When most travelers think of Germany, they immediately think of Berlin, but I think of the beautiful port city of Hamburg further north. With hundreds of canals, huge beautiful parks and the Alster Lake dotted with boats and cafes, the city is a hub of culture, green space and fun.
If you are a model train buff, like my father and husband are, you must go visit Hamburg for the world’s largest and most amazing model train and airport attraction!
We visited in June which was a fabulous time of year: warm, but not terribly hot and most of the European schools are still in session, so not horribly crowded. Make sure to carry Euros on you as while most large restaurants and stores will accept credit card, the majority of the small vendors and eateries along the streets are cash only.
Recommended hotspots to visit while in Hamburg:
Miniatur Wunderland – It really was spectacular: even if you aren’t a huge model railway fan, you will be in awe of this incredible attraction. Spanning over 2 full floors of a warehouse in the Speicherstadt district (historic portion of the city, built in 1883, housing the largest warehouse district in the world with buildings that stand on timber-pile foundations of oak logs) Miniatur Wunderland is not just trains, but a model world fantasy! There is a full working miniature airport, sea port, ski area, tributes to cities all over the world and even a house that both catches on fire and working fire trucks that blaze into action to come put it out. Get your tickets before you arrive in Hamburg. The place is always packed and they only allow a certain number of visitors in at any given time.
I highly recommend you reserve a “back-stage tour”, available in Germany and English on the website. They take you behind the scenes of the enterprise and you get a close up encounter with not only the models and the electronics that control them, but fun jokes the designers included, just for those who take the tour. The cafeteria has a made from scratch pasta station – delicious – and the seats are all from train carriages. They have thought of everything: it is adorable! https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com
Maritime Museum - The Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg is located just a few blocks away from Miniatur Wunderland in the HafenCity quarter of the city. The museum houses an impressive collection of model ships, construction plans, uniforms, and maritime art, amounting to over 40,000 items and more than one million photographs. One of the highlights was the exhibit on pirates; it gave incredible insight into many of their lives and actual brutality of the era verses the romanticized view we often have of them. Definitely worth a day of your trip! More information is available here.
Harbor Cruise – there are several companies that offer harbor cruises, but as we opted for the turbo pass (see below), we took the Original Harbor Cruise. It has an English speaking tour guide once a day (check in the day before to ensure there is plenty of seating). It’s a great way to see the seaport as you tour the container/cruise terminals, Hafencity and the canals of the historic warehouse complex, Speicherstadt.
City Pass – I cannot recommend this enough! This saved us loads on our trip. City Pass, also often called Turbo Pass, is available in many European cities and is generally worth buying. In Hamburg, it gave us unlimited free travel on buses, trains and ferries, while also provided for free entry into most of Hamburg’s attractions (sorry, Miniatur Wunderland is not part of the pass – still worth it!) and my parents loved going on the Hop On, Hop Off Bus (also included). It was a great way to show them the city and get a good feel for the attractions they would want to return to. I calculated the pricing and it saved us around $300 for the family by using City Pass. Make sure to take advantage of all the different locations that are included. Definitely look into purchasing this - WITH public transport. The public transportation in Hamburg was sublime – on time, clean and easy to use. Download the citymapper app with all of the buses and train schedules. To purchase a City Pass/Turbo Pass check out the website.
Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall - It is one of the largest and acoustically most advanced concert halls in the world. Meant to resemble a water wave and made almost entirely of glass on the outside, it is a wonder to behold. There are tours offered at 15 Euros per person (no children under 8 allowed); booking can be done through their website.
There is a public viewing platform that is free of charge with a stunning 360° view of the city and seaport located 37 meters above the ground the junction of the old harbor warehouse and the modern glass structure above. It is open from 09:00 to 24:00 daily, but does require tickets as they restrict the number of guests on the platform. You can get Same-day plaza tickets free of charge from the Elbphilharmonie Visitor Center, from the information counter at the main entrance area of the Elbphilharmonie, subject to availability, or book them in advance online (€2.00 online booking fee per ticket applies.)
Red Light District - Okay, in all honesty, we never made it to the Reeperbahn/Red Light District because we had an 8 month old baby with us and nights out after 7pm are difficult for us at the moment, but oh my goodness, the number of fun looking tours, cabarets, clubs and swanky bars in that area looked like such a blast. I can’t recommend a specific tour, but if you are on a trip without the kids, please go and experience this area. A great resource for this area can be found at the tripsavvy blog with details on all of the hotspots and nightlight.
Hamburg was an absolute delight, largely due to the friendly people who live there. Every bus driver, tour guide, waiter and attraction employee was happy to offer advise and assistance. I would recommend learning a few small phrases in German:
Thank you - Danke
You’re welcome - Bitte
How much? – Wie Viel
Probably the most important phrase I used:
My apologies, I'm American: do you speak English? - Ich entschuldige mich, ich bin Amerikaner: Sprechen Sie Englisch?
We had such a lovely time in Hamburg and I’m certain you will too. Go see the northern jewel of the Elbe River, as I am certain you will not be disappointed.
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