Smart, clean, new.. you didn't really expect anything else of Hamburg Airport did you? It is one of the most modern in Europe and is all geared up for the business travellers of the 21st Century.

It's not actually the biggest airport in the world. There are two terminals and these are linked together by an Airport Plaza, with a reasonable yet not overwhelming number of shops and food outlets.

To eat, once through departures head upstairs where there are two or three options to take away the hunger pangs.

Hamburg Airport is served by numerous airlines from the UK.

Getting into town

In December 2008 Hamburg finally opened a rail link from the airport to the city. Bad news for those who enjoyed the bus ride to the nearest S-Bahn station, but it's infinitely easier and more straightforward than before.

The subway entrances are actually in the terminal - whether you arrive at Terminal 1 or 2, simply exit arrivals, turn left and the S-Bahn is signposted on the right hand side.

Trains leave every ten minutes on the S1 Line and romp along above road level into the Hauptbahnhof (main station) in around 20 minutes.

One important note - on your return journey the S1 trains split in half at Ohlsdorf stop - the front three carriages go to the airport whilst the remainder head off to Poppenbuttel. In case you're unsure there's a two minute stop so there's time to pop your head out of the door and count.

Taxis are available but aren't cheap, expect to be billed the thick end of 50 euros for a relatively short transfer. Along with buses, these are all available immediately outside the terminal buildings.

Hamburg by train

If time allows getting to Hamburg by train is a possibility. It takes between ten and 12 hours from London St Pancras - take the Eurostar to Brussels, then head to Cologne on a high speed Thayls train before switching again for the four hour ride into the heart of Hamburg.

There are three runs there daily, leaving London at 5.53am (7.10am weekends), 9.57am and 1.20pm, with four doing the return leg, the latest leaving Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at 12.46pm.

A sleeper train between Brussels and Hamburg has been abandoned.

Fares for the entire route start at a not unreasonable £112 return - check out the unsurpassable Seat 61 site for more info.

Getting around Hamburg

To those that have made the trail to Germany before you won't be surprised to learn that the words 'public transport' are once again linked to the words 'quick, easy, pretty cheap and efficient'.

There's a mix of underground and overground trains, mixed in with buses which rattle around the city both day and (at weekends) through the night.

Signs on the platforms handily tell you both the final destination and also key stations in between.

Remember that on some platforms trains on more than one line runs through so watch out before dashing on and realising you're on the wrong one. It's very easy to do. Honest.

Services are frequent from around 6am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday, on average a train every five minutes. This stretches to every ten minutes late evening and on Sunday, and to every 20 minutes in the early hours.

Most of the lines run through Hauptbahnhof. The station has facilities at both ends with the platforms below meaning there are actually S-Bahn and U-Bahn stops at either end, named Nord and Sud - however, it's a really quick walk between the two if you need to change.

Bear in mind some stops are actually close together, particularly in the middle so it may not be worth changing lines to go one further stop, instead get off your backside and walk.

Buying tickets

One, three and five day tickets are available which do save a lot of hassle and work out great value, especially if you're in a group. Get one at the airport (from ticket machines or Hamburg Cards from the tourist information centre) and it'll cover you all the way from there and back again.

If you're in a group look out for the  9-Uhr Gruppenkarte - it's great value. These mean up to five people can travel all day after 9am through to 6am the next morning in the Greater Hamburg Area (including the airport and both football grounds) for the grand sum of 8.95 euros - that's less than two euros each. It goes without saying you all have to travel together though.  A single all day ticket is 6.30 euros.

If you're sticking around a little longer and thinking of seeing a bit of the city it's worth shelling out for a Hamburg Card. These can last one, three or five days, covers all travel in the main area, plus gives discounts to attractions here and there.

Group tickets cost 12.50 for a day, 31.50 for three days and 51.40 for five days. Singles are 8.50,  18.90 and 33.90 respectively. These can be bought from normal ticket machines (apart from five day tickets) or tourist info centres, there's one at the airport.

For a full guide, in english, click here for the HVV transport website.

There are no barriers to pass through, but there are ticket conductors and fines are draconian so jumping trains would be ill advised.