Looking for fun things to do in Hamburg, Germany? Read this list of must-see sights and the best things to do in Hamburg!
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and has become extremely popular with tourists from all over the world! Hamburg is a lively and exciting city, and there are countless fun things to do in Hamburg. Most people visiting Hamburg for the first time do not expect such a wonderful city with lots of history, sights, and surprises.
If you’re planning to visit Hamburg, I would like to recommend the 17 best things to do in Hamburg during your trip. If this is your first visit to Hamburg, you’ll probably be amazed by the many special and fun sights in Hamburg!
Table of Contents
1. Port of Hamburg
The port of Hamburg is one of the largest and busiest ports in all of Europe, and in fact also the rest of the world! Every year, thousands of cargo ships, cruise ships, and sailboats dock in the huge port that the Germans call “Gateway to the World”. The port is a must-see in Hamburg because it has had a great impact on the city’s trade and economy for centuries!
Do not forget to take a walk on the quay of the Port of Hamburg. Admire the huge cargo ships and dine at one of the fish restaurants while enjoying the view of the water.
But the best experience at the Port of Hamburg is a harbor tour! During the trip, you can really get a sense of how big the Port of Hamburg actually is! Hamburg is often called the Venice of Northern Europe, and for a very special reason! Hamburg’s canals and rivers are crossed by more than 2,500 bridges, which is actually more bridges than in Venice and Amsterdam combined!
2. Speicherstadt
Speicherstadt is the largest warehouse district in the world, covering an area of 260,000 square meters. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is absolutely charming with old red brick buildings, tranquil canals, iron bridges, and small idyllic streets. The warehouse district was built between 1883 and 1927 and was originally a duty-free area. The main transport route at the warehouses was through the canals, from where goods were transported directly from the ships and into the warehouses.
In fact, several of the old buildings in Speicherstadt are still used as warehouses today, but cafes, restaurants, and museums also opened in the buildings. Speicherstadt is also the place where you’ll find Miniatur Wunderland and Hamburg Dungeon, two very popular sights in Hamburg!
3. Hamburger Kunsthalle
Hamburger Kunsthalle is an art museum located in the center of Hamburg and consists of three buildings, each with its own architectural style. This art museum has an impressive exhibition that is believed to be among the most impressive in all of Europe!
The exhibition includes works of art made by great artists such as Rembrandt, Picasso, Monet, and many others! The Hamburger Kunsthalle is without a doubt a must see in Hamburg, especially if you’re interested in art from many different time periods.
4. Miniatur Wunderland
Miniature Wunderland is located in an old warehouse in Speicherstadt and is truly one of the most popular sights in Hamburg! Miniature Wunderland is the world’s largest model railway exhibition and covers a huge area on several floors with miniature versions of famous buildings, cities, and landscapes from large parts of the world. Miniature Wunderland is the perfect experience for children in Hamburg, but most adults will also be very impressed!
When you’re visiting the Miniature Wunderland, you can experience how trains, cars, boats, and planes move around the landscape using a huge computer. You can also activate several of the models and traffic lights yourself. Almost when it cannot get more impressive, the lighting in the Miniature Wunderland even changes every 15 minutes between day and night! It’s just so impressive that it might be the absolute very best thing to do in Hamburg!
5. KZ-Gedenkstätte Neuengamme
Located about 9 miles (15 kilometers) southeast of Hamburg, the Neuengamme Concentration Camp is today a museum and memorial. The concentration camp was established in 1938 as a sub-camp for the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Berlin.
In 1940, Neuengamme became an independent concentration camp and developed into a large camp with about 86 smaller labor camps. From 1938 to 1945, about 100,000 prisoners came through Neuengamme Concentration Camp, of which about 55,000 of them died from the inhuman conditions of abuse, hunger, and incurable disease.
Neuengamme was not the largest concentration camp in Europe, but is definitely worth a visit anyway! A frightening story awaits at the site with terrible events, but we must learn about the horrors of the past.
6. Hamburger Rathaus
Hamburg City Hall is one of the largest landmarks in the city and is also the seat of the parliament and government of Hamburg. The magnificent sandstone building was erected from 1886 to 1897 and miraculously survived the bombings of World War II. The lavish facade of the town hall is very beautiful and symbolizes the grandeur of Hamburg and the unification of the German Empire in 1871.
Hamburg City Hall is open to the public, and the decoration inside is at least as beautiful as the outside! Inside, you can explore some of the many exhibits or join a guided tour and learn more about the history of the Hamburger Rathaus. You can choose from several different tours in the large town hall with 647 exclusive rooms!
7. Mönckebergstrasse
Mönckebergstrasse is the largest shopping street in Hamburg and is centrally located close to the main railway station and the town hall. On this shopping street, you’ll find an impressive selection of international chain stores such as Zara and H&M, department stores such as Karstadt and Kaufhof as well as the Europa Passage shopping center. There are also plenty of good restaurants and cafés on Mönckebergstrasse.
8. Chocoversum
Every year, tons of cocoa and chocolate are transported through the port of Hamburg, which has made Hamburg the chocolate capital of Germany. If you’re a true chocolate lover, it’s, of course, obvious to visit Chocoversum, Hamburg’s chocolate museum.
When you’re visiting the museum, you can join a 90-minute guided tour and learn about how chocolate is produced. During the guided tour, you’ll get a unique insight into the whole process from picking the coffee beans from the cocoa tree to standing with the finished product in your hands.
One of the best things about the trip is that there are tastings along the way at every single production stage! Mmh it’s so delicious, I’m just saying! And at the end of the tour, you’re even allowed to make your very own chocolate bar! It can hardly get any better then!
9. Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg
The International Maritime Museum in Hamburg is located in the oldest warehouse in Speicherstadt and houses a huge exhibition! Here you can learn about more than 3,000 years of maritime history from Hamburg, but also the rest of the world.
The exhibition is spread over 9 floors with more than 40,000 objects and more than a million photographs. The exhibited objects include a collection of model ships, building plans, letters, uniforms, maritime art, and a 3,000-year-old canoe, which has been found right here in the Port of Hamburg!
10. Mahnmal St. Nikolai
St. Nikolai Church was once a beautiful and magnificent church that was part of the five main churches in Hamburg. The church was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876, but today it’s just the second tallest building in Hamburg after the television tower.
During World War II, the Allies bombed large parts of Hamburg, and the church with the tall tower was the perfect target. The only thing left after the war were the remains of the church tower and the crypt, which today remain as a memorial to the terrible devastation of the war.
In the crypt, there’s an exciting and touching exhibition about the bombings of the church and Hamburg during World War II. Today, the church tower remains as a shell with a glass elevator that takes you up to a viewing platform at a height of 247 feet (75 meters). There’s an impressive view of Hamburg city center and the harbor from here!
11. Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn is located in St. Pauli and is a wild party street. Restaurants, discos, bars, and nightclubs are located side by side in Hamburg’s most famous and wild party street. This is without a doubt where you should go if you want a fun and wild evening in Hamburg!
The Reeperbahn is also notorious for being Hamburg’s Red Light District with widespread prostitution taking place, especially in Herbertstrasse. The brothel street runs parallel to the Reeperbahn and is filled with strip clubs, sex shops, and brothels with prostitutes in the windows. The Reeperbahn is not a place for delicate souls, even though the street is not near as bad as before.
12. Dialog im Dunkeln
Dialog im Dunkeln is a popular exhibition in Dialogue House, a very special museum in Hamburg. The museum has three different exhibitions, of which Dialog im Dunkeln is by far the most popular. There’s guaranteed to be nothing to see, yet there is an incredible amount to discover. And yes, I know it sounds weird!
Small groups are led around in completely darkened rooms while they’re accompanied by a blind or partially sighted person. The blind or partially sighted person helps the group through everyday situations such as crossing a busy street, visiting a market, or having dinner with friends. It’s a whole new world where influences such as smells, sounds, temperatures, and touches suddenly play a much bigger role.
It’s both a fascinating and strange experience when the sighted becomes blind and the blind becomes sighted. On selected days, it’s also possible to try to eat dinner in complete darkness. Although Dialog im Dunkeln is not known by many tourists, it’s still one of the best things to do in Hamburg!
13. Planten un Blomen
If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city, you can visit Planten un Blomen, a large city park in the heart of Hamburg. Inside the park, you can visit a botanical garden, a rose garden with more than 300 different roses, a pharmacy garden with medicinal plants, and the largest Japanese garden in all of Europe! You can also just choose to relax on the large lawns or visit the playground.
In the summer months, you can experience a fountain show with lights and music (Wasserlichtkonzerte). The show is usually in the evening, but the fountain itself can of course also be seen in the daytime just without lights and music. During the winter months, one of the park’s lakes is transformed into an ice rink, where you can rent skates and enjoy a fun winter activity in Hamburg!
14. Hamburger Fischmarkt
Hamburg’s fish market is only open on Sundays from 05.00 – 09.00 AM but is definitely worth getting up early for. The traditional fish market has existed since 1703 and attracts thousands of visitors every Sunday! The market sells everything from fresh seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts, tea, flowers, and even clothes.
Do not forget to enjoy the atmosphere of the traditional fish market, buy a cup of coffee or a fish sandwich and feel the hectic and at the same time fantastic atmosphere. Also, do not forget to visit the Altonaer Fischauktionshalle, an old and historic auction hall for fishmongers.
15. Alter Elbtunnel
The old Elbe tunnel was completed in 1911 and is a historical sight in Hamburg! The tunnel is 1,398 feet (426 meters) long and connects the center of Hamburg with the large port area on the south side of the river Elbe. The two tunnel pipes once made it easier for port workers to get to work. Since then, however, many other tunnels and bridges have been built, taking over most of the traffic across the Elbe.
Today, the beautiful and historic tunnel is one of the best things to do in Hamburg. It can be explored completely free of charge on foot and by bicycle, while you can visit the tunnel by car at selected times of the day for a fee.
When you’re visiting the Elbe Tunnel, don’t forget to see the four large elevators that lift the cars 80 feet (24 meters) down under the river. Once you have passed the tunnel and stand on the south side of the Elbe, you’ll also be rewarded with a beautiful view of the center of Hamburg!
16. Hauptkirche St. Michaelis
St. Michaelis Church is the largest church in Hamburg and is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Northern Germany! The large organ inside the church is one of the oldest in the world of its kind, and if you come at noon, you can experience an organ concert.
Churches may not be the most exciting, and I honestly don’t think the church is anything special, but the high spire of the church is well worth a visit! The 433-foot (132-meter) high copper-clad spire sits high above the city and has been one of the largest landmarks in Hamburg since it was built.
Take the elevator or the many steps up to the viewing platform at a height of 348 feet (106 meters). From here there’s a breathtaking 360-degree view of Hamburg, the harbor, and the many canals! It’s precisely this beautiful view that makes St. Michaelis Church one of the best things to do in Hamburg!
17. Elbphilharmonie
The Elbphilharmonie is located in the modern and new district of HafenCity, which stands in stark contrast to the nearby Speicherstadt with old warehouses. The huge glass building with a corrugated iron roof is located on top of one of the old warehouses and is home to several concert halls and restaurants, a viewing platform, a hotel, and a parking garage.
Since the opening in January 2017, the Elbphilharmonie has become a new and modern landmark in Hamburg – and of course one of the best things to do in Hamburg! If you want to learn more about the history behind the Elbphilharmonie, you can book a guided tour of the impressive building.
You can also buy a ticket for one of the concerts, which takes place in one of the beautiful concert halls with fantastic acoustics. Last but not least, you can also visit the Elbphilharmonie Plaza, a viewing platform at a height of 121 feet (37 meters). The view of Hamburg and the Elbe from here is absolutely unique!
Now we got through the list of the best things to do in Hamburg, Germany. What are your favorite things to do in Hamburg? What are you looking forward to on your trip to Hamburg? Feel free to leave a comment!
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