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The Alster Arcades with Hamburg's Rathaus behind them
The Wasserschloss between two canals in Hamburg's Speicherstadt
The brick Kaispeicher B warehouse, home of the International Maritime Museum
The Gothic Revival portal at the foot of the St. Nikolai tower
The tiled entrance hall to the lifts of the Old Elbe Tunnel, with a cyclist heading in

Things to do in Hamburg: 10 experiences

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Photo: Matthias v.d. Elbe, CC BY-SA 3.0

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district

Walk the World Heritage canals of the Speicherstadt and the Chilehaus

Check dates and prices

Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kaispeicher B, Koreastrasse 1

Explore 3,000 years of seafaring at the International Maritime Museum

Check dates and prices

Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0

Willy-Brandt-Strasse 60

Ride up the ruined tower of St. Nikolai, Hamburg's war memorial

Photo: John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0

St. Pauli Landungsbrücken

Walk under the Elbe through the tiled Old Elbe Tunnel of 1911

Photo: Anastasiya Lvova, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hamburg is Germany's great port city and a city-state of its own, built around the Elbe, the harbour and the Alster lakes. Its brick warehouses and office blocks are a World Heritage Site, its museums tell the story of the sea and of the millions who left from here, and St. Pauli and Altona keep the harbour's rough edges.

The Elbphilharmonie and Miniatur Wunderland are on the Germany page; this page adds the rest of the city. A harbour boat tour is also on the Germany page, so it is not repeated here.

10 things to do in Hamburg

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The Wasserschloss between two canals in Hamburg's Speicherstadt

Walk the World Heritage canals of the Speicherstadt and the Chilehaus

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district

2 to 3 hoursGo alone or with a tour

The world's largest contiguous warehouse complex and the brick office district beside it, listed together by UNESCO in 2015.

Check dates and pricesTwo-hour walk through the Speicherstadt and HafenCity
Been there?
The brick Kaispeicher B warehouse, home of the International Maritime Museum

Explore 3,000 years of seafaring at the International Maritime Museum

Kaispeicher B, Koreastrasse 1

2 to 3 hoursGo alone or with a tour

The world's largest private collection of maritime treasures, stacked floor by floor inside a historic Speicherstadt warehouse.

Check dates and pricesEntry ticket to the International Maritime Museum
Been there?
The Gothic Revival portal at the foot of the St. Nikolai tower

Ride up the ruined tower of St. Nikolai, Hamburg's war memorial

Willy-Brandt-Strasse 60

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

A bombed church kept as a memorial, with a glass lift to a 76-metre platform and an exhibition in the old crypt.

Been there?
The tiled entrance hall to the lifts of the Old Elbe Tunnel, with a cyclist heading in

Walk under the Elbe through the tiled Old Elbe Tunnel of 1911

St. Pauli Landungsbrücken

1 hour there and backFree

Lifts drop you 24 metres to a tiled tunnel of 1911; walk 426 metres under the river to a view back over the port.

Been there?
Stalls and shoppers at the fish market by the Elbe, with port cranes behind

Get up early for Hamburg's Sunday fish market in Altona

Grosse Elbstrasse 9, Altona

2 hoursNo booking needed

A market held on the Elbe since 1703, where night owls with fish sandwiches meet early risers and the stallholders shout their prices.

Been there?
The rebuilt brick emigrant halls of BallinStadt on the Elbe island of Veddel

Trace the emigrants' road to America at the BallinStadt museum

Veddeler Bogen 2, Veddel

2 hoursNo booking needed

Rebuilt emigrant halls on the island where millions waited for their ship to the New World, with a centre to search for your ancestors.

Tours in Hamburg
Been there?
The white cube of the Kunsthalle's Galerie der Gegenwart at night, seen across the street

See Friedrich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog at the Kunsthalle

Glockengiesserwall 5

Half a dayNo booking needed

One of Germany's largest art museums, eight centuries of art in three buildings between the main station and the Alster.

Been there?
Crowds and lit-up rides at dusk at the Hamburger Dom funfair

Spend an evening at the Winterdom, northern Germany's biggest funfair

Heiligengeistfeld, St. Pauli

An eveningNo booking needed

Roller coasters, family rides, sausages and mulled wine on the Heiligengeistfeld in St. Pauli, three times a year.

Been there?
Model trains and a miniature landscape at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg

Spend a morning at Miniatur Wunderland's model railway

Hamburg

About 3 hours to see the whole layout onceBook ahead

Watch day turn to night every 15 minutes over 16,491 m of model track, from the Alps to Rio and a replica airport.

Tours in Hamburg
Been there?
The Elbphilharmonie's glass wave roof on top of the brick Kaispeicher A

Hear a concert at the Elbphilharmonie, or walk its Plaza

Hamburg

Book ahead

Ride a curved escalator to a deck 37 m above the harbour and walk right round the concert hall, with or without a concert ticket.

Tours in Hamburg
Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Hamburg yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting around

    The U-Bahn and S-Bahn link the main station, the Rathaus, the Landungsbrücken and the Speicherstadt in minutes, and the HVV network also runs the harbour ferries. Most of the centre between the Alster and the Elbe is walkable.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, two or three days: one for the Speicherstadt, the Maritime Museum and the Elbphilharmonie, one for the Landungsbrücken, the Old Elbe Tunnel and St. Pauli, and a Sunday morning for the fish market.

  • When to go

    Late spring to early autumn is the best time for the harbour and the Alster. In November the Winterdom fills the evenings, and the fish market starts later, at 7:00.

  • Where to base yourself

    The area around the main station and the Alster is the most practical; St. Pauli suits a night out, and HafenCity puts you next to the Speicherstadt and the Elbphilharmonie.

Questions travellers ask

Is Hamburg worth visiting in winter?

Yes. The museums on this page open all winter, the Winterdom runs from 6 November to 6 December 2026, and the fish market still opens every Sunday, from 7:00.

Is the Old Elbe Tunnel free?

Yes, for pedestrians and cyclists. You take the lifts down at the Landungsbrücken and walk 426 metres under the Elbe.

What time does the fish market open?

Every Sunday: from 15 March to 14 November at 5:00, and from 15 November to 14 March at 7:00. It closes at 9:30.

Which museum is best for a rainy day?

In must30's view, the International Maritime Museum or BallinStadt for Hamburg's own story, and the Kunsthalle for art. All three are easily reached by public transport.

Other places to go

Things to do in Germany

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