I will be in Hamburg with free days from Wed Aug 4-7. What should I see and where should I go? Just 2 of us. Thought about jumping on a train and heading to Switzerland for the day (hotel reservations already booked and paid for in Hamburg). I've never been to Germany and don't know what to focus on. any help is much appreciated!
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9222 posts
Explore Hamburg! It is gaining a reputation for being a great tourist destination. It is a large lively city with all kinds of events going on, like festivals, or cultural sort of things.
If you feel the need to go someplace else, there is no need to go all the way through Germany to get to Switzerland. This northern part of the country is completely ignored by RS, so check out other guide books or travel forums for information about sites in Hamburg and which near-by towns would be interesting to you.
Two that come to mind would be Lübeck and Quedlinburg. Both of them beautiful towns offering that "typical look" that vistitors to Germany want to see. Quedlinburg is also a historic UNESCO site.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Hamburg is the 2nd largest and probably most beautiful city in Germany (American guide books keep promoting Munich for whatever reason). On a hot day, if you wanted, take a day out to Helgoland island. You'll see all of the Elbe river, the Wadden Sea (UNESCO world heritage) and of course plenty of the North Sea until you get to this (sales tax free) German island which was occupied by the British in WW2 and the houses and little town was destroyed completely. It all got rebuilt and is quite a unique experience. And yes, another most recommended day trip would be to Lübeck. But actually the sights of Hamburg should keep you busy enough for three days.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO, USA
229 posts
I spent two weeks in Hamburg on an exchange when I was in high school. I can't think of anything specifically to tell you to do but definitely explore! I loved it and have never understood why Hamburg is never mentioned in travel guides. I especially loved the downtown area.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
A DAYtrip to Switzerland???? It's about 7-8 hours to get there ...
Because of its harbour Hamburg has had international relationships for centuries. Therefore, this city has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere quite different than other German cities. Definitely worthwhile to check it out. The city of Hamburg has a good website with tourism information in English.
http://english.hamburg.de/tourist-information/
Start a visit at the St. Michel church: you can climb up the tower and get a great overview of the city.
I also enjoyed a trip to Blankenese, a very posh suburb with some neat historical houses overlooking the river Elbe. You can walk back to the city centre along the river. Well, we didn't do it all the way but took one of the harbour boats for the last stretch.
Posted by
OP
Nashville
2 posts
thanks for the info....i didn't realize how far it was to Switzerland.....I'm from Tennessee:)
Posted by
Halifax, N.S.
211 posts
I was in Hamburg for Easter 2008, I was in Europe that year from Jan-June, and it was the coldest weekend of my entire trip and most things were shut down. That being said I still had a fantastic time. We did a hop on hop off tour which gave a great overview of the city, and we also did a canal boat tour which was beautiful. We also went to the red light district for a few drinks (in a non sleezy bar) have fun and enjoy!
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
In addition to Vanessa's post: Hamburg has got more canals and more bridges than Venice, Italy. And for cold and rainy days consider visiting the world's largest... http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
Off hand, I'd recommend:
The tour of the Rathaus. Among the paintings of all the Burghers look for the 1960's era one with his wife. The wife looks like Cruella DeVille and the Burgher looks green (like he may have been dead when he posed). Also note the stairway with the beautiful ceiling, our theory: It was built for defense. When raiders came to rob the place they would gawk at the ceiling, falling down the stairs and breaking their necks - which, of course, saved the city.
A visit to one of the churches connected to Martin Luther.
The boat tour of the harbor is also high on everyone's list.
St. Pauli used to be the red light district (and you thought the St. Pauli girl on the beer label was just a barmaid). Now it's upscale.
There are little (man-made) "beach clubs" where you can hang out on a warm day.
I like Andreas' suggestions and will try them out next time I visit.
There are a lot of places to visit nearby. I loved Schlesswig and Kiel but would agree that Lubeck is a great choice (a medieval Hanseatic city I think).
Posted by
Germany
116 posts
Definitely get a Lonely Planet or other guidebook to inform you on how to check out the Hamburg area. It boggles me why this area is skipped by Steves; I'm convinced RSteves has a private summer home on a Hamburg canal and doesn't want to be recognized or something.
It's a gorgeous and oftentimes very sophisticated and classy German city (aside from the largest red light district, ha). Definitely take a canal tour and the other side trips mentioned above are great as well. We're visiting friends up there in a week and I can't wait!