5 Best Sights in St. Pauli and Schanzenviertel, Hamburg

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.

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.

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.

The Hamburg bunker, a massive, 190-feet-high World War II-era structure, served as an air-raid shelter and anti-aircraft defense. It withstood Allied bombings and now houses cultural spaces, including music venues and art studios. Since 2024, the green rooftop garden, accessible via the Bergpfad (mountain path) that leads 360 degrees around the enormous building, is open to the public, but unfortunately doesn't offer barrier-free access.