Germany’s second city and the great maritime gateway of the north, Hamburg leans onto the Elbe with a colossal harbour, canals, red-brick warehouses and a vibrant cultural life. It is the ‘Venice of the north’ — more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined. The Hanseatic heritage of the Speicherstadt meets the contemporary boldness of the Elbphilharmonie. Cosmopolitan, maritime and green, it strikes a very German balance between business, music and nightlife.
Key places
- Speicherstadt (UNESCO World Heritage, the world’s largest warehouse complex)
- Elbphilharmonie and its Plaza, 37 m above the harbour
- Reeperbahn and the St. Pauli district
- HafenCity, the new harbour district
- Altona Fischmarkt (Sunday-morning fish market)
Table & market
- Fischbrötchen (herring bun)
- Labskaus (sailor’s stew with beetroot and egg)
- Franzbrötchen (cinnamon puff-pastry roll)
When to go
Late spring and summer (May to September)
Seven-day suggested route
An itinerary for those landing in Hamburg without rush, who want to leave understanding why the city works the way it does: the harbour rules, red brick stitches the old town together, and what’s new is built right on top without asking permission. Seven days for the complete version.
Day 1 · Arrival and orientation · HafenCity
Check-in in HafenCity or St. Pauli. Afternoon walk to the Elbphilharmonie and up to its Plaza, 37 m above the harbour (free with a timed ticket). Dinner at a Fischbrötchen stand on Brücke 10 at sunset.
Day 2 · Speicherstadt and Miniatur Wunderland
The whole morning in the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district (UNESCO World Heritage). Book ahead for Miniatur Wunderland: 2-3 hours minimum. Afternoon in HafenCity: contemporary architecture, Marco Polo Terrassen, coffee by the water.
Day 3 · Reeperbahn, St. Pauli and night
Quiet morning in Schanzenviertel (cafés, bookshops). Visit Beatles-Platz and the Old Elbtunnel (free, open 24 h, a 1911 pedestrian tunnel under the Elbe lined with ceramic tiles). Night in the Reeperbahn: jazz in any basement, an Astra beer in your hand.
Day 4 · The Alster lake and green districts
Cruise the Alster (the artificial lake right in the centre). Walk through Eppendorf and Winterhude, Hamburg’s most elegant residential districts. Lunch at the Isemarkt, the market that runs under the U-Bahn tracks on Thursdays and Fridays.
Day 5 · Fischmarkt and shore
Wake up before sunrise (literally: 5 a.m.) for the Altona Fischmarkt on Sundays. Breakfast among fishmongers shouting their wares. Afterwards, a walk along Strandperle in Övelgönne, the Elbe’s “beach” with a view of the working port.
Day 6 · Day trip to Lübeck
A full day in Lübeck, 45 minutes by train. A UNESCO-listed medieval old town, Niederegger marzipan and the seven bell towers of the Hanseatic League. Back to Hamburg for dinner.
Day 7 · Living harbour and farewell
Morning boat tour through the working harbour: container terminals, dry docks, the big Maersk ships at berth. Lunch at the Landungsbrücken. Free afternoon for that café in the Speicherstadt you promised yourself you’d remember, or a farewell on the Elbphilharmonie deck.
Our own photographs
