Hamburg’s top attractions for 2025

You can spot this magnificent modernist masterpiece from miles around. Even if you don’t get much further than staring at the glass waves and red brick plinths of the outside of the Elbphilharmonie, you’ll come away feeling like you’ve seen something truly special. If you do manage to venture inside, you’ll find some of Hamburg’s most exciting cultural and entertainment events. There are three concert halls in the Elbphilharmonie, as well as several restaurants, bars and even a hotel. Our tip? Try and get up to the Plaza viewing platform. There are very few better views of the harbour, Elbe and the Hamburg skyline.

Depending on how late last night was, or whether you went to bed at all, an early morning visit to the Sunday Fischmarkt is a legendary Hamburg experience. It’s been doing brisk, fishy business since 1703, with raucous criers promising all the bargains and bawdy banter you could wish for. Of course, there’s fish in abundance – smoked, fresh, pickled – alongside plenty of flowers, fruit, vegetables, second-hand fare and even livestock. For the unwearied Reeperbahn reveller, the neighbouring Fischauktionshalle promises to keep the party flowing with beer and live rock bands. For those looking for a more restorative breakfast, there are plenty of nearby cafés. The Fischmarkt is open from 5am in summer, 7am in winter, and closes at 9.30am throughout the year.

Hamburg is a harbour city, and has all the nightlife provisions to prove it. The Reeperbahn is its most renowned party–and prostitution–thoroughfare, where motley hordes of punks, pimps, bachelorette parties and posh law students looking to let their hair down roam along the fluorescent strip of fast food chains, late night pharmacies, sex shops and sweat-steamed clubs where everyone’s woozily dancing to Stevie Wonder. This is Hamburg in rough, ready and garish glory – and a must-see for a complete impression of the city. True kneipe classics in the area include Alt Hamburger and Zum Silbersack, while the Beatles famously played in various clubs along the Große Freiheit.

🤫 Insider tip: You’d do well to keep an eye on your valuables, but the vibe is far more upfront than uneasy seedy, with more people leering towards you for a drunken sing-along than anything malicious. 

Ready to get stuck into Hamburg’s history? You may as well get a little spooky. This spooky dungeon delves into some of Hamburg’s darkest events from history, including the Great Fire and the Plague. Actors here will take you on a frightening journey spanning over 600 years, where you might encounter ghosts, gouls and pirates (don’t worry, most of them are pretty friendly). 

🤫 Insider tip: It’s worth checking if there’s a seasonal special show on when you visit – the last showing, the ‘Charlatan Doctor,’ delved into a fake healing ‘doctor’ from the 17th century. 

The remarkable red-brick Speicherstadt is the largest warehouse district in the world. Built between 1883 and 1927, it spans some 26 hectares in a grid of canals, bridges and multi-story buildings providing both land and water access. Tons of coffee, tea, cocoa, tobacco, spices and textiles all passed along these channels, and though today the Speicherstadt is less bustling hub of global trade than UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s still infinitely evocative of Hamburg’s trading repute—and of a time when far-flung fabrics and flavors were still a thing of luxurious thrill. The area’s architecture does a whole lot more than portside pragmatism, with a stylish run of Neo-Gothic gables, towers, alcoves and glazed terracotta elements, all particularly atmospheric when illuminated at night.

It’s true what they say: sometimes, there’s no better way to see this brilliant port city than how it should be enjoyed – by boat. Some of the boat trips offered in this city have brilliant tour guides to tell you about its history, some are food-focused and some do a few hours in the evening to see Hamburg lit up at night. Whatever your vibe, there is pretty much a boat trip for you here. Cheese people: want to combine your greatest passions? Try the wine and cheese cruise out for size – there’s three glasses of local wine included in the ticket. 

🤫 Insider tip: For a boat trip without the tourist commentary (and often cheaper), Hamburg’s regular public ferry 62 is a good option. A round trip will start and end at Landungsbrücken, and takes in stops including Altona, the Fischmarkt, Fischereihafen and more.

The handsome sandstone marvel that is Hamburg’s Town Hall has been the centrepiece of Altstadt since 1897. Dominating its surroundings thanks to its towering spire and vast platz, the Rathaus is a functioning government building and houses the city’s government. It also contains heaps of history in its exhibitions – members of the public can visit daily, either through guided tours or on their own.

There’s a distinct English country flair to Jenischpark, with its rolling green acres, woodland paths and stately Jenisch House. The oldest landscaped park in Hamburg, it’s a particularly popular spot for summer picnics, but a beautiful place throughout the year, not least of all at autumn or winter twilight, when the sturdy oak trees turn to silhouettes against the fading sun. Originally the country seat of a wealthy Hamburg merchant, Jenisch House is now a museum specializing in Northern German art and culture, especially of the 19th century, with a ground floor of original Empire and Biedermeier furnishings. For those more inclined towards the 20th century, the low-rise Ernst Barlach Museum down the slope is a serene modernist enclave showcasing the work of sculptor Ernst Barlach, best known for his expressionist, anti-war works. The museum café, with ground to ceiling windows looking out onto the park, is a lovely spot for a reflective coffee.

The Kunsthalle is one of the most important museums in Germany, with astonishing holdings through 700 years of European art history. There are star turns from the Elders Cranach and Holbein, Baroque big-hitters Tiepolo and Canaletto, and a lustrous line-up of Dutch Golden Age artists such as Rembrandt, Pieter de Hooch, and Anthony van Dyck. The 19th-century French and German collection is also particularly strong, featuring Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Éduouard Manet, modernist pioneer Max Liebermann, and Caspar David Friedrich in all his Wanderer above the Sea of Fog glory. The Kunsthalle’s contemporary gallery features leading examples of Pop art, Arte povera, minimalism and conceptualism, as well as specially commissioned pieces, such as Jenny Holzer’s LED Ceiling Snake, a ticker-tape of characteristic truisms between the Kunsthalle’s old building and new wing. Alongside the permanent collection, the Kunsthalle’s exhibition program is excellent, with thematic as well as period- and artist-specific shows, and a strong run in exhibitions of women artists to offset all those Old Masters.

The traditional beating heart of Hamburg counter-culture and center of the much-publicized violent protests during the G20 summit, the neighbourhood of Schanzenviertel holds on hard to its alternative credentials. In reality, the neighbourhood is more characterised by third-wave coffee shops and vintage lamp stores than hubs of anarchic dissent. Only the run-down Rote Flora, a former neighbourhood theatre (now long-contested squat and cultural space), remains a real center of activism and protest. Nevertheless, Schanzenviertel remains a lively and charismatic district, with a thriving bar scene, several good and reasonably priced eateries, and many independent retailers, as well as the Saturday Flohschanze flea market.