn. The Inner and Outer Alster Lakes are located in the heart of the city. Here you can relax, take a stroll, or host a barbecue. Sunset on the Outer Alster is a romantic experience.

The city is simply full of water, and that’s exactly what we love about it. There are 2,500 bridges in Hamburg, more than in Amsterdam or Venice. After all, in many places you have to cross the canals of the Elbe and Alster to get from A to B.

But there’s also plenty of water at the harbor. If you’re ever in the suburb of Wedel, you can greet the ships arriving in the Hanseatic city. The Blankenese staircases on the riverbank are also cool. And did you know that Hamburg even has its own beach? At the Elbe beach in Övelgönne, you can take a dip in the cool water when the weather is hot.

Take boat line 62 from the Landungsbrücken towards Neumühlen. Alternatively, you can take bus 112 to Neumühlen/Övelgönne. From there, it’s not far to the beach.

A Break in the Countryside

Hamburg not only has plenty of water to offer, but also a wealth of nature and greenery. On our tour of the city, we discovered Planten un Blomen (Plants and Flowers). This large park is truly magnificent. Flowerbeds, lawns, idyllic streams, and small lakes. What more could you need? The themed gardens promise peace and relaxation. Concerts and colorful water and light shows also take place here in the summer.

And a trip to the Stadtpark (in Winterhunde) is also worthwhile. It is the largest and oldest park in Hamburg. It features an open-air stage, an outdoor pool, a playground with a paddling pool, and numerous sunbathing and barbecue areas.

The Botanical Garden is free to enter and is located in Klein Fottbek. There’s a desert garden, a Japanese garden, a medicinal plant garden, and much more. The small park in front of the Michel is also really cool, as is the Schanzenpark. People are hanging out everywhere, playing music, barbecuing, relaxing, and simply having a good time.

It’s said to be particularly beautiful in spring during the blossoming season in Jenisch Park or during the barbecue season in summer. In Wilhelmsburg Island Park, a vacation almost becomes a wellness experience. The park was only created in 2013 for the garden show and today impresses primarily with its tranquil oases, playgrounds, waterscapes, meadows, flower gardens, rocks, rainforest (garden mist and fog), geysers, and allotment garden associations. But Hamburg has much, much more “green” to offer.

The best view from above

Hamburg has many attractive spots for the perfect view. From the Michel you have a fantastic view of the city and the harbor. For €5 you can climb the 452 steps and enjoy the panoramic view from a height of 106 meters. Of course, the elevator is a bit faster. From the St. Petri Church you also have a great opportunity to observe the city from higher up.

From the Fiction Park you have a fantastic view of the Landungsbrücken, the harbor, and the ships. This park is open 24/7 and completely free. If you drive over the Köhlbrand Bridge, you’ll find yourself at a height of 53 meters. Here you can enjoy a stunning view of the harbor and the Elbe River. No driver’s license with you? Then simply take bus line 151 towards Zollamt Waltershof. And as mentioned before, you also have a great view from the visitors’ terrace of the Elbphilharmonie.

Airbus factory tour in Finkenwerder

Marco had secretly planned something weeks in advance. He wanted to surprise me with a visit to the Airbus factory in Finkenwerder. And he succeeded. Unsuspecting, we traveled for 1.5 hours by bus and train until we reached our destination.

Since we’re both extremely interested in airplanes, airports, and aviation, we were SUPER excited about this tour. For almost 2.5 hours, we and a few other visitors toured several of the halls of the facility, which is almost the size of a football field. This is where state-of-the-art passenger aircraft are manufactured from millions of individual parts.

We were given an insight into the structural assembly, final assembly, product range, and history of Airbus. We saw unfinished A320 aircraft and, at the end, even the enormous A380 bird. From a visitor’s terrace, we were able to view the world’s largest passenger aircraft from above. Simply amazing!

These tours are offered by the travel agency Globetrotter. There are only a limited number of places available per tour, so you should book well in advance (online or by phone). A factory tour costs €23.90 per person. Pupils and students pay €20.90. Please note: Admission is only permitted for those aged 14 and over and with a valid ID card or passport. Photo & Filming is prohibited during the tour!

Hamburg tips from our readers

• Through the old Elbe tunnel
• Harbor tour with the “Heidi” or “Claudia”
• Plane spotting at Hamburg Airport
• Luigi’s probably has the best pizza
• Restaurant Leuchtturm (exclusive fish restaurant)
• Hanging out at the Veritas Beach Club
• Flea market every Saturday in the Karoviertel
• The Alt Helgoländer Fischstube at the fish market
• 20up at the Empire River Side Hotel with a view over the harbor
• Canoe tour through the Alstertal
• Excursion to Blankenese
• Hamburg fish market on Sunday
• Feast on Franzbrötchen
• Fresh matjes in a bread roll
• Fish cakes in the Bread rolls
• Dockland – futuristic office building
• U-boat museum U-434 at the fishing harbor
• Excursion to the Ohlsdorf cemetery