Facts | Shopping | Places of interest | Eating Out | Bars/Nightclubs
Postcard From Hamburg

co-written by Markus Heyme (Germany Based) & Silke Blohm (Dubai Based)

Hamburg: It is the second largest city in Germany and one of the 16 federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany. With 755 square kilometers, the city area is seven times bigger than Paris and two and a half times bigger than London. With 30 square meters of living space per person, Hamburg has the biggest average living space of all major cities in the world. As much as 14% of the city area is made up of green spaces and recreational areas. Hamburg has 2,302 bridges - more than Venice and Amsterdam combined.

 

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The inhabitants of Hamburg believe their city is one of the most beautiful in the world. Whether this is true, is for you to discover. One of it's main features is having a lake right in the heart of the city which is only a short distance from the Opera, the Kunsthalle Art Museum, the City Hall and the Stock Exchange.

Running in the botanic garden is really nice, in during the Winter period you can go ice-skating there. Every two weeks on Tue night there is a “Tuesday Late Skate” around the “Binnenalster” river. Tennis can be played on the courts of “Rotherbaum”.

 

Events held every year in Hamburg:

Sporting Events:
Hamburg Marathon, open to the public: April
Tennis Masters Series Am Rothenbaum [21]: May
Dragon boat race, open to the public: August
Cyclassics - UCI-ProTour bike race, open to the public: August
Hamburg City Man Triathlon [25] - triathlon, open to the public: August
American Football - A part of NFL Europe, the Sea Devils are based in Hamburg. They play 10 games against 4 other teams in Germany and one in Holland between April and June, to contend for a place in the World Bowl. The team used to be the Scottish Claymores up until 2004.

Film festivals:
Filmfest Hamburg: September
Fantasy Filmfest: April
Kurzfilmfestival - International Short Film Festival: June
Lateinamerika-Filmtage - Latin-America Days: December
Spanische Filmtage - Spanish Days: July
Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Hamburg: October

Arts & Exhibitions
International Fireworks Festival: August
Kirschblütenfest - Grand fireworks and Japanese culture: May
Lange Nacht der Museen - one ticket, 40 of Hamburg's museums open until midnight: May
Theme nights (jungle, romantic, Asian) at Hagenbeck's zoo: Saturdays in summer

Music
Fleetinselfest - Music and international artists open air: July
Schlagermove - German 1960's / 1970's music parade: July
Reeperbahn Festival - huge Indoor Musicfestival in many Clubs of the Red-Light-District in St.Pauli, mostly Rock, Alternative and Indie-music: September

Fun / Street Festivals
Christopher Street Day
(Gay Pride Parade): Every June
Hamburger Dom - considered the largest funfair in northern Germany: three times a year
Hafengeburtstag - Hamburg's harbour birthday: May
Motorradgottesdienst - Biker's divine service in Hamburg's largest church St. Michaelis: June
Xmas fairs across the city Dec-New Year

 

 

Shopping to your heart’s desire. Hamburg offers everything from toys and fashion, jewelry and gifts, culture and high-tech articles, books and pharmaceuticals.

 

The Europa Passage will be especially attractive to followers of fashion. More than 30 fashion stores – names like Sasch and Zero, Street One and Levi’s speak for themselves–make the arcade into the longest catwalk in Hamburg. And if you feel so inclined, you can try out the latest look immediately and stroll through the city. More

Fresh Nails Poststrasse 36 (above Agatha) phone: (040) 3410 6981,
Extra-class nail salon that offers manicure, pedicure, spa treatment and exclusive beauty products. Nice ambiance and excellent service.
Owner Nasi Bostak offers 10% airline discount. www.freshnails.de.

Priorität Living Hoheluftchaussee 39 (Metrobus #5, U-Bahn Hoheluftbrücke)
phone: (040) 4293 8797, www.prioritaetliving.com, 10% airline discount.

Pronta Moda Colonnaden 47, phone: (040) 358 9205,
Offers cheap shoes and a 10% airline discount.

Tragbar Gertigstrasse 11 (Winterhude), phone: (040) 270 2558,
Second hand shop,store hrs Mon to Fri from 11am to 7pm and Sat until 3pm. Fancy boutique that offers new and used stuff. Modern and trendy!

Kaffee Kontor & Confiserie Waitzstraße, Waitzstrasse 29a, (Othmarschen),
A little shopping street with a nice “hanseatic” (typical Hamburg) flair. Various boutiques and coffee shops, nice to just stroll around! Airline Discount 10-15%.

Ola Olu, coffee & shop, between Schanze and St. Pauli. It’s a little shop that offers self-made little unicums and extraordinary things from all over the world. The shop is run by a Lufthansa airline crew and she offers 10% airline discount.

 

Mönckebergstraße

At the end of Spitalerstraße you'll find Hamburgs biggest shopping mile: the Mönckebergstraße. It is called the "Mö". The "Mö" is an urban symbol of mercantile pride. The boulevard of shopping dreams impresses Hamburg visitors due to its variety of goods – for the young and the young at heart, for everyone's taste and budget. At the beginning of Mönckebergstraße Sport Karstadt, Europe’s largest sports store lures you to shop – there even is an ice rink on the roof. If you're more into music and electronics, cross over the Mö and look inside Saturn, the world’s largest electronics store. It offers household apparatus, as well as a huge array of computers, music equipment and a huge selection of videos, DVDs, computer games and PC software.

For the girls Europe’s largest house of shoes, Görtz.

 

Want to see all of Hamburg sites on your next layover? Then be a tourist and jump on one of the red double decker buses.

STADT RUNDFAHRT sightseeing tours.

Jump on and off line 100 near most crew hotels (one day ticket, 28 stops). During your layover take cruise along Eppendorf, visit Reeperbahn or do some shopping in Monckebergstabe. Do it at your own pace. www.hummelbahn.de.

Hamburg Dungeon, historical scary-fun Show in the “alte Speicherstadt” at the harbour. It’s a very funny show with the involvement of the audience. Its open daily from 11am to 7pm and there is a discount with the airline ID or the HamburgCard (HVV); Regular price is 14,50€ and Info can be found under www.hamburgdungeon.com or phone (040) 3005 1512.

Miniature Wonderland, just next to the Hamburg Dungeon. The model railway is the biggest in the world. Its open Mo-Fr 8am to 6pm and on Tue until 9pm! Public holidays and weekends from 9am to 8pm. Entrance fee is 8€

Information about the public transport system in Hamburg can be found under www.hvv.de!

FISCHMARKT
The fish market held every Sunday morning and is a must lists of things to do. The highlight, is the old fish auction building itself (a very impressive structure). The place is packed with people eating and drinking, sometimes a live pop band will playing. There is the odd slightly troublesome drunk about, although the security guards soon get rid of them. It's a good way to finish off a hard Saturday night's partying in Hamburg. Free entrance.

St Pauli - Landungsbrucken
Directions: Just head for the docks from St Pauli, and anyone walking around at 05.30 in the morning will more than likely be heading for the FischMarkt.

Submarine Museum, @ Versmannstrasse 23c
How to get there: go to the main train station and take the red double decker bus to Speicherstadt
opening times: Monday-Sunday 10.00-18.00

Ship cruises across the harbour or on the river Elbe
@ St. Pauli Landungsbruecken
How to get there: take the city railway to Landungsbruecken
www.abicht.de

Sightseeing bus tours @ main train station
Timings: winter every hour, summer every 30 min.

Waxworks Museum (like madame Tussauds in London)
@ Spielbudenplatz 3
How to get there: take the underground to St. Pauli and walk 10 min.
Timings: Monday-Friday 11.00-21.00
Saturday 11.00-24.00
Sunday 10.00-21.00

St. Michaelis Church (symbol for Hamburg like Eiffeltower for Paris)
@ Englische Planke 1a
How to get there: take the city rail to Stadthausbruecke and walk 15 min.
Timings: November-April 10.00-18.00
May-October 09.00-20.00

Zoo 'Hagenbecks Tierpark' @ Lokstedter Grenzstrasse 2
How to get there: take the underground U2 from themain train station to Hagenbecks Tierpark.
Timings: July-August 09.00-19.00
November-February 09.00-16.30
any other month 09.00-18.00

Art Museum @ Glockengiesserwall 5
How to get there: within walking distance from the hotel, out of the hotel turn left and go straight until you passed underneath a bridge. It's the white
building to the left.
Timings: Tuesday-Sunday 10.00-18.00
Thursday 10.00-21.00
Monday closed

Music Hall for classic concerts @ Johannes-Brahms-Platz 1
How to get there: take the underground train U2 from the main train station to Gaensemarkt and walk 10 minutes (take a map for directions)
Timings: not specified, get a playing schedule from the hotel concierge

Opera Hamburgische Staatsoper @ Grosse Theaterstrasse 25
How to get there: take the underground train U2 from the main train station to Gaensemarkt
Timings: not specified, get a playing schedule from the hotel concierge

Harbour and 'Alter Elbtunnel' tunnel with car elevator
@ Landungsbruecken
How to get there: take the underground train U3 or the city train S1 or S3 to Landungsbruecken

 

 

Hofbrauhaus Bavarian Food Good food and large helpings.
Esplanade 6: 10-20mins from most crew hotels.
Friesenkeller Jungfernstieg 7, traditional german

Picasso Rathhausstrasse 21, fish restaurant

Im Elsass Colonnaden 3, french restaurant

Petite Delice Grosse Bleichen 21, international

Il Castello Colonnaden 72, italian restaurant
Matsumi Colonnaden 96, japanese restaurant

Block House Kirchenallee 49-51, steaks

Saliba Neuer Wall 13 (Alsterarkaden), arabian restaurant
Café Paris Café &Bar &Restaurant
Rathausstrasse 4 (behind the “Rathaus” (City Hall), recommended for breakfast, coffee or a nice beer.

 

 

REEPERBAHN/ST.PAULI

Infamous red light district of Hamburg, however lots of good bars and clubs worth a night out. This area is lined with many restaurants, discos and hundreds of bars. There are also many strip clubs, sex shops, brothels, a sex museum and the like. The Operettenhaus, a musical-theatre, is also located at the Reeperbahn. It played Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats for many years and now Mamma Mia!, an ABBA-musical.

How to get there: take the city train S1 or S3 to Reeperbahn Two stops by train from city centre. 15mins by taxi.

Streit´s Lounge Neuer Jungfernstieg 38 inside the Streit´s Movie-Theatre
(close to “Gänsemarkt”), phone: (040) 3499 4866 or www.streits-lounge.de .
Very cosy bar in a very good location. Offering more than 100 different cocktails and coffee specialties.
The owner and Barkeeper Jan and Steffen offer 20% discount. Opens daily from 2pm and from 8.30pm until 10.30 is blue hour and all cocktails are on offer for 5,50€

Ciu´s trendy bar with cocktails and snacks on the same side of the Alster. Ballindamm 15 and opens from 4pm onwards.

After Work Club “Schöne Aussichten” Gorch-Fock-Wall 4,
Thursday its dance night and the entrance fee is 5€.

Sausalitos Mexican restaurant with good food also offers a happy hour daily from 5pm until 8pm (every cocktail 5€).

Milkbar Lounge opposite the Cinemaxx inside the old Pump-house close to the “Dammtor-train station” The best cocktail-bar in town with very interesting people walking in and out. In the simmer have a drink on the terrace and watch the world go by.

Villon – The little Winebar St. Georgs Kirchhof 7 (behind the Atlantic Hotel), phone: (040) 24 9293, opens Mon to Sat from 8pm until 2am. Very nice and cosy wine-bar in the basement with great wine and wine related food. It also holds the oldest cabaret stage in Hamburg with a program every Mon (Jazz, Chansons, etc.). 10% discount on beverages and food.

 

Halo - formerly Betty Ford Klinik
A really popular place to chill: The best DJs in the house and dance scene.

Große Freiheit 6 22767 Hamburg Tel. 040 / 87 87 06 80 www.haloclubbing.de

China Lounge

The beats here are a sophisticated synthesis of soul, funk, rare grooves, big beats/bossa nova and electronic sounds.

Nobistor 14, Reeperbahn 22767 Hamburg Tel. 040 / 31 97 66 22 www.china-lounge.de

The Herbertstraße, a short side street of the Davidstraße, has prostitutes behind windows waiting for customers, it is closed off with a large gate and juveniles and female visitors are not allowed in.

In the early 1960s, The Beatles (who had not yet become world-famous) played in several clubs around the Reeperbahn, including the Star-Club, Kaiserkeller.

Location: in the St. Pauli district of the Hamburg; Public Transport: Reeperbahn (S1, S2, S3) St. Pauli (U3) Bus: 36, 37, 112 Take Subway to Reeperbahn.

 

THE SCHANZE DISTRICT between St. Pauli and Eimsbüttel boroughs. Its bars are full of party animals who love having their fun outside the mainstream. If the weather's nice, the night life moves onto the streets, especially on the piazza on Schulterblatt.

 

The Rossi is one of the most famous bars in Hamburg well known for its impressive counter and cushy lounges.

Max-Brauer-Allee 279 22769 Hamburg 040 / 43 25 46 39 www.bar-rossi.net

 

Summer Lounge

An alternating line-up of DJs plays in the summertime to the roofs of Hamburg on Saturday, from 10 p.m. openend. When the weather’s fine, you can chill out with cocktails, long drinks and the like on the roof terrace.

Eimsbüttler Straße 1, 2. Etage 22769 Hamburg