Hamburg city and football guide

• Hamburg: the city
• Getting there and around
  
• Places to stay, eat and drink
  
• Hamburger SV
  
• FC St Pauli
  

 

Hamburg: the city

 

Hamburg is one big city, its 1.7 million residents putting it only behind Berlin in population. However, where the capital has history, heritage and its fair share of tourist attractions to pull you in, Hamburg's a little harder to define.

Big isn't always beautiful. Fascinating, lively, friendly yes, but Hamburg is not immediately easy on the eye.

It was a major victim of the Second World War - one fire storm swept through the city in 1943 destroying all in its wake, so with a few notable exceptions what you see today is all new.

However, that's not to say that there's nothing to see and nowhere to explore. Get underneath the skin of the city and you'll find a typically german working metropolis with a few surprises along the way.

Perhaps the focal point to help you get your bearings is the Rathaus, the grand town hall which stands proudly on a pedestrian square in the centre of the main shopping and business districts. It is grand in size, with more rooms (647)  than Buckingham Palace - or so I hear - and you can take a tour inside, in english.

 

 

All roads lead here: The Rathaus.

Aside from this the most magnficent buildings in town are the large number of churches, modest sized buildings with tall spires that mingle with the office buildings in the Hamburg skyline. The most eyecatching is St Michaelis Church with the largest clockface in Germany.

Hamburg is of course one of Europe's major ports - despite being someway inland from the coast - so it should come as no surprise that the harbourside is a major focus.

The warehouses once bustled with trading life. However, they have now been given new roles as a selection of museums - some related to maritime past, or others which have absolutely nothing to do with the River Elbe at all.

The miniature railway museum is one of them and is well worth an hour of your time, taking you around the world with stunning displays of Hamburg, Switzerland, the USA and more.

Next door you can check out the Hamburg Dungeon - the London Dungeon but in Hamburg - close by is a spice museum, and also an exhibition on the many people who emigrated from this point to a place in the New World.

One little known fact outside Hamburg is the incredible number of bridges in the city - more than you'll find in Venice or Amsterdam. Or Birmingham.

 

 

Walk on water: One of the many canals in Hamburg.

Water plays a big part in the make up of the city and whilst it was pretty quiet in my visit in February, the Alster Lake is a magnet in the summer, with river cruises the thing to do if you've got your sea legs. If you prefer your info on dry land a healthy selection of sightseeing tours are available, including the famed Hop On, Hop Off brand.

Public transport is naturally impressive, clean and efficient and the mix of metro, S-Bahn (overland trains) and buses ran regularly throughout the day, and even through the night at weekends.

However, the centre of the city is surprisingly compact.

You can walk from the harbour to the Rathaus in 20 minutes - a further ten minutes to the Hauptbahnhof whilst the bright neon lights of the Reeperbahn - the edgy street in St Pauli where the Beatles famously played before they took over the world - are little more than a mile and a half away.

 

Hamburg won't blow you away with its natural beauty but it's a friendly, lively city with enough to keep the visitor occupied for a couple of days.