How to Get the Most out of Hamburg, Germany (300 Words)
Hamburg will always be a special place for me since I lived/studied here in 2008. I visited a friend here again recently and some things have changed over the past 8 years but mostly it's the same old city I remember.
Hamburg is a big, busy port city in Northern Germany.
S-bahn/U-bahn local trains included in Eurail or buy daily pass €6.
CITY
FREE Walking Tour | Robin & the Tour Guides (yellow umbrellas) 7 days/week.
I enjoyed Rhonda's Historic City Center tour (11:00 - 2:30) so much that I joined the Harbor/Reeperbahn tour (14:00-16:00) as well!
ALLSTER LAKE
Big body of water between the city and the suburbs. Lots of parks/greenspace on the suburb side; shopping and architecture on the city side.
HARBOR
Take a walk through the underwater Elb tunnel under the harbor.
HVV Ferry (Fähre) cheap ride around the harbor, €2.
Discounted touristic rides on Sundays.
Small St. Pauli park overlooking the Harbor is a great place to watch the sunset.
ST. PAULI / REEPERBAHN
Abundance of street art concentrated in St. Pauli/Reeperbahn area.
FREE Alternative Hamburg Tour Wednesday - Saturday; see lots of street art!
See the Beatles tribute: sculptures + round record-shaped discography on the ground.
Eat at least one Franzbröchen, Hamburg's famous cinnamon pastry.
Have a drink (€4-€14) at Clouds/Heaven's Nest downtown for a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
Reeperbahn at night: Red light district
Lots of clubs/bars around Hans Albers Platz offer live music with no cover.
ART/PHOTOGRAPHY
Deichterhallen
Closed Mondays
Contemporary, Avant Garde Art & Photography
€14 both halls
Tuesdays after 16:00 = €5
Just make sure you check out the current exhibitions online first so you don't get stuck paying to see a bunch of port-a-toilets like I did. -_-