28 Best Sights in Hamburg, Germany

The twin lakes of the Binnenalster (Inner Alster) and Aussenalster (Outer Alster) provide Hamburg with some of its most celebrated vistas. The two lakes meet at the Lombard and Kennedy bridges. The boat landing at Jungfernstieg, below the Alsterpavillon, is the starting point for lake and canal cruises. Small sailboats and rowboats, rented from yards on the shores of the Alster, are very much a part of the summer scene.

Every Hamburger dreams of living within sight of the Alster, but only the wealthiest can afford it. Those that can't still have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the waterfront, however, and the outer Alster is ringed by 7 km (4½ miles) of tree-lined public pathways.

Popular among joggers, these paths are also a lovely place for a stroll.

Almost 5 million bricks went into the construction of this marvelous building at the heart of the Kontorhausviertel, a collection of handsome office buildings that were built in the 1920–40s and now, together with the nearby Speicherstadt, form a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built in a brick expressionist style in 1924 for expat Brit Henry Brarens Sloman, who emigrated to Chile from Hamburg as a young man, made a considerable fortune trading saltpeter and returned to the city to make his mark, the Chilehaus stands 10 stories high and its impressive, jutting tip resembles the prow of a ship. Still housing business offices, it also counts a number of small cafés, shops, and a bar as residents, and is well worth a visit, particularly at night when illuminated.

The oldest residential area in the Old Town of Hamburg now consists of lavishly restored houses from the 17th through the 19th century. Many of the original, 14th-century houses on Deichstrasse were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1842, which broke out in No. 38 and left approximately 20,000 people homeless; only a few of the early dwellings escaped its ravages. These days the narrow cobblestone street is flanked by a number of lovely little restaurants specializing in fish or German cuisine, which have taken residence inside its historic buildings.

Hamburg's Historischer Weihnachtsmarkt enjoys a spectacular backdrop—the city's Gothic town hall. The market's stalls are filled with rows of candy apples, chocolates, and doughnuts. Woodcarvers from Tyrol, bakers from Aachen, and gingerbread makers from Nuremberg (Nürnberg) come to sell their wares. And in an appearance arranged by the circus company Roncalli, Santa Claus ho-ho-hos his way along a tightwire high above the market every evening at 4, 6, and 8. The Hamburg Christmas market runs from late November until December 23.

You don’t need to be a model-railroad enthusiast or a 10-year-old to be blown away by the sheer scale and attention to detail of the Miniatur Wunderland. The largest model railroad in the world features almost 17,000 square feet of little trains clickclacking their way through wonderfully faithful miniature replicas of Hamburg itself as well as foreign towns in Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Italy, and Scandinavia; a new South America section was added in 2021. Planes land at a little airport; every 15 minutes, day turns into night and hundreds of thousands of LED lights illuminate the trains, buildings, and streets. Unsurprisingly, it's one of Hamburg's most popular attractions, so it's best to book ahead, particularly on weekends and school holidays, when waiting times for entry can stretch to a couple of hours. If you do have to wait, free drinks and ice cream for children, and videos to watch ease the pain.

To most Hamburgers, this impressive neo-Renaissance building is the symbolic heart of the city. The seat of the city's Senat (state government) and Bürgerschaft (parliament), it was constructed between 1886 and 1897, with 647 rooms and an imposing clock tower. Along with much of the city center, the Rathaus was heavily damaged during World War II but was faithfully restored to its original beauty in the postwar years, and it's now one of the most photographed sights in Hamburg. The 40-minute tours of the building (in English on demand) begin in the ground floor Rathausdiele, a vast pillared hall. Although visitors are shown only the state rooms, their tapestries, glittering chandeliers, coffered ceilings, and grand portraits give you a sense of the city's great wealth in the 19th century and the Town Hall's status as an object of civic pride. Outside, the Rathausmarkt (Town Hall Square) is the site of regular festivals and events, including the annual Stuttgarter Wine Festival and the city's biggest Christmas market.

The hottest nightspots in town are concentrated on and around St. Pauli’s pulsating thoroughfare, the Reeperbahn, and two buzzing side streets called Grosse Freiheit (Great Freedom) and Hamburger Berg. The Grosse Freiheit is also the border between Altona and Hamburg, and its name commemorates the religious freedom that existed in the former but not in the latter. In the early 1960s, the Beatles famously cut their teeth in clubs just off the street, playing 12-hour-long gigs in front of drunken revelers. The Kiez is a part of town that never sleeps and is home to some true nightlife institutions such as the Ritze, famous for its box ring, and the Elbschlosskeller, which opened its doors in 1952 and literally didn't close them until the lockdown in 2021—at which time the owner realized that the lock on the door didn't even work!

At the entrance to Grosse Freiheit stand life-size steel silhouettes commemorating the five original Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best, and Stuart Sutcliffe. In the summer of 1960, they played in the area while seeking fame and fortune. Although the statues are rather ordinary looking during the day, they make for a good photo op when they're lit up at night.

Close to the Rickmer Rickmers at Hamburg's piers sits the handsome 1960s freighter Cap San Diego, nowadays a seaworthy museum and hotel. Before it docked at Hamburg permanently, it regularly sailed between Germany and South America.

This museum and family-research center tells the story of European emigration to the United States and elsewhere. The complex on the Elbe island Veddel, completed in 1901, was built by the HAPAG shipping line for its passengers and named after Alfred Ballin, its then general director. To accommodate visitors for several days or months, BallinStadt featured a hospital, church, music hall, housing, and hotels. For approximately 5 million European emigrants, Hamburg was the "Gateway to the World" between 1850 and 1939. Their experience comes to life with artifacts, interactive displays, detailed reproductions of the buildings (all but one was demolished), as well as firsthand accounts of oppression in Europe, life in the "city," conditions during the 60-day ocean crossing, and life in their new home. The main draw is the research booths, where you can search the complete passenger lists of all ships that left the harbor.  Research assistants are available to help locate and track your ancestors.

A pair of large market halls built in 1911–12, not far from the main train station, now house two of Germany's largest exhibitions of contemporary art and photography—one in each building. The modern, airy interiors of the Hall for Contemporary Art resemble an oversize loft space, and its changing exhibits have presented the works of such artists as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Joan Miró. You may buy tickets for a single hall or both for a surcharge.

Hamburg’s newest landmark (and tallest building) is an impressive merger between the distinctive northern European redbrick architecture and a modern glass facade. The Elbphilharmonie, or Elphi as the locals call it, sits on top of an old warehouse building and its wavelike rooftop, resembling a hoisted sail or quartz crystal can be from seen miles away. The public waited nine years for what is now considered one of the largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world. Inside are two concert halls, a hotel, and residential apartments. In addition, there is a public viewing area (Plaza) that extends around the whole building, offering spectacular 360-degree views of the city and harbor. The plaza is so popular that it requires a timed entry ticket, which is free if booked in person but has a fee if reserved in advance.

A trip to the Altona Fischmarkt is definitely worth getting out of bed early—or staying up all night—for. The Sunday markets hark back to the 18th century, when fishermen sold their catch before church services. Today, freshly caught fish sold to the locals by salty auctioneers from little stalls is only a part of the scene. You can find almost anything here: live parrots and palm trees, armloads of flowers and bananas, valuable antiques, and fourth-hand junk. Those keen to continue partying from the night before can get down to live bands rocking the historic Fischauktionshalle.

In an old 19th-century boiler house, this popular information center documents the HafenCity urban development project. In addition to changing photographic and architectural exhibitions, the center also has an impressive 1:500 scale model of the HafenCity. Free two-hour walking and cycling tours of the HafenCity are also available. Tours in English are offered for groups of 10 people or more and can be booked ahead of time on the center's website.

One of the most important art museums in Germany, the Kunsthalle has 3,500 paintings, 650 sculptures, and a coin and medal collection that includes exhibits from the ancient Roman era. In the postmodern, cube-shaped building designed by Berlin architect O.M. Ungers, the Galerie der Gegenwart has housed a collection of international modern art since 1960, including works by Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Georg Baselitz, and David Hockney. With 1,200 drawings and other works, graphic art is well represented, including works by Pablo Picasso and Horst Janssen, a Hamburg artist famous for his satirical worldview. In the other areas of the museum, you can view works by local artists dating from the 16th century. The outstanding collection of German Romantic paintings includes pieces by Caspar David Friedrich. Paintings by Holbein, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Tiepolo, and Canaletto are also on view, while late-19th-century Impressionism is represented by works by Leibl, Liebermann, Manet, Monet, and Renoir. Reduced admission from 5 pm until 6 pm (Thursdays 9 pm).

Until the 20th century, German beer consumption was a regional thing. A thirsty German would walk in to a pub and say, "Grosses Bier, bitte," and a large beer simply appeared. There was no need to request a certain brand because there was only one or, if you were lucky, two to choose from. In Hamburg's case it was Holsten and Astra, which are still brewed in the city, although both brands are now owned by the Danish brewery giant Carlsberg. To learn more about how these brews are made and how they taste, Holsten brewery offers guided tours of the factory, with a complimentary beer or two at the end.

Hamburg is a city of great beauty but also tragedy. On the southeastern edge of the city, between 104,000 and 106,000 people, including children, were held at Neuengamme concentration camp in its years of operation from December 1938 to May 1945. It was primarily a slave-labor camp, not an area focused on extermination, where bricks and weapons were the main products. Neuengamme held German political prisoners, Europeans pushed into slavery, gays, Roma (gypsies), and Jews. Jewish children were the subjects of cruel medical experiments; others worked with their parents or simply grew up in prison. To keep people in line, there were random acts of violence, including executions, and atrocious living conditions. Officials estimate that as many as 43,000 people died at Neuengamme. A memorial opened on the site in 2005. Where the dormitories, dining hall, and hospital once sat, there are low pens filled with large rocks. The main area has exhibits describing working conditions in an actual factory as well as a museum with interactive displays about the prisoner experience. Firsthand accounts, photographs from prisoners, furniture, clothing, and possessions make the experience even more affecting.

Hamburgers and tourists flock to the city's impressive port—Germany's largest—to marvel at the huge container and cruise ships gliding past, pick up maritime-themed gifts from souvenir stores, and treat themselves to something from the many snack and ice-cream stands. It's best to take a tour to get a complete idea of the massive scale of the place, which is one of the most modern and efficient harbors in the world. Barge tours leave from the main passenger terminal, along with a whole range of ferries and boats heading to other destinations on the Elbe and in the North Sea. There's frequently a breeze here, so it's worth packing something warm, particularly if you're planning on taking an open-top harbor tour.

Burned down during the air raids of World War II, the ruins of the neo-Gothic church serve as a memorial for the victims of war and persecution from 1933 to 1945. The museum features an exhibition on the air raids and the destruction of Hamburg and other European cities. A glass elevator on the outside of the building takes visitors 250 feet up to the steeple, which offers magnificent views of the surrounding historic streets.

This broad street of shops, which cuts through the city's Altstadt, is one of Hamburg’s major thoroughfares. Built between 1908 and 1911 to connect the main train station to the town hall, but only open to taxis and buses, the street is perfect for a stroll. Home to the Karstadt department store, electronics megastore Saturn, mindblowing buildings such as the Levante Passage, as well as a host of global brand stores from Adidas to Zara, it swells with local and out-of-town shoppers on Saturday and public holidays. The best cafés and restaurants tend to be found on side streets off Mönckebergstrasse, where the rents for shop space are generally not as high.

The museum houses a wide range of exhibits, from 15th- to 18th-century scientific instruments to an art nouveau interior complete with ornaments and furnishings. Its founder, Justus Brinckmann, amassed a wealth of unusual objects, including ceramics from around the world.

This majestic 19th-century sailing ship once traveled as far as Cape Town. Now it's permanently docked at Hamburg's piers, where it serves as a museum and site for painting and photography exhibitions.

An excursion to this little museum, inside an original 19th-century warehouse, gives you a sense of the trade that flowed through the Speicherstadt in its heyday. Sacks of coffee and spices, chests of tea, and scales and mills are scattered throughout the museum, and there is information detailing the history and architecture of the district, as well as historical photographs and diagrams.

Hamburg's proud past as Europe's gateway to the world comes to life at the tiny but fascinating Spicy's Gewürzmuseum, where you can smell and touch more than 50 spices. More than 900 objects chronicle five centuries of the once-prosperous spice trade in Hamburg.

This 15th-century church was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Only the interiors survived, and reconstruction was completed in 1963. The interior is not to be missed—it houses such treasures as a massive baroque organ and three Gothic altars from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Founded in 1250 and completed in 1660, this house of worship was severely damaged during World War II, but has since been carefully reconstructed. The interior was once dotted with plaques honoring different people, but only two of the epitaphs remain.

This church was created in 1195 and has been in continuous use since then. St. Petri is the only one of the five main churches in Hamburg that came out of World War II relatively undamaged. The current building was built in 1849, after the previous building burned down in the Great Fire of 1842. Every Wednesday at 5:15 pm is the Stunde der Kirchenmusik, an hour of liturgical organ music.

One of the country's oldest and most popular zoos, the Tierpark Hagenbeck was founded in 1907 and is family owned. It was the world's first zoo to let wild animals such as lions, elephants, chimpanzees, and others roam freely in vast, open-air corrals. The Tropen-Aquarium, on the same property as the zoo, is like a trip around the world. Detailed re-creations of deserts, oceans, rain forests, and jungles are home to sea life, marvelous birds, fish, exotic mammals, insects, and curious reptiles from almost every continent.