Historic City Centre Tour

What awaits you

  • 1200 years of history from Charlemagne to the new HafenCity urban development
  • The impressive Town Hall
  • Symbol of Germany´s rise to a world player: the Kontorhouses

 

  • WW2 Memorial of St. Nikolai
  • UNESCO Site Speicherstadt
  • Elbphilharmonie: the city´s new landmark
  • the city´s old landmark and the best look-out: St. Michael´s Church

Pay what you think is fair

English or German

Duration 2 hours

Starts in front of the Rathaus

Book Your Free Tour

Impressions

Highlights

Witness the rise and fall of Hamburg throughout its history: its glorious past as a centre of the Hanseatic League and its heavy destruction in the Great Fire and the World War 2. Our Free Tours run in English and German with Hamburg’s #1 top rated local Tourguides.

  • 1200 years of history from Charlemagne to the new harbor city urban development
  • little Venice at the inner Alster Canal
  • the impressive Town Hall
  • important main churches of the city
  • a symbol of Germany´s rise to an economical world player: the Kontorhouses
  • WWII Memorial of St. Nikolai
  • the romantic side of the city: Deichstrasse
  • lighthouse project Elbphilharmonie: the city´s new landmark
  • the city´s old landmark and the best look-out: St. Michael´s Church

This tour is barrier-free.

Disclaimer

Participation in tours which are promoted by Robin and the Tourguides is on a purely voluntary basis. Neither Robin and the Tourguides nor the self-employed freelance guides who are the providers of the tours promoted by Robin and the Tourguides, will be held responsible in any way for injuries to body or property incurred during tours. The tour guides reserve the right to deny participation in any tour, to any person, for any reason. Thank you for your understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are free tours?

Free tours do not have a fixed price that you have to pay. You are welcome to join the tours regardless of your budget. At the end of the tour the guests are free to decide about a fair price they want to pay the guide for the tour. All our guides will accept an amount that you feel is fair.

Who pays the guide?

Unlike what many think, we are not paid by the city of Hamburg. We are an independent private company and we do not receive money or compensation from any organisations.

The money from the guide’s guests is all that he/she earns for the tour. The guide has to pay a fixed amount per guest to the company for advertising, administration, etc… The guide then keeps what is left after tax deduction.

For most of us being a tour guide is our main job. We do this full time. That is why we appreciate when guests honor our work accordingly.

Can you live with what you earn as guides?

This depends, of course, on how much our guests give us at the end of the free tour. 🙂 All our guides are freelancers that have to pay taxes, health care, pension funds, and on top of that, their living costs. We gladly take everyone with a low budget on our tours but the free tour system is only feasible if everyone who can afford it honours the guides’ work accordingly. We appreciate every contribution given!

I didn't have the time to register! / Registration didn't work!

Don’t worry! We are nice people and will try to take you on the tour nevertheless. 🙂 In most cases, this will also work out well.

We are a group. Can we join a free tour?

Yes you can – if you are no more than 7 persons. Groups larger than 7 persons have to book a private tour with us.

To book a private tour please click here.

Do your free tours take place today?

Yes they do, even if the weather is bad. We might cancel a tour if there’s a pandemic or an earthquake around, though.

If you can book it on this website then it takes place!

Where and when do the tours start?

The Historic City Center Tour starts daily at 11 am in front of the main entrance of the Town Hall (Rathaus). The Harbour and St. Pauli Tour starts daily at 2 pm at Landungsbrücken, bridge No. 5 next to the Hard Rock Café.

 

How do I recognize the guide?

Our guides will be holding a bright yellow umbrella at the meeting point.

What should I bring to the tour?

Please, dress well according to the weather! This means: if the weather is hot, bring lots of water and sunscreen. If the weather is cold and rainy, bring plenty of warm clothes! Two hours in the cold actually feels much colder than you would think! Hamburg is also a windy city so don’t buy cheap umbrellas for €3 because they will only last 5 minutes.

… something else?

Hamburg Craft Beer Tasting Tour

Get an excellent introduction to Hamburg’s unique craft beer scene with 7 locally brewed craft beers and a professional guide who will delve into Hamburg’s brewing history and techniques.

St. Pauli & Harbour – Free Tour

This is the perfect tour to get to see the economic engine of the city, the port, as well as its neighboring leftist red-light district, St.Pauli. It is a combination of the industrial harbour and social themes the city has dealt with in the past decades and still today.