Hamburg Region Travel Guide

Hyvä mesta varsinkin yöllä.

Hamburg, my heart city!
I‘ll write this travel tip only in short version, because I love this city tooo much and it would take pages if I wrote whole sentences ;-)

1st: Stay in the Hyatt! Yeah, it costs a small fortune, but the hotel is THE PLACE TO STAY: perfect situation, top service, beautiufl interieur, fantastic breakfast buffet ;-), nice spa and wellness.
2nd: If you don't have so much money ... youth hostel at the harbour! 200 steps away from the tube station "landungsbrücken", on a small hill with fab wiev over the busy harbour, over to the "Lion King Theatre". Cheap and great.

3rd: Shopping! Mönckebergstrasse down and back up again. From expensive stores over H&M to stylish boutiqes, you'll find it all.

4th: Eating out: "Brauhaus" just behind the Rathaus is great. Food yummy and hause-made beers. Nice location - you can sit in the wintergarden over the river (if you reserve a table before). Or "Kartoffelkeller" in the very small town (acutally only one street, but really cute), down near the harbour. Enjoy, very special - aaaand: all foods, including deserts, made out of potatoes ;-) If you like something special and classy: the Thai-restaurant downstairs in the 4seasons...

#5: Sightseeing: Mönckebergstrasse, an ice cream at the city lake, climp up the tower of the "Michel" church and be stunned by the view!, sit at the busy harbour and enjoy seeing the steam boats crossing, cross the Elbe thrugh the tunnel under water, get up very early on Saturday morning to walk over the "Fishmarket" with a fresh Muffin and a hot coffee in your hand, lay back and enjoy a Star-movie in the Planetarium (for rainy days especially) or stop at the Hyatt (after a loooong shopping tour) and buy a one day ticket for the wellness area... Oh, not to forget: a visit of St.Pauli in the night ;-)

6th: Theatre! There is so much to see for Musical and Theatre-lovers :-) Musicals Lion King and Tarzan are playing in the two big musical theatres. And you'll find many many small theatres and varietes all over the town. Don't miss this!

Special:
Hamburg Dungeon (tells the story of the Hamburg disasters) Well done - like his brother in London. And: pure fun! (Advice, be there early, because of long waiting times later)
MIWULA or Miniwunderland. The biggest model-train-landscape of Europe on 3 stories! Unbelievable and also for non-model-train freaks special too see. Different countries, sooo many small details - its unbelievable (did you find the UFO? or the dwarfs in their caves? and have you seen the cuple making love behind that tree? ;-)
(also: be there early!)

So, this are my fave places in this gorgeous city - I am sure, you will love every second there! Any questions, need help or advice? Write me a messag, it will be my pleasure to help you out!

Hamburg lover,
Danyella

Hamburg is best visited in spring or summer. A typical Hamburg visit includes a tour of the city hall and the grand church St. Michaelis (called the Michel), and visiting the old warehouse district (Speicherstadt) and the harbour promenade (Landungsbrücken). Sightseeing buses connect these points of interest. Of course, a visit in one of the world's largest harbours would be incomplete without having taken one of the harbour and/or canal boat tours (Große Hafenrundfahrt, Fleetfahrt) which start from the Landungsbrücken. Major destinations include also museums such as the Art Gallery and Gallery of Contemporary Arts.   Many visitors, especially those with a taste for the low life, take a walk in the evening around the area of Reeperbahn in the quarter St. Pauli, considered Europe's largest red light district and home of many strip clubs, bars and nightclubs. The singer and actor Hans Albers is strongly associated with St. Pauli, providing in the 1940s the neighbourhood's unofficial anthem, "Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins." The song explains in a polite way how a sailor enjoys his last day with a trollop before going aboard. It was in the Reeperbahn that The Beatles began their career with a 48-night residency at the Indra Club, and then another 58 nights at the Kaiserkeller, in 1960, the Top Ten Club (1961), and the Star-Club (1962). Others prefer the laidback neighbourhood Schanze with its street cafés or a barbecue on one of the beaches along the river Elbe. Hamburg's famous zoo, the Tierpark Hagenbeck, was founded in 1907 by Carl Hagenbeck as the first zoo with moated, barless enclosures. A friend of Hagenbeck's, the illustrator Heinrich Leutemann made some illustrations here.   Quite common is a tour through Northern Germany with Hamburg as a starting point or stop-over.   However, most people visit Hamburg because of a specific interest, notably one of the musicals, a sports event, a congress or fair. Therefore, in 2005, the average visitor spent two nights in Hamburg. The majority of visitors come from Germany (80%); most foreigners are European, especially from the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and the largest group from outside Europe comes from the U.S. An interesting footnote is the high number of rich guests from the Arabian peninsula, who seek treatment in one of Hamburg's hospitals.