Hamburg is my favorite German city. I love the historical sights of Berlin but Hamburg is a really atmospheric city. It has the perfect combination of raw boroughs such as Schanzenviertel and Sankt Pauli and more put together parts such as Hafen City. It is a super vibrant and colorful city. I recently brought a four day visit to this amazing city. Below you will find some of my favorite activities to do in this diverse city.
Wandering through Schanzenviertel
We stayed in an Airbnb in Schanzenviertel, which I found the perfect borough to stay in. There is a lively breakfast culture in Hamburg, so we started off each day by having breakfast in a new café. Schanzenviertel is a more rough and alternative area, though it is perfectly safe to stay in now. It might still be a good idea to stay away from this area during Labor day (May 1), as some years there are riots that get out of hand. Schanzenviertel is perfect if you love street art, vintage/design shops and going out. We made a reservation for dinner at Büllerei, which is a really good restaurant in a restyled abbatoir, we definitely would recommend to go here! If you want to go to a brewery I would recommend going to Altes Madchen.
HafenCity
I loved the warehouse buildings of HafenCity. HafenCity is the old harbor area of Hamburg. This area has been reorganized and now contains a lot of living areas in the old warehouses. In this area you will also find the Elbphilharmonie, a new concert hall which has the inhabitants of Hamburg divided over the architecture and costs. HafenCity is the perfect place for an afternoon wandering around the canals, warehouses and bridges. Close to HafenCity you will find Manefactum, which is a store specialized in quality goods, such as kitchen- and homeware.
Miniatur Wunderland
I particularly visited HafenCity because the Miniatur Wunderland is located here. This is a miniature world which rebuilt landmarks and countries, while having trains driving through it and even having airplanes take off. It is the perfect visit with kids and also without kids 😉 I was amazed by the level of details of the miniatures. There is a lot of miniature humor as well, if you pay attention to the activities that the little dolls are doing 😉 Each half hour the light switches off and you will get night views of the cities, which will all light up, which was a cool experience. Entrance fee for adults is € 15 and € 7,50 for kids. Don’t be deterred by the chaotic and overly commercial entrance, inside the miniatures are lovely.
Strand Pauli
Strand Pauli is a beach club located close to Sankt Pauli. It is a super colorful place that looks out over the new harbor, so it has an industrial vibe to it. In the weekend it opens at 10AM and we went there for breakfast. We went there right at the opening time, because it does get crowded really fast. From April-October it is opened until late, they have a full bar, that serves cocktails as well.
Flohschanze
I love visiting antique and garage sales, if you like that as well the Floschanze is a must visit for you! The Floschanze is a flea market which is held each week on Saturdays from 8 AM to 4 PM at Neuerkamp 30 (in Karolinenviertel). You could do amazing antique finds and also find bargain homeware.
Planten un Bomen
Planten un Bomen is a botanical garden/city park in Hamburg. Unfortunately it was really cold when we visited, but there were cherry trees blossoming and tulips rising from the ground. I can imagine it being a lovely place during spring temperatures.
