10 Best Things to do in Hamburg

If you are planning a trip to Germany, be sure to have Hamburg on the radar. Not only does Hamburg offer a wide range of activities to enjoy but is till now still an insider’s secret as far as wonderful destinations in Germany are concerned. From the infamous Reeperbahn to the beautiful city centre and the impressive harbour, you will be amazed from this incredibly diverse and vibrant city.

Here are our 10 top tips of must see things to do when visiting our unique city!

Take a free tour or two

The best way to get a feeling for what the city has to offer is to go on our free tours. You will get a great introduction to the city with historical and cultural background knowledge to further enhance your stay afterwards. It is a great overview of what to see here in the city in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

We offer two different free tours. Our Historic City Centre Tour starts everyday at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Rathaus in English and German* and gives an in depth overview of how the city began, its roots, historical burdens and knowledge of the city in general.

Our Harbour/St.Pauli tour shows you the powerhouse of the city economically, the ports as well as the alternative red light district. We discuss not only the historical aspects of the city but also the up to date insights and cultural aspects shaping the city. From containers to gentrification, everything is in this tour. This tour starts everyday at 2:00 p.m. at the Landungsbrücken Nr. 5 (right next to the Hard Rock Cafe)*.

The best thing about these two free tours is that you can take both of them in one day with an hour break in between to get something to eat or drink! At the end of the tour you can decide for yourself how much the tour was worth. This means everyone is welcome to join the tour no matter what your budget is. Because you decide how much the tour is worth, your guide is motivated to give you a top notch experience! (*please check our website for times and availabilities due to the Corona pandemic)

Visit the new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie

Visiting the new concert hall in the city is a must see thing to do while here in the city. completed the end of 2016 it has become a cherished symbol of what the city is capable of achieving if we stick together. Designed by the two world renowned Swiss architects, Herzog and De Meuron it is a breathtaking statement towards the city’s music institutions.

Entrance to the Elbphilharmonie plaza is free for the public and you will enjoy wonderful views of the surrounding harbour and Hafencity, a brand new district that is still being developed today. You can also visit their Störtebeker Craft Bier Bar with dozens of handcrafted beers to try all while enjoying a first class view of the city.

Integrated into the building is also a five star hotel, the Westin, luxury apartments, 2 chamber music halls and a restaurant. But the main disposition of this building is by far the flareful architecture inside and outside. Built on an old cocoa warehouse which today is the parking structure, the Elbphilharmonie is resemblant of sails on a tall sailing boat with its glass facade shining in the sunshine. Also, just the entrance to the building gives you an impression of the gravitas of the building with Europe’s longest curved escalator, bringing its visitors to the main look out platform.

With a bit of luck, you can also buy last minute tickets directly at the entrance of the Elbphilharmonie. Our facette is, the Elbphilharmonie is definitely worth a visit!

Hamburg’s true Landmark, the St. Michael’s Church

Originally built from 1647-1669 the St. Michael’s church is the largest and most important church in Hamburg today. Of course, as with most older buildings in the city it was burnt down a few times only to be rebuilt as one of the best examples of baroque architecture in Germany. It is a protestant building but the stunning details and opelanceness will likely impress even most catholic followers. It is also home to 5 beautiful sounding organs, including the echo organ located in the ceiling of the church

To get a great view of the city from up above you can also go up the steeple. from 106 metres above the ground you can see the whole city, from the lovely alster lakes in the north to the ports in the south. It only costs 5€ (discounts for students are available) and there is a lift you can take to the top, or for the brave ones, you can also take the stairs if you want.

As well as the steeple, one can also visit the crypt of the church where many famous people have been buried, for example, Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach, One of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 20 children, known as the “Hamburg Bach”. He was the church organist and music director from 1768 till his death in 1788. Many of his works are still performed in the Church today and even an Organ is dedicated to him.

Today, you can enjoy their organ concert every day at 12 o’clock which lasts about 20-30 minutes and is free to listen to. Of course, they do ask for donations for the upkeep and maintenance of the church so please feel free to give a euro or two on the way out so everyone can enjoy this stunningly beautiful church in the future.

The impressive Town Hall

Just a 7 minute walk from the central station is the gem of the city, its town hall or Rathaus in German. Completed in 1897, it is an amazing example of Neo-Renaissance architecture and the home today of the city’s parlement, senate and mayor’s office. The ploritha of details put into the town hall make it an outstanding building and a wonderful photo motiv.

Tours of the inside are also offered. They cost around 5€/person and it takes about 45 minutes. You will see some of the most impressive rooms of the town hall with its many ornaments, paintings, wood-crafts, statues, reliefs, among many other things symbolically important to the city.

Also be sure to take a look at the back courtyard of the town Hall with the hygia fountain. It is as beautiful as the front side. Also, located just behind the town hall is also the stock exchange of the city. Visitors are welcome to visit the museum and Hamburg Welcome Center inside.

The immense Art Hall (Kunsthalle)

If you are an art lover or not, the Kunsthalle is an incredible place to discover some renowned artists from Germany and all of Europe. Not only do they have a collection of paintings but also display ever changing galleries from important European artists.

The museum is split into four different topics: Old Masters, 19th century art, modern art and contemporary art with hundreds of relevant artists’ work on display. This museum is large so make sure you plan enough time to do it justice.

Entrance price is only 14€ (discounts for students and free entry for children) and it is open 10:00 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. (Thursdays till 7:30 p.m.) and the entrance for the library is free of charge. Also, for a small extra price, public tours are offered inside the museum or headset tours are also on demand.

What better way to see the harbour than the Landungsbrücken, the historic port of departure for millions of immigrants to the new world! This is a great place to see some historic museum ships like the Rickmer Rickmers, stroll along the waterfront and catch a ferry to see the city from the Elbe river.

You can also be charmed by the ticket sellers of the harbour boat tours every meter or two with their catchy phrases and engage in an enjoyable tour throughout the Speicherstadt and container terminals. Have you ever seen a modern day mega container ship up close? How on earth can they store 23 thousand containers on board at once? Well till you get up and personal to one you might doubt, but astounding afterwards, it might not be so difficult to imagine.

A quick visit to Captain Black (Kapitan Schwarz) in the middle of the parking lot at Landungsbrücken Nr. 6 for a quick snack, a traditional fish roll (Fischbrötchen), and then to the Old Elbe-Tunnel. A tunnel first completed in 1911 that takes you to the other side of the Elbe river for some wonderful views of the city. The best thing is, it is for free! Either take the stairs or the traditional lifts originally built for horse and buggies. Yes, that is why they are so tall, to make room for the horse whips while going through the tunnel.

Throughout the tunnel you will also enjoy the historic tiles with reliefs of lobsters, fish, and tall sailing boats. An added bonus is that you can cool off in the tunnel during the hot summer days. The tunnel has been recently renovated so it is easily accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists.

One of the most vibrant markets in all of Germany, Hamburg’s Fish Market is also something worthwhile while visiting the City. With Hundreds of stands located all along the Elbe river, You can buy anything that is nailed or bolted down. The fish market happens once a week, every Sunday from 5:00 a.m. till 9:30 a.m. It is early but definitely worth a visit.

But the traditional thing to buy are tropical fruit baskets for 10€ a piece. For insiders, the secret to haggling here is not to try and get things cheaper but rather more stuff for your money. It is typical that, for example, the fruit basket sellers will just keep filling and filling the basket with fruits until someone buys it for 10€… so an auctioneer’s patience is sometimes helpful here.

If you are not looking for fruit, there are a lot of other things you can buy at the fish market, from chocolate, sweets, food, to fresh fish, smoked eels, clothing and souvigners.

A lot of people go out on Saturday night, party the whole night through and when the sun starts coming up in the morning they go to the fish market where the partying keeps on going. You can listen and dance to live musik in the main auction hall and enjoy a nice fish roll (Fischbrötchen) and a morning beer to start the day off.

The main thing though that the fish market is known for are the market yellers! People yelling into the market putting on a show so you will buy their stuff. Many times they have very cheeky sayings to draw your attention and will be throwing samples through the air. So don’t get hit by a flying fish.

Hamburg’s Nr. 1 Tourist attraction and Germany’s top rated museum is in the heart of the Speicherstadt (historic warehouse district). It is the Miniature Wonderland and boasts to be the largest miniature railway train set in the world. It opened its doors in 2001 and has been growing ever since. Now they have even built a bridge across the historical warehouse canal to expand even further into a neighboring warehouse.

With over 1,000 trains, 9,000 automobiles and 260,000 figures this place is meant to be just as amazing as spectacular. There are varying countries that are represented with their newest start being Monaco with a full functioning race track.

Also there is the Scandinavian ports with ships docking. If you are coming in on a cruise ship, be sure to keep an eye out for if they have a miniature ship of yours. The highlight of the Miniature Wonderland though is their full functioning airport with airports landing and taking off throughout the world. If you are lucky, you might even see the Millenial Falcon fly by!

Day and night time are simulated every 10 minutes and with over 385,000 miniature LED lights, you are sure to get some great miniature landscape photos. The best thing is that they even have a miniature Hamburg including all of its highlights.

Entrance costs 20€ per Person with discounts for children, seniors and handicapped persons. But be sure to book a time online because you can easily wait sometimes up to 8 hours in the que just to get in. If you book a time online though, you can go straight in without waiting in line.

For a good night out St.Pauli is the place to visit and the main street in St.Pauli is the infamous Reeperbahn! With hundreds of clubs and bars you can find whatever music style you want to enjoy the night away.

Some bars literally never close in St.Pauli but most tend to open at around 8:00 p.m. while it is still a bit quiet. The real partying starts at around 10:00-11:00 p.m. and goes every night open end. From DJs, live bands, karaoke, Konzerts and playback, you can dance till your heart stops. Notorious clubs such as the Mojo, Molotov, Kaiserkeller among others offer local and international bands for a more than fair price.

Being in the red light district, you can also find top notch strip tease for both men and women. The Dollhouse probably being one of the most famous of them where you can pay the stripers with dollhouse dollars. Be warned though, there are strip-tease clubs that are entrance free but will con and rip you off with exorbitantly expensive drinks. As a rule of thumb, any strip tease club that has free entrance is a no-go Tourist trap!

Also, one street over from the Reeperbahn is the F.C. St.Pauli football stadium. Be sure to visit their fan shop for iconic memorabilia from this world renowned club. Although they are still in the 2nd German football league, they are widely known for their tolerant and inclusive spirit towards LGBTQ community, feminists, punks, socially disadvantaged people, and everyone else that is open to other people and alternative lifestyles.

An insider tip for St.Pauli is the “Twenty-Up” bar in the Empire Riverside Hotel. On the twentieth floor is a cocktail bar with an outstanding view of the Harbour. Especially at night time it is worth a visit to see the lights of the ports. There is a dress-code, so no sneakers, jogging pants or hoodies are allowed.

The Chocoversum chocolate museum

If you are a chocolate lover, and let’s be honest, who is not, then a visit to the Chocoversum is a dream come true. Not only does this museum show you every process of making chocolate, but you get to smell and taste your way through each and every step, starting with a fresh cocoa pod to the finished product.

This museum is run by Hachez, a European renowned Chocolatier and uses real historic machines to make their delicious chocolates. Visiting the museum you have to take a mandatory tour, because they are making real chocolate inside. On the 90 minute Tour, you will learn about the plantations process, drying and roasting of the beans, transport methods, and refinement of this wonderful food. and at the end you even get to make your own chocolate bar to either take home for later or give as a present to friends or family.

Located in the UNESCO world heritage area of the Kontorhaus quarter, directly across from the historic Chilehaus, it is a perfect atmosphere for the cozy museum. And because Hamburg is the largest importer of cocoa in Europe, it has a fitting place here in the city.