Find out what to do in Hamburg, with our tips that aim to facilitate your planning and help you create an optimized itinerary around the city.
Hamburg is one of those inexplicably underrated cities that you rarely pass through when you go to Germany. You see, how many people do you know who went to that country? And how many visited Hamburg? Determined to change this scenario, I share here some tips on what to do in Hamburg for those who want to explore the tours and discover the different regions of the city.
The Hafen City region is beautiful even in the rain.
Once when I was a teenager I read a super short text about Hamburg in some magazine out there and I loved it. Shortly afterwards my parents told me that they were thinking of going to Germany on their next family vacation and I insisted that we include Hamburg in the itinerary, which ended up not happening, I don't quite remember why.
Even just based on that little text in the magazine, Hamburg never left my head. Five years after that first trip to Germany, I went to live in Europe and, when I found out that I would be on vacation during my birthday, I didn't think twice and chose to spend the date in Hamburg, I dragged two friends along and it was the best choice I could have made. .
What to do in Hamburg?
Well, what's there? First of all, Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, with almost two million inhabitants. Bathed by the river Elbe, Europe's second port and Germany's commercial capital. Because of this fact and because of the hectic cultural life, Ricardo Freire from Viaje na Viagem compares the city to São Paulo.
In the port area there is a Soviet submarine that today works as a museum. See more about that below.
Hamburg is in the far north of Germany, just over three hours from Berlin, and is easily reached by bus (fares as cheap as €5 or €10) or train (from €20). From there it is also easy to reach Denmark, whose capital is about five hours away. There are also several cruises departing from Hamburg to the North Sea.
There are many things to do in the city, with options for tours for both families and those who want to party. But two or three days at the destination it is enough to know him well. The main tip here is: be sure to include a Sunday in your stay, I'll explain why later on.
The fish market is a must-see in Hamburg!
Hamburg played an important role in the Beatles' career, with some bars still famous for this reason today and a statue in honor of the British quartet. It is also said that the hamburger was invented here, but the origin is somewhat uncertain. The fact is that the name does come from the German city, as the sailors who took it to the United States (where it won the bread to go with it) called the delicacy “hamburg steak”, in reference to the place where they met it.
Hamburg, script in 4 parts:
I divided the city into four parts to talk about the main points of interest in each of these regions. Let's go to them:
1- Harbor City
The most beautiful part of Hamburg. Hafen City is a neighborhood close to the port, which underwent renovation and now has beautiful buildings, shops, restaurants and cafes, all bordered and intersected by the river, which gives it a friendly and passionate atmosphere.
In Hafen City, my tip is the same good old-fashioned one: get lost. You can spend at least half a day in this region. The Speicherstadt region (or “City of Warehouses”) is a neighborhood of revitalized century-old warehouses, the most beautiful part of the city.
Speicherstadt: former warehouses revitalized amid canals with an Amsterdam feel.
In this area are the Maritime Museum and the Minimundo (Miniatur Wonderland), which are some of the recommended museums in the city.
2- Center
The city center is where the city hall (the Rathaus) is located, an important landmark of the city, as in most German cities. It is a very imposing building that can be visited every day of the week, from 8 am to 6 pm.
Straight ahead is the Rathausmarkt, the city's central square which is home to numerous fairs, concerts and exhibitions. Also there is the Chile Haus, one of the first skyscrapers in Germany. The building is beautiful and worth seeing what the skyscraper concept was like hundreds of years ago.
The Chile Haus, one of Germany's first skyscrapers.
Once in the center, walk a little way to Jungfernstieg, the street that borders Lake Binnenalster, and relax walking and contemplating the view there.
Also close to the center are the chocolate museum, which I never got to visit, and the beautiful Deichtorhallen, which houses a museum of contemporary art and photography. Tickets cost between 6 and 15 euros, depending on what you want to visit and the day of the week.
3- Spitallerstrasse
Trailers and stalls along the harbor these days don't just sell fish.
This complicated name is nothing more than the port area. This is where you need to be on Sunday. And the day starts early.
The main thing to do here is the fischmarket, the fish market. Yes, the fish market. Don't turn your nose up yet, I promise it's so worth it (it was my favorite ride in the city). The fischmarket is exactly what the name says, a fish market, which starts at 5am from April to October and at 7am from November to March. In both cases the market closes religiously at 9:30 am.
In the inner part of the market, a real party takes place on Sunday mornings.
The place brings together people who have just woken up with those who haven't gone to sleep yet, all in search of the famous herring sandwich, accompanied by a beer. Inside the market itself, a real party brings together Germans and tourists, who dance and drink from early morning. As early as it is, there's no way to stay out, the atmosphere of the place is incredible!
The famous herring sandwich; I didn't have the courage to face it early on.
In addition, an old Soviet submarine is moored in this region, which can be visited. Entrance costs around 7 euros for students and is well worth it. I got in accidentally and I loved seeing the inside of a submarine. There, there are some dolls for the visitor to have an idea of how the sailors who manned the vessel lived, very cool!
The submarine wasn't on any of the tips we saw before the trip, but we loved it!
The puppets are a little weird, but they serve to understand what life on board was like. LOL.
4- Reeperbahn
This is the place for those who like to go out at night. Hamburg's nightlife is famous across Europe and most of the bars and clubs are on the Reeperbahn. It is known as the German version of the red light district.
I went to Sausalitos, which is a chain present in several places in Germany where it is possible to have drinks at very attractive prices, especially at happy hour. I also recommend Wasserschloss, which has some very high quality shows (and I'm not even a fan of live music bars).
The statue at Beatles Platz even has the “fifth beatle”.
For Beatles fans, this is where they started their career, playing at the Kaiserkeller club, 36 Grosse Freiheit Street. On the corner of the Reeperbahn is Bealtes Platz, with a modern statue of the quartet.
There are many hostels on this street and its surroundings. This is in fact a well located area, close to the port and with easy access to the center and Hafen City, but I stayed in one of them thinking it would make it easier to come home after going out at night and I don't recommend it. The night starts and ends very late and the region looks like an apocalypse scenario at the end of it all. When I got to my hostel at 5 am on a Sunday, everything was very dirty and the noise continued.
