Hamburg 6 days 5 nights too much too little?

It’s Miniatur Wunderland not Miniature World, in case you’re trying to look it up and not finding it.

I can only speak to Lübeck, but it is very walkable. From memory, it’s about ten minutes walk from the station to the centre of the old town. It’s a lovely place.

Hamburg is an interesting city. I didn’t love it - it’s sprawling with lots of different parts, and quite gritty in areas, but it is fascinating too. I’m not quite sure what would be considered the city centre.

Loads to do if you’re taking day trips, but try to get a good sense of the geography and layout of Hamburg before you get there.

I think the itinerary looks great. I like Hamburg - multiple visits.

If your interests include museums, there are a number of fine ones in Hamburg - art museums including Kunsthalle and Dichterhalle, decorative and applied art with furniture, design, full room recreations from different periods at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Maritime Museum is huge with many different exhibits, and history museum if it has re-opened from it's renovation. I was disappointed in the Ballinstadt Emigration Museum that RS touts. (but that is me....... Others may be fans.)

Last year, we did a day trip to Bremen easily from Hamburg. Very walkable.

I have not been to Luneberg or Wismar, but have visited Lubeck for multiple days and Scherin for a day trip. Both are very walkable.

I really liked the Hanseatic port city of Wismar when there for a day on a cruise.

Somewhere else on the line between Wismar and Rostock is the Molli Steam Railway- that runs from Bad Doberan.

The Doberaner Münster (the Minster Church) is especially well worth visiting.

Check travel times and transportation options for the Schwerin/Wismar day. I'm seeing trains from Hamburg to Wismar taking 2 hours or more, and that doesn't include the time you'll spend getting from your lodgings in Hamburg to the Hbf. A transfer in Schwerin is required, which works OK with your hope to see both places on one day, but there don't seem to be many trains between Schwerin and Wismar. There's considerably more bus service.

Schwerin isn't a tiny place; I wouldn't want to go there for just a couple of hours. The castle and gardens could take a good bit of time. They're less than a mile from the train station, and the historic center is in between.

Day 2 - is it a sunday? Fish Markt is sunday, early morning!, normaly.

Thank you everyone.

It’s Miniatur Wunderland not Miniature World, in case you’re trying to look it up and not finding it. I can only speak to Lübeck, but it is very walkable.

Thank you for pointing that out!

Last year, we did a day trip to Bremen easily from Hamburg

This is a good idea. Do you think it is worth spending a night here? I'm coming from Hannover so I can come via Bremen.

Check travel times and transportation options for the Schwerin/Wismar day. I'm seeing trains from Hamburg to Wismar taking 2 hours or mor

Initially I was only going to do Schwerin. But I wasn't sure whether I would run out of things to do and noticed that Wismar was only 30 mins away and looked pretty. If i run out of time, I may just skip Wismar altogether. I don't think i have time to make a seperate trip out to Wismar, the travel time takes a big chunk out of the day. But if its on the same day as Schwerin, the frequency of the trains is almost once every hour to Wismar. Can take the bus also as you say but its double the time, if thats the case, I think it makes more sense to just wait for the next train and just spend more time in the town - unless i'm super tired and need to sit down :D. But I'll probably run out of time in Schwerin if you say there is quite a bit to do.

Day 2 - is it a sunday? Fish Markt is sunday, early morning!, normaly.

Thanks for pointing that out, yes, placeholder for a sunday. Hopefully its not overhyped :D, i had to rearrange some stuff on my plan to be in Hamburg on a Sunday.

We found a day trip to Bremen sufficient for our interests. If we had had time, I would have liked to do an overnight so we could have taken a side trip to Bremerhaven, but there is never enough time for everything!

I remember from my research that several bloggers thought overnighting in Bremen was worth their time. I weighed that against time constraints and the rest of our itinerary. I suspect you can't go wrong.

Last year I stayed overnight in Bremen. Thought it would be a good idea. I felt boaring. A small Oldtown. Short Riverwalk with a choice of Restaurants. SchuppenEins (OldtimerMuseum) was the best time in my opinion in Bremen.
I would plan more time for Hamburg. Do you like tea? In Hamburg is a great place to celebrate the british afternoon tea. The small restaurant Name is „Eaton Place“. I think a reservation is necessary.
An evening with Jazz in the Cotton Club or an evening to visit a Musical Show.
Maybe the „Hamburg Dom“ is running? (It‘s a funfair)
The new Bunker Hotel.

Bremen, Lübeck, Lüneburg, Schwerin are all easy day trips. All are very walkable from the train station. We did Wismar by car with our dogs, so I can't speak to accessibility re: public transport. Other good day trips include Helgoland, Glückstadt, St. Peter-Ording (probably easier with a car). Time of year makes a difference as to which you might choose. Some are fuller days than others.

The city is friggin' amazing. There is no true center, as someone mentioned, but the Jungfernstieg / Alster-Rathaus-Trostbrücke-Nikolai-Deichstraße-Speicherstadt / Elphi-Landungsbrücken walk will keep you busy and is basically one cool site after another. The Portuguese quarter up to the Michel, the Krameramtstuben, Groß Neumarkt, the composers quarter, the Wallanlagen to St. Pauli and the Reeperbahn, Schulterblatt to Rote Flora is another walk for the more adventurous traveler--gritty in places, but still full of history, architecture, and modern trivia.

The Gängeviertel is probably less worth your time as it's quite small and there isn't a ton to see. A ferry ride, however, is a must. Especially out to Finkenwerder and back.

The Treppenviertel in Blankenese leads you down to the beach and the shipwrecks (low tide only) and is very pretty. The Boberger Sand Dunes offer great nature. South of the river you have places like Jork and Stade that are gorgeous. The Fischmarkt in summer (only on Sundays) is best enjoyed at 5am!

As regards accessibility of Wismar, the railway station was only about 15 minutes walk from the cruise terminal.
It was less than I had expected, but would have to look up my voyage log for the exact timings.
When I came back from my day out from Wismar by train I went back to the ship via the City Centre which was 10 minutes or less walking from the station.
The bus terminal is across the road from the railway station.

I’ve not been there but Ratzeburg looks interesting

Thanks everyone for all those suggestions.

Wismar does look pretty. Do you think I will be able to do Schwerin and Wismar on the same day?

Especially out to Finkenwerder and back.

Thanks for the tip. What is there to see in Finkenwerder? Is this journey included in the D-ticket?

Side note, has anyone done the Madurodam in Netherlands? Is it still worth doing if I'm going to do Miniatur Wunderland?

If you did Wismar first- on the D ticket the 0821 arrive 1037, then hourly trains back to Schwerin. On a D ticket you can't use the 0739 train as far as Schwerin as that is an IC service.
Then Schwerin in the afternoon, is how I would configure the day.
Finkinwerder is on a Hamburg City Ticket as that is U bahn or S bahn trains then a city bus; or a city HADAG ferry lines 64 or 68 from memory. I would do that one way by bus/train, the other by ferry. It is on my Hamburg list to do that way.
The city ticket includes all modes of transportation.

If you did Wismar first- on the D ticket the 0821 arrive 1037, then hourly trains back to Schwerin. On a D ticket you can't use the 0739 train as far as Schwerin as that is an IC service.
Then Schwerin in the afternoon, is how I would configure the day.

Thats very logical! thank you. It makes it easy to get back to Hamburg via Schwerin also as the trains are more frequent than if i was to wait for the one from wismar.

Which of the following (Lubeck, Luneburg, Schwerin/Wismar ) is the least touristy. I'll like to do the least touristy on the one day i have on a weekend to minimise crowds- and are there any that doesn't open on a Monday (like in Bamberg)?

Walking from the train station to the Zentrum / Altstadt is ca. 10 mins or less...very straight forward.

Yes, Lüneburg can take up a whole day, it all depends if you want to see, the famous history museum if you explore it at length will take up the afternoon if not more.

Lüneburg is one town not plastered by the war, the British got to it after Hitler was already dead. I would suggest Lauenburg an der Elbe.

Should you have any time left at all (plus energy) , take the bus to a nearby place from Schwerin, ie to the town of Ludwigslust to see Schloss Ludwigslust.

The former region of Mecklenburg-Schwerin had some acutely interesting Schloesser/chateaux.

The ferries are all included in your HVV ticket (and thus your Deutschland Ticket). I recommend the Finkenwerder (I think it's 66?) because it gives you a good view of the city from the water without the overpriced and mostly in German harbour tours. If you do go for a harbour tour, the Maritime Circle Line is the only way to go. But no, I wouldn't take the bus and train back from Finkenwerder. Just stay on the ferry and go back. Not only faster, but there isn't that much to see on the bus / train, and standing on a ferry deck with the wind in your hair is a much better way to travel.

Lübeck is the most touristy of the three.

Honestly, I would pick Glückstadt over Lüneburg if only because it is different and not at all touristy (unless you come during Matjeswochen in June, when it is packed!). The waterfront looks like Copenhagen's Nyhavn, and the town is a polygonal radial town (streets radiating off the central square) with a church dating back over 400 years, a small palace, dikes with sheep, and more. But I am particularly in love with it, so maybe that's my bias talking.

No matter what you will have a great time.

The Finkenwerder ferry line is Route 62- every 15 minutes (30 in the evenings and early morning). It runs from 4am to 10am and takes 28 minutes from Landungsbrucken. There are extra peak hour sailings on Line 66 with fewer stops, so a few minutes faster.
Route 62 also stops at Altona/Fischmarkrt where it stops adjacent to the Cruise Terminal. That is the stop I have normally used when arriving on cruise.
The bigger ships use a different berth on the other side of the river. Altona is for mid size cruise ships, having been a ferry terminal to England until 20 years ago.
Other of the ferry lines take you to piers in the freight docks, so I have never personally seen the need to do a harbour cruise, but everyone to their own.

Of the 4 which is least touristy, relatively? I'll comment only on Lübeck and Lüneburg since I have been to Wismar and the short time I spent in Schwerin a decade ago was way too short and I was not at all interested in seeing its touristy aspect, if there was one.

Given the choice between Lüneburg and Lübeck, I would say that with fewer tourists is Lüneburg. I was there this summer, the 1st time since the pandemic.

Overwhelmingly, if not exclusively, the tourists flock to the Altstadt, the main drag, Am Sande and also seeing one of the most famous and oldest Protestant cathedrals in North Germany, the Johanniskirche, and they are German tourists all over.

Lüneburg as a small town is off the international tourist radar as well as that of North Americans, was like that in 1971 when I saw it, spending 2 days there, in July and it's still like that.

Okay thank you everyone. Good suggestions.

It runs from 4am to 10am and takes 28 minutes from Landungsbrucken.

You mean 10pm right?

Should you have any time left at all (plus energy) , take the bus to a nearby place from Schwerin, ie to the town of Ludwigslust to see Schloss Ludwigslust.

I doubt i will have any time left especially if I'm doing Wismar with Schwerin. This is at least another hour away from schwerin. But I'll keep it in my notes in case i can fit it in :D. Thanks

Yes I meant 10pm