Things To Do in Hamburg

Hamburg is large and spread out, but geography won’t put a damper on your sightseeing. Most of what you’ll want to see is in or near the central city, and even if a cold wind off the Baltic Sea deters you from walking it’s easy to get around town on the U-bahn or bus.

Unless you have a big appetite for clicking off sights, you may be pleased to know that Hamburg has far fewer landmarks and stellar museums than Berlin or Munich do. You can probably see what you want in a full day. Even if your appreciation of art is on the low side, you’ll want to step into the Kunsthalle, at least to see the weird creations of the German expressionists. The façade of the over-the-the-top neo-Renaissance-style Rathaus is a must-see, and so is Hauptkirche St-Michaelis, where you should make the ascent to the dome for a view over the far-flung metropolis at your feet. The city itself is the main attraction. You can’t leave town without catching a glimpse of the Alster, the lake in the city center, and you’ll want to see the port—best viewed from the deck of a tour boat. Two neighborhoods to check out are HafenCity, an emerging waterside quarter where some of the world’s leading architects are in a contest to see who can create the most stunning glass tower, and, of course, St. Pauli. Whether you come to this red-light district dedicated to debauchery to partake or observe, you’ll never think of Germany as uptight and strictly businesslike again.

Before you tour the city, you can get a sweeping view of Hamburg from the tower of the finest baroque church in northern Germany, Hauptkirche St. Michaelis, Michaeliskirchplatz, Krayenkamp 4C (tel. 040/376780; www.st-michaelis.de; U-Bahn: Rödingsmarkt or St. Pauli). Take the elevator or climb the 449 steps to enjoy the sweeping view from the top of the hammered-copper tower. The crypt is one of the largest in Europe and contains the tombs of such famous citizens as composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the church's builder, Ernst Georg Sonnin. Hours are daily May to October 9am to 7:30pm, and November to April 10am to 5:30pm.

The Altstadt actually has little old architecture left, but there are a few sights among the canals that run through this section from the Alster to the Elbe. The largest of the old buildings is the Rathaus, Rathausplatz (tel. 040/428310; U-Bahn: Rathausmarkt), which is modern in comparison to many of Germany's town halls. This Renaissance-style structure was built in the late 19th century on a foundation of 3,780 pinewood piles. It has a sumptuous 647-room interior and can be visited on guided tours costing 3€. Tours in English are given hourly Monday to Friday 10am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 1pm (there are no tours during official functions). The Rathaus's 49m (161-ft.) clock tower overlooks Rathausmarkt and the Alster Fleet, the city's largest canal.

A few blocks away is the 12th-century St. Petri Kirche, Speersort 10 (tel. 040/3257400; www.sankt-petri.de; U-Bahn: Rathausmarkt). The lion-head knocker on the main door is the oldest piece of art in Hamburg, dating from 1342. The church is open Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 9am to 9pm.

The nearby 14th-century Gothic St. Jacobi Kirche, Jakobikirchhof 22, with an entrance on Steinstrasse (tel. 040/3037370; www.jacobus.de; U-Bahn: Mönckebergstrasse), was damaged in World War II but has been restored. It contains several medieval altars, pictures, and sculptures, as well as one of the largest baroque organs in the world (Arp-Schnitger, ca. 1693). The church is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Guided tours in English can be arranged.

A Bit of Beatlemania

John Lennon once said, “I was born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg.” As Beatles fans know, the group got its start here in the early 1960s, when they played gigs at a string of sleazy St Pauli clubs. When the group returned to Liverpool in 1960 they were billed as “The Beatles: Direct from Hamburg.” They soon returned to Germany and introduced such hits as “Love Me Do” in St. Pauli clubs. Though a museum to the Fab Four has been shuttered, the city has not lost interest in the sensation it nurtured. A corner on the Reeperbahn has been designated “Beatles-Platz,” where effigies of the five are enshrined in glass (the fifth wheel is bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, who left the group to study art and died of a cerebral aneurism soon afterward). The boys stand in the middle of a circle of paving stones blackened to look like a vinyl record.

Nearby Attractions

Every ship that passes the landscaped peninsula at Willkomm-Höft (Welcome Point) is welcomed in its own language, as well as in German, from sunrise to sunset (8am-8pm in summer). The ships' national anthems are played as a salute. The station was founded in the late spring of 1952, at the point where a sailor first catches sight of the soaring cranes and slipways of the Port of Hamburg. As a vessel comes in, you'll see the Hamburg flag on a 40m (131-ft.) mast lowered in salute. The ship replies by dipping its flag. More than 50 arriving ships, and as many departing ones, pass Willkomm-Höft each day.

The point can be reached by car from Hamburg via the Elbchaussee or Ostdorfer Landstrasse to Wedel in half an hour. You can also go to Wedel by S-Bahn; a bus will take you from the station to the point, or you can enjoy the 15-minute walk. In the summer, you can take a HADAG riverboat, leaving from St. Pauli Landungsbrücken, an hour's ferry ride.

In Wedel, you can have lunch at Schulauer Fährhaus, Parnastrasse 29 (tel. 04103/92000; www.schulauer-faehrhaus.de; S-Bahn: Wedel), attractively situated on the wide lower Elbe. The sons of Otto Friedrich Behnke, who founded Willkomm-Höft, run the restaurant. It has large enclosed and open verandas, as well as a spacious tea garden. Guests are welcomed for breakfast, lunch, tea, or dinner. Fish dishes are a specialty, and the restaurant's bakery turns out a tempting array of goodies. Children, especially, will delight in watching the ships go by as they eat. Main courses run 10€ to 17€. It's open daily 9:30am to 10pm. No credit cards are accepted.

In the cellars of the Schulauer Fährhaus is the Buddelschiff-Museum (tel. 04103/920016; www.buddel.de), where more than 200 little vessels are carefully preserved in bottles. The museum is open March to October, daily 10am to 6pm; November to February, hours are Saturday and Sunday only 10am to 6pm. Admission is 3€ for adults and free for children.

Hamburg is a city of merchants. In general, stores are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6 or 6:30pm (some Thurs until 8pm) and on Saturday 9am to 2pm (until 4 or 6pm on langer Samstag, the first Sat of the month). Unfortunately, the best shops are not concentrated in one location. Two of the oldest and most prestigious shopping streets, Grosse Bleichen and Neuer Wall, run parallel to the canals, connected transversely by Jungfernstieg and Ufer Strasse on the Binnenalster. Less expensive shopping streets are Spitalstrasse and Mönckebergstrasse.

Hamburg has nine major shopping malls. The glass-roofed Hanse Viertel Galerie Passage is some 200m (660 ft.) long. There's a scattering of upscale cafes here and even a stand-up seafood bar where glasses of beer or Sekt (sparkling wine) are served at tiny tables.

Mönckebergstrasse (U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), a street connecting the main station with the Rathaus, is the city's traditional shopping district. Here you'll find big department stores such as Karstadt, Mönckebergstrasse 16 (tel. 040/30940; www.karstadt.de), part of a chain that carries many of the same brands and items as the other leading department stores, all competitively priced. The store is open Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm. A thrifty alternative, Kaufhof, Mönckebergstrasse 3 (tel. 040/333070; www.galeria-kaufhof.de), carries less expensive items than the surrounding department stores and also offers better deals on merchandise markdowns. Bargain hunters combing the store are apt to be successful. Hours are Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 8pm. More fashionable and upscale than any of the three mentioned above is Alsterhaus, Jungfernstieg 16-20 (tel. 040/359010; www.alsterhaus.de), which some New Yorkers have compared favorably to Bloomingdale's (same hours as Karstadt).

If you walk down Bergstrasse to the second part of the city center, you pass along Jungfernstieg, with tourist boats of the Alster Fleet on the right and a teeming shopping street on the other side. About a block farther along, you come to the Hamburger Hof, the elegant entrance to one of the most attractive chains of shopping galleries in Europe. At the end of Jungfernstieg, you can cross Gänsemarkt to Gänsemarkt Passage, another shopping gallery, with stores on three levels.

An upmarket and youthfully fashionable shopping area is in Eppendorf (U-Bahn: Eppendorfer Baum), Hamburg's oldest village, first mentioned in written history in 1140. Many prosperous and avant-garde Hamburgers live in the stately area's 19th-century homes and apartments. The shopping district, from Klosterstern to Eppendorfer Markt, has exclusive boutiques selling fashions from Paris, Milan, and New York; colorful shops with odds and ends for your home; antiques shops; and places where you can not only make purchases but also watch goldsmiths, hat makers, potters, and weavers at work.

The Hamburg Fischmarkt (fish market), between Hexenberg and Grosse Elbstrasse (U-Bahn: Landungsbrücken), is held every Sunday from 5am in summer or 7am otherwise. Flowers, fruit, vegetables, plants, and pets are also for sale at this traditional market, in existence since 1703. It sometimes seems that the fish are just an afterthought nowadays. The nearby taverns are open to serve Fischmarkt visitors and vendors.

Jil Sander, Neuer Wall 43 (tel. 040/37518704; www.jilsander.com; S-Bahn: Dammtor), is the best place to go for chic women's styling. Jil Sander burst upon Europe's fashion scene from her native city of Hamburg and has taken special efforts to make this three-floor store the flagship of her increasingly successful operation. Part of the success of her designs derives from their wearability -- they are appropriate for the office, the boardroom, or cocktail hour. Another popular choice for women's fashions is Escada Boutique, Neuer Wall 32 (tel. 040/363296; www.escada.com; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), owned by the German design company of the same name. This store carries the firm's complete collection of women's sports-, evening, business, and knitwear, plus accessories that include hats, bags, gloves, and shoes. A less expensive division of Escada, Laurel Boutique, Neuer Wall 41 (tel. 040/3743270; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), appeals to an active, younger clientele with alternative takes on casual day and elegant evening wear.

For high-fashion men's clothing, go to Thomas-i-Punkt, Gänsemarkt 24 (tel. 040/342009; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), where you'll find suits, jackets, shirts, shoes, and belts carrying the exclusive Omen label. Ties, handkerchiefs, and other accessories are also available. Shoes, well made and fashionably styled, are sold to both men and women at Schuhhaus Prange, Jungfernstieg 38 (tel. 040/343151; www.schuhhaus-prange.de; U-Bahn: Jungfernstieg).

One of the city's leading hairdressers, for both men and women, is Marlies Müller, Königsbergerstrasse 6 (tel. 040/6403829; S-Bahn: Dammtor). Besides hair styling and beauty treatments, a large perfume and cosmetic selection is also offered here.

Brahmfeld & Gutruf, Jungfernstieg 12 (tel. 040/346103; www.brahmfeld-gutruf.de; U-Bahn: Jungfernstieg), is one of Germany's oldest jewelers, founded in 1743.

A store with a nautical nature, Binikowski, Lokstedter Weg 68 (tel. 040/462852; U-Bahn: Eppendorfer Baum), established in 1955, is the place to find a Buddelschiff (ship in a bottle), as well as ship models and clocks. Captain's Cabin, Bei Dim St. Pauli Landungsbrücken 3 (tel. 040/316373; S-Bahn: Landungsbrücken), stocks ship models, telescopes, barometers, figureheads, lamps, nautical clothing for the whole family, prints, posters, and more.

Hamburg is famous and infamous for nightlife. You can go high-brow, as the city has excellent opera and dance companies and symphonies; middle brow in chic bars and homey rathskellers; or lowbrow on and around the Reeperbahn, in Hamburg’s notoriously sex-oriented St. Pauli district. Hamburg’s gay scene is almost as robust as that in Berlin, and centers in St Georg, just to the east of the Haupthbanhoff, where most of the district’s gay venues are along and around two main streets, Lange Reihe and Steindamm. Visitor information centers in the Wandelhalle of the Hauptbahnhof (tel. 040/30051300) and on the St. Pauli-Landungsbrücken are usually littered with fliers announcing goings-on around town and counters sell tickets to mainstream events. The Ticketmaster affiliate in Hamburg is Kartenhaus at Schanzenstrasse 5 (tel. 040 43 59 46; www.kartenhaus.de; Mon–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat 10am–2pm).

The Performing Arts

Theater -- The English Theatre of Hamburg, Lerchenfeld 14 (tel. 040/2277089; www.englishtheatre.de; U-Bahn: Mundsburg), is the only English-speaking theater in the northern Germany and actors present popular plays and the classics.

The Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Kirchenallee 39 (tel. 040/248713; www.schauspielhaus.de; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), is one of the largest and most important theaters in the German-speaking world, performing both classics and modern plays—but you’ll need to understand German to appreciate fully the genius of these productions.