Hamburg: A Perfect 2 Day Itinerary
Hamburg is a different kind of Germany against the typical image of picture perfect timbered houses and alpine landscapes of the south. Instead, Hamburg is a modern, edgy, and interesting northern city with lots to offer visitors – from its world class museums to unique architecture, located right on the waterfront of the river Elbe as it flows out to the North Sea. To be honest it reminds me more of Manchester than Munich, though it’s perfect for a short weekend break.
I think 2 days is the right amount of time to experience the highlights of the city – so here’s my tried and tested 2 day itinerary for making the most of a visit to Hamburg.
Itinerary Day 1: Hafen City
Day 1 of the itinerary starts in the port area of the city, full of red brick buildings and warehouses with lots of canals winding through it. There are lots of striking bridges throughout the area which give great views of the waterways and buildings. We loved our day exploring them all.
Speicherstadt
Start the day in historic Speicherstadt, taking in some of the beautiful views along the canals surrounded by striking red brick buildings. It’s a perfect area to stroll around and take in the views, though be sure not to miss the view to Wasserschloss from Poggenmuhlenbrucke.
More canal views
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum really exceed my expectations. It is spread over 9 floors and covers everything from early maritime navigation, to famous shipwrecks, submarines, naval roles in warfare, engineering and ocean preservation.
A ship’s engine (L), and a used torpedo (R)
Elbphilharmonie
One of Hamburg’s most famous residents is the wonderful Elbphilharmonie, or Elphi for short. It’s the city’s modern concert hall, opened in 2016 after years of construction topping a staggering 800 million Euros! Today, you can head to the visitor centre and get tickets to enter the concourse for free, or you can take a tour for a fee.
Inside the unique structure
Speicherstadt Museum
Whilst not a highlight of the trip, the Speicherstadt Museum is still worth a quick stop if you’re passing by. It tells a bit more about the history of the port, with a focus on its importing of coffee and tea. The museum will only need about 30 minutes of your time
Speicherstadt Coffee Roastery
One of my favourite unexpected finds in Hamburg was the lovely Speicherstadt Coffee Roastery, a wonderful coffee shop which roasts on site, and has a great shop and Café serving drinks and cakes. The apple strudel was a treat.
In the Roastery
Miniature Wonderland
Miniature Wonderland is one of Germany’s biggest tourist attractions, so advance bookings are essential. It’s absolutely worth it though, whether you’re with kids or a big kid. The miniature world display is spread over 2 floors and shows many countries in miniature, including Germany in depth, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, parts of the USA, Brazil, Peru and lots of other countries.
Germany and Switzerland in miniature
A real highlight for me was the actual functioning airport in miniature. It had a huge arrivals and departures board, and as a plane got to its departure time it was tugged off the stand, then down the runway and took off!! So it would genuinely be an EasyJet plane to London Luton in miniature that took off, as an example! Awesome. The other highlight was a miniature F1 Monaco track, with the cars even racing round it!
Monaco and Rome
Movie Golf
Finish off your day with another bit of fun at Movie Golf, a really cool attraction in the area. The course is 18 holes and is lots of fun to play, with glow in the dark walls showing scenes from Movies – there are over 200 and you have to identify as many as you can as you go round. As always I lost.
Itinerary Day 2: Old Town & St Pauli
City Hall
The City Hall is the focal part of the city, and the building dates back to the 1880s. You can admire it from the inside, go inside the main atrium to take in a bit of the architecture, or book yourself on to a tour to see around it in depth. Most of the tours are in German, so please check timing in advance if you want an English tour.
The festive atrium
Alsterarkaden
Alsterarkaden are a beautiful set of shopping arcades, perfect for a stroll, and offering designer clothes, exclusive jewelry, luxury dining and unexpected Art Nouveau architecture. It’s nice to stroll along the water and enjoy the pretty shop fronts.
Strolling the arcades
Old Town Streets
The Old Town of Hamburg has lots of nice streets to stroll and shops to discover. Some highlights I discovered include:
- Jungfernsteig, a beautiful waterside promenade from which you could take a boat trip.
- Mönckebergstraße, Großer Johannisstrasse and Großer Burstah, all wide shop lined boulevards, perfect for a bit of retail therapy.
- Thalia Hamburg (in Europa Passage shopping centre), the most amazing bookshop I’ve seen in a long while.
- Dr. Götze Land & Karte, an incredible travel and map shop, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. I spent well over an hour in here!!!
Map shop (L), and Thalia’s travel section (R)
Chilehaus
The Chilehaus is a ten-story office building, and is an amazing example of the 1920s Brick Expressionism style of architecture. Designed to resemble a ship in brick, by an architect who had travelled to Chile, it’s quite an impressive site.
St Nikolai Church & Museum
One of the most interesting places to visit in the Old Town is St Nikolai Church and Museum. During WW2, Hamburg was one of the German cities bombed most heavily by the British Airforce. St Nikolai church was all but destroyed, with only its tower surviving. Instead of rebuilding the church, it now sits as a piece of living history with a Museum underground telling the story of the bombings during the war.
You can also take a lift up the tower for lovely views out across Hamburg.
Views of the church
Views from the top of the tower
St. Michaelis Church & Tower
St. Michaelis Church is one of the most picturesque in Hamburg. It’s well worth a visit to see inside, with its stunning white marble interior. You can also pay extra to go up the tower for views out over Hamburg, and to see the crypt.
Wallanlagen Park
Next on the agenda is a stroll through Wallanlagen Park, a lovely green area in the west of the city centre. Sadly on our visit there was a lot of construction work ongoing so we didn’t see it as its best, but it looked like it would be really nice with lots of lakes, flowers and trees lining the pathways. It’s also home to the Hamburg History Museum, which was sadly also under construction at the time of our visit, but is set to re-open in 2025.
St. Pauli & Reeperbahn
On the other side of Wallanlagen is the St. Pauli region of Hamburg, the perfect spot to finish off your visit to the city. St. Pauli is known as the more raucous area of town in that it is home to Hamburg’s red light district, lots of lively bars and plenty of nightclubs – particularly along Reeperbahn, the main thoroughfare of St. Pauli. Even if that’s not your scene, it’s worth a stroll around the area, as we chose to do – and there’s plenty to do beyond the bars.
Along Reeperbahn
Off the main street, theaters like Schmidts Tivoli and Operettenhaus present cabaret shows and musicals. The nearby Karolinenviertel neighborhood is known for its hip local fashion boutiques and trendy cafes, and there are a number of interesting Museums around too, including the St. Pauli Museum, and the St. Pauli Football Club Museum and Stadium. You could even get tickets to a game and get a treat given St. Pauli are in the German Bundesliga.
Where to eat in Hamburg
We thought the food in Hamburg was really delicious and varied. Restaurants we ate at and would highly recommend include:
- Klub Kitchen – healthy salad and nutritious lunch time bowls
- Hobenkook – a food market full of shops, with a sit in restaurant
- Café Paris – for a plush breakfast
- Sala Thai – for tasty Thai food
- Quan Do Hauptbahnhof – amazing Vietnamese
- Authentikka Mitte – the most delicious Indian food we’ve had in a long time
- Mö-Grill Mönckebergstraße – for quick and easy takeaway Currywurst
Delicious food at Authentikka
Tips for visiting Hamburg
- When to visit – Hamburg is a great year round destination, but I recommend Spring our Autumn to make the most of decent weather and smaller crowds.
- Hamburg City Card – If you’re planning to visit the attractions above, I really recommend getting the Hamburg City Card, it’s great value for both attractions and public transport.
- Getting around – Hamburg is very walkable, but also has an extensive U-Bahn (underground) network within the city, and S-Bahn (regional overground) network with other destinations in the region.
- Language – German is the local language, but English is fairly widely spoken in the city. I speak German so I don’t have an experience as an English only speaker but heard plenty of people get by with English.
