The Water Palace in Speicherstadt Warehouse District of Hamburg

Town Hall of hamburg with tall clock tower

Botanical Garden Lake with the Hamburg TV Tower in the Distance

Hamburg Travel Guide

May - DecemberGermanyEUR

Parks & Gardens

Castles & Chateaux

The Great War & WWII

Compared to other German cities, Hamburg has a moody, nautical charisma all of its own. Hamburgers have a distinct identity and even their own local slang. Here, they’re more likely to greet you with a ‘moin moin’ than a ‘gutan tag’. In recent years Hamburg has garnered a reputation as rich in both commerce and nightlife. Frequent travelers to the city whisper that Hamburg is ‘undiscovered’, the place to go for a little business and a lot of fun.

Known as Germany’s ‘gateway to the world’, ships dock in Hamburg as they haul cargo up and down the Elbe River. A center for trade since the middle ages, Hamburg has thrived for centuries as Germany’s major seaport, and a sense of affluence is shared throughout the city. In the 19th-century warehouse district, Speicherstadt, brick storehouses cast striking reflections into green-gray canals. Across the bridge in Hafen City, people dine in trendy waterside restaurants. The recently constructed Elbphilharmonie floats majestically out in the harbor. Part ship and part island, this concert hall boasts one of the best auditoriums ever made for human ears. This is a city for living large - in a cultured, German kind of way. Attend a performance by the philharmonic orchestra or cruise with the swans on a boat around the Außenalster Lake. Or, dip into the old German art at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Works like Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog make this art museum a must-view for any art admirer.

Despite its wealth, Hamburg has not always known good fortune. Throughout history, the low-lying city has been swept by floods and ravaged by fires. In WWII, allied forces unleashed an air attack that saw Hamburg leveled by firebombs over eight relentless days. Hamburg is nothing if not steadfast against its fate. Promptly rebuilt from the ground up after the war, the only remaining evidence of the bombing today is the church of St. Nikolai, preserved in ruins as a memorial to war. The blackened church tower is etched into the Hamburg skyline, as though drawn there by charcoal. Inside the tower, a carillon of bells rings every Thursday at noon, and the peals can be heard across the city. Resilience is in the air in Hamburg, along with the briny smell of the North Sea. Once you experience Hamburg, you’ll see Germany from a totally different point of view.

Must See Attractions in Hamburg

St Nicholas Church

It is hard to miss the blackened ruins of St. Nikolai looming over central Hamburg. Once a Neo-Gothic Lutheran church, St. Nikolai was one of the many pieces of Hamburg destroyed during the Allies' July 1943 firebombing of the city. 42,600 people died in this attack, one of the worst assaults on civilians of all time. The charred ruins of St. Nikolai were left standing in testimony to the horror of war. Today, the crypt below the church is a museum, and visitors can ascend the church tower to an observation deck. Every Thursday at noon, a campanologist plays bells in the tower. The reflective, haunting sound of the bells is a special experience for all who hear them.

Brick Warehouse at the Hamburg Port Authority

Speicherstadt (Warehouse District)

Speicherstadt is the must-see area of Hamburg. This smart brick port warehouse district is where Europe stashed its goods for trade in the 19th century. The impressive neo-gothic Wilhelminian warehouses are now celebrated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The striking impression they cast over the canals will have you reaching for your camera. The Speicherstadt also features Hamburg's latest architectural icon, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, which sits in pride of place in the harbor, feted globally for its quality acoustics and views across the port. The area also serves up some of the most traditional food in Hamburg, perfect for a pause between sightseeing or an evening out.

St. Pauli & Reeperbahn

John Lennon once declared, "I might have been born in Liverpool - but I grew up in Hamburg". The Beatles' mark on Hamburg was made in St. Pauli, the city's iconic red-light district. The Reeperbahn, or 'ropewalk' street is a grungy Vegas-like strip, sordid, yet beloved by locals. The area has a staunch seafaring history, still visible at the weekly Fishmarket and sailor's bars. Hamburg's China Town was also historically on the borders of St. Pauli. Many bars in St. Pauli here have been owned and run by the same families for years. Some even claim themselves to be 'St Paulianian' rather than Hamburgian. A visit to St. Pauli - day or night - certainly exposes a unique aspect of Hamburg's identity.

Hamburg Rathaus (Town Hall)

The Hamburg Town Hall is more than the seat of the city's government. The very history of Hamburg is knitted into the building itself. A masterpiece of the neo-renaissance style, the carvings, statues, and stained glass windows at the Town Hall contain many veiled references to Hamburg's former mayors, townspeople, and gossip. Perhaps the most significant of these symbols is the phoenix, fluttering below the clock face on the building's tower. This was initially put in place to celebrate Hamburg's rise from the ashes after the fire of 1842, however after Hamburg has born through subsequent tragedies, this bird seems especially poignant.

Kunstmeile

Hamburg is home to an assortment of excellent art museums. The five main museums are grouped together and known as the 'Kunstmeile' (or mile of art). All are located within easy walking distance of the inner city. The Hamburger Kunsthalle is perhaps the most popular of all five, and it's easy to see why. The museum boasts some of the best old German art in the entire country. However, the Museum Für Kunst Und Gewerbe holds its own as an applied arts museum, while the Bucerius Kunst Forum, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, and Kunstverein in Hamburg showcase smartly curated modern and contemporary art. If you wish to view all five museums at a discount, you can acquire a Kunstmeile Card, or simply pick and choose which museum most takes your fancy.

Optional Day Trips from Hamburg

Bremen

You may know Bremen from the Brother's Grimm tale 'The Town Musicians of Bremen'. This folkish reputation speaks to the age of the city, which has over a millennium of history under its belt. Spanning the Weser River, Bremen is a fun, slightly quirky town to pay a visit. Wander the Böttcherstraße street, take in architecture the Nazis called degenerate, and listen to the Glockenspiel House's 30-bell carillon. Afterward, have a drink in the rustic town hall wine bar. Known as the "delicious foundation" of the town hall, the Ratskeller houses the largest collection of German wines in the world. One oak barrel contains a wine that has been fermenting since 1653. Unfortunately, nobody is able to sample it anymore!

Lubeck

The medieval town gate of Lübeck is iconic throughout Germany. Known as the Holstentor Gate, this brick gatehouse has two conical towers, set at a tipsy angle as they have slowly sunk into the earth over the centuries. The Holstentor is just the starting point to a town crowned by UNESCO as a special world heritage site. One of the principal cities of the Hanseatic League, Lübeck is famous for its considerable Brick Gothic architecture. Indulge a sweet tooth at the Niederegger Marzipan Museum, go back in time at the Buddenbrook Museum, and definitely look through Marienkirche, the town's remarkable Lutheran church.