As Germany’s second-largest city and its biggest port, Hamburg has a lot going for it — and not just its famous frikadelle, a sort of meat patty that is quite clearly a relative of the classic hamburger.
Although it’s largely a city of business — only 5.6 million visitors stayed here for an average of 1.9 nights each in 2012, according to official figures — the port city’s status as a gateway to the world means there’s something for all tastes.
Need to know
Emirates runs a non-stop service to Hamburg, while other carriers offer multiple-leg fares. Luxury lovers would want to check into the lakeside Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszestien, located in the retail and commercial district and home to the two-Michelin-star Haerlin restaurant, while those with shallower pockets might try edgier properties such as the Hotel Village. Whether or not you get to one of the many fine dining restaurants, make sure you stop for a sandwich variously filled with frikadelle, wurst (sausage) or freshly caught herring at one of the riverside cafés.
History buffs
We’d like to start with the most debauched, but you’ll have to read to the end for that. Instead, stay with us as we tell this tale from the very beginning. Known to the ancient Romans as Treva, the city actually gets its name from a ninth-century castle built by Charlemagne. Sadly, there’s nothing left of this structure and its whereabouts are unknown (although the moated Bergedorf Castle makes for a great day out). Hamburg’s status as one of the original Hanseatic or merchant League free ports means there’s a fair bit of its maritime past still on offer, however. For the whistle-stop tour, begin at the 800-year-old harbour, where 13,000 seagoing vessels dock each year at the second-biggest European port. The 1.5-kilometre Speicherstadt or warehouse district offers a glimpse into life in the 19th century, with the era’s lifestyles and working tools on show at the Dockland Museum. Buy some tobacco and spices here or head to a cocoa tasting. From the nearby Landungsbrücken or riverside pier, take the ferry to the BallinStadt emigration museum, a centre of emigration for five million people from 1850 to 1934. It’s a bridge to the past for both Americans in search of their roots and confused denizens of the globalised world.
For something more recent, head over to the U-434, a former Russian spy submarine that provides a fascinating insight into the technology of the Cold War.
Happy families
On a business trip with the little people? Send them to the world’s biggest model railway exhibition. Stretching 6,400 square metres from Scandinavia to the USA, Miniatur Wunderland is both a fun geography lesson and a wonderful way to spend a rainy day indoors! If you’ve got older kids, visit the Hamburg Dungeon instead, where actors and set pieces reconstruct olde worlde horrors such as the the plague and the great fire of 1842. Alternatively, take a day trip to one of the parks outside the city. You can see lynxes, bears, otters and wolves at the Schwarze Berg Wildlife Park (due south), while at the Hansa Park (up north), the world’s highest flying carousel, one of 35 rides, lets you lose your lunch at 70km/h some 70 metres above ground. There’s something for grandma,
too: take her on a boat ride around the Elbe harbour or on the picture-postcard Alster lakes in the city centre.
Manic shoppers
The mystery of Karl Otto Lagerfeldt’s age was put to rest conclusively in Hamburg: city registers show the fashion autocrat was born here exactly 80 years ago. The riverside Villa Jako, where the head designer of the house of Chanel lived long after he’d dropped the t from his surname, is half an hour out of town, but there are plenty of fashion temples in the city itself. Hamburg doesn’t compare to Dubai, but those looking for nosebleed brands such as Prada, Bulgari and yes, Chanel, should find them at Neuer Wall. The Jungfernstieg is a good spot for German-made jewellery and shoes, while high-street brands retail in the many shopping passages. Take a walk on the wild trendy side in the Karolinenviertel and Schanzenviertel, home to local designers. For a truly Hamburg souvenir, stop by Lars Künzel for a custom-made hat or pick up food at the Kaufhaus Hamburg
Thrill seekers
Those unwinding after a hard day’s night will, like the sailors of yore, want to head straight to the St Pauli district, home to the infamous Reeperbahn. The colourful clubs on this mile of sin are destinations in their own right, but pop culture fans will go simply to pay homage to the Beatles, who began their quest for world domination at the Indra music club. Although bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe quit the band in this city, you can take a selfie with statues
of him and his less-famous bandmates at Beatles Platz nearby. For more contemporary music, take in a musical at the Operettenhaus, or visit during the annual Reeperbahn Festival each autumn, when 200 bands play at some 20 bars. As you walk back to the hotel, stop for a street-side doner kebab to complete the Hamburg experience.
