Hamburg is a city of paradoxes. One of the most historic port cities in northern Europe, Hamburg is over 100km from the North Sea. A city of old money, beautiful churches, and an extravagantly ornate Rathaus are mere miles away from camps of the homeless and unemployed set up under stone bridges. Some of Germany's renowned orchestras and symphonies share a 3km radius with the unapologetically trashy strip joints and erotic shops on the infamous Reeperbahn. The only constant is the Elbe, tying Hamburg to the world. Massive commercial ships and a crane-studded industrial district just across the Elbe from Hamburg bring global products and people. Portugese and Turkish immigrants coalesce in the west, in Altona and Schanzeenviertel, and tapas bars and falafel stands stand side-by-side with Irish pubs and German breweries. Hamburg's notable Altstadt, recognizable by its mammoth churches and towering spires, is split by canals, streams, and bridges at every bend. A total of 2,479 bridges connect Hamburg, out-bridging Venice.
Any visitor will note the tragedies left by the Great Fire of 1842 and the devastating Allied WWII bombing. In a single night in July of 1943, air raids simultaneously leveled the city and killed over 50,000 tenants in the crowded buildings lining the waterfront. As a result, many of the architectural masterpieces that once filled the city are lost. Fortunately, a massive 1960s reconstruction effort restored many of Hamburg's beloved buildings, including the Große Michaeliskirche, an aqua-blue and gold-gilded oceanic masterpiece of a church. In shocking contrast to this opulence are the coal-black ruins of St. Nikolai, whose dark Gothic spire is a reminder of the cost of war. Despite it's cautioning remembrances, Hamburg has seen changes like the St. Georg district, which today is home to a flourishing gay community. And, of course, Hamburg is incomplete without the
Hamburg lies on the northern bank of the Elbe river, 100km south of the North Sea. The city's Altstadt, full of old buildings and mazes of canals, lies north of the Elbe and south of the Alster lakes. ...more
Tourist Offices: Hamburg's main tourist offices supply free English-language maps and pamplets. All sell the Hamburg Card (see “Getting Around.”) The Hauptbahnhof office books rooms for a €4 fee ...more
Instant Sleep, Max-Brauer-Allee 27 (www.instantsleep.de), Bright, spotless dorms, colorful murals, and personal lockers in every room for safety ensure what the name promises. The real highlight, which ...more
La Sepia, Schulterblatt 36 (www.la-sepia.de), This Spanish and Portugese restaurant serves some of the most affordable and generously served seafood in town. See your meal prepared in front of you fresh ...more
Planten un Blomen, Bordered by An der Verbindungsbahn to the north, Gorch-Fock-Wall to the south, and St. Petersburgerstr. to the west. (www.plantenunblomen.hamburg.de), This perfect mix of manicured gardens ...more
Many of Hamburg’s finest museums are located along the Kunstmeile, running from from the Alster Lakes to the Elbe. The Hamburg Card provides discounted admission to most museums. With new galleries ...more
In addition to the regular offerings of music, theater, and film, Hamburg’s Rathausmarkt and other locations often host lively street fairs, especially during the summer. Hamburg owes its prosperity ...more
If Hamburg is a party, Reeperbahn is the sweaty, scantily clad girl whom everyone wants to dance with. Take U3 to “St. Pauli” or S1 or S3 to “Reeperbahn.” Große Freiheit 36/Kaiserkeller ...more
Hamburg’s Lange Reihe Street could be renamed Gay Place. Enjoy a neighborhood of mixed straight and gay families shopping, drinking coffee, chatting, and living alongside one another. Bring your ...more
Hamburg is the place to go for new music. The stomping ground for the Beatles still brings in talented, little-known musicians strumming on big-time dreams. Hamburg is full of fantastic record shops that ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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