One-day Trip to Hamburg: Lakes, Canals and... Hmmm... The Red-lights' District
Hamburg is not only an important European port. It is also one of the three major tourist destinations in Germany, with Berlin and Munich. It has much to offer its visitors, especially water, and that means rivers, lakes, canals, boats, water sports, fascinating marine excursions and lovely landscapes. Water is everywhere in Hamburg, and I could have said it's the "German Venice".
Venice? Such an idea makes the residents of Hamburg laugh. Their beautiful port city has more canals and water than Venice. Amsterdam and London combined! No wonder, therefore, there are masses of tourists coming to town, especially during spring, summer and fall, but in winter as well, to take boat tours, take part in all kinds of water activities, see the city's unique attractions, and enjoy the diverse entertainment it offers.
On one day visit, it's hardly possible to get a satisfactory impression of Hamburg. So it is recommended to spend at least one night there. However, there are travelers who are in a hurry, for some reason, and the following route is hereby dedicated to them. It should be clear that this is a theoretical track. It's doubtful anyone can complete it in one day at a reasonable pace. The idea is to allow you, hikers, to decide what to give up.
What's up at the City Hall
Let's start our trip at the main train station downtown. From there we walk through the commercial streets Spitalerstrasse and Moeneckebergstrasse, doing window-shopping on our way, until we arrive at the big rectangular square, called Rathausmarkt (the City Hall market). It's easily recognized by the huge City Hall building on its edge. Indeed there are here market days several times a year, fairs, and large cultural and social events.
The beautiful inner courtyard of the City Hall is worth a visit, and if we feel like we may take a guided tour (extra charge) in the whole building. Tours in English or French are available once an hour. In summer concerts are held in the courtyard of classical music. The place is lit until midnight, and the visit is free of charge.
The City Hall was built in the late 19th century. It took 11 years to accomplish the construction, which required the inserting of 4000 wedges in the muddy ground to prevent the heavy building of sinking. The length of the building, as well as its height to the top of the tower is 112 meters. Its facade was designed in a Renaissance style, and is richly decorated..
At the lake of Alster
From the City Hall, we continue to lake Alster, which is located in the heart of Hamburg. The lake was split several hundred years ago in two, by the fortifications erected there. At the center of the city wall, an opening was left allowing the water to flow into the nearby river Elbe. The wall no longer exists, but the lake is still divided. The smaller part of the lake, closer to the river, is called the Inner Ulster.
To get to the inner Alster, we simply cross the Town Hall market. The lake is immediately seen to our left. From the grand promenade Jungferstieg (pronounced: yoong-fair-shteek), on the southern shore of the inner Alster, cruises may be taken to both lakes.
During a short rest in one of the cafes along the promenades, we should decide how to get to the port. If we are "in good shape", the best to do is crossing on foot the inner city, through streets Neuer-Wall and Admiralitaet-Strasse,
The Warehouse's City
A faster way is taking line 3 of the subway at the Jungferstieg station, and count three stations. Get down at the Baumwall station and first enjoy the great view to the harbor. On your left, see the historic warehouses' city, the world's largest warehouse complex. Its total storage space is half a million square meters. The elongated red brick buildings, with 7-6 floors, are next to a paved street on one side, and to a water canal on
the other, one of many in Hamburg.
Three times a day a boat leaves the dock at the Jungferstieg promenade through the canal for a tour through warehouses' city.
You may also visit the warehouses' city museum or one of the other museums around, such as the museum of spices, the Hamburg's dungeon or the miniature wonderland. Each of them is considered a great attraction.
The ancient port docks
We should now walk away from downtown toward the Landungsbruecken, the old docks within the port, near the river Elbe. They are easily recognizable by their blue-greenish domes and the tower on their edge. On our way, we enjoy the sight of the port. It would be a good idea to take a further guided cruise, this time inside the port. Such trips start along the way to the Landungsbruecken subway station.
Back to land and renewing our walk, we pass by the huge management's building of "Gruner und Jahr", the largest printing and publishing company in Europe. The ultra-modern structure reminds of a ship. We continue walking, slightly up, along the Neuer Weg street and reach the Church of St. Michaelis, nicknamed "Michel", the symbol of Hamburg.
The St. Michaelis Church
The 433 feet tall St. Michaelis church dominates the skyline of Hamburg along with the television tower and the city Hall Tower. The church is the most important Protestant Baroque structure in Germany. It takes 453 steps to climb up to the observation deck, located 269 feet above the street level. A simpler way is just using the elevator (in either case, climbing the tower will cost you some bucks).
You can visit the special crypt of the church (entrance fee). Classic music fans will probably have an interest in the tomb of the composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1788-1714), son of the more famous Bach, Johann Sebastian. Bach Jr. was born in Leipzig, moved to Hamburg and served there as a music director until his death.
In the Church, there is also a multimedia presentation on the history of Hamburg and its most important churches (panoramic screens, 16 feet wide, extra fee).
Culture institutions in the Red-lights' street
Not far away is Reeperbahn, the red lights' street of Hamburg. The urban train (S-bahn) goes there. Reeperbahn is worth seeing only at night (for those who, nevertheless, decided to stay). The street is part of the St. Pauli neighborhood, often referred to on the headlines in Germany, thanks to its soccer team and its colorful audience. There are of course the usual sex paraphernalia shops, strip clubs, prostitutes. However, in recent years, discos, bars, nightclubs and even theaters and other cultural institutions have been opened here.
One of the attractions is the Panoptikum (the Wax Museum). Although it is not the scale of Madame Tussaud, its display is of interesting and original.
The Panoptikum is the oldest Wax Museum in Germany. It works since 1879, and it's family owned. There are 125 life-size wax figures - some of them German, such as Charlemagne, Luther, Goethe, Schiller and the tennis player Steffi Graf, but many of them are of other nationalities, e.g. Picasso, Princess Diana, Elvis, the Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, Madonna, Michael Jackson.
Finally, if you happen to have a weekend in Hamburg, on Sundays, from 5 AM the Fish Market is waiting for you. The market is located in Altona quarter more to the west of here.
Venice? Such an idea makes the residents of Hamburg laugh. Their beautiful port city has more canals and water than Venice. Amsterdam and London combined! No wonder, therefore, there are masses of tourists coming to town, especially during spring, summer and fall, but in winter as well, to take boat tours, take part in all kinds of water activities, see the city's unique attractions, and enjoy the diverse entertainment it offers.
On one day visit, it's hardly possible to get a satisfactory impression of Hamburg. So it is recommended to spend at least one night there. However, there are travelers who are in a hurry, for some reason, and the following route is hereby dedicated to them. It should be clear that this is a theoretical track. It's doubtful anyone can complete it in one day at a reasonable pace. The idea is to allow you, hikers, to decide what to give up.
What's up at the City Hall
Let's start our trip at the main train station downtown. From there we walk through the commercial streets Spitalerstrasse and Moeneckebergstrasse, doing window-shopping on our way, until we arrive at the big rectangular square, called Rathausmarkt (the City Hall market). It's easily recognized by the huge City Hall building on its edge. Indeed there are here market days several times a year, fairs, and large cultural and social events.
The beautiful inner courtyard of the City Hall is worth a visit, and if we feel like we may take a guided tour (extra charge) in the whole building. Tours in English or French are available once an hour. In summer concerts are held in the courtyard of classical music. The place is lit until midnight, and the visit is free of charge.
The City Hall was built in the late 19th century. It took 11 years to accomplish the construction, which required the inserting of 4000 wedges in the muddy ground to prevent the heavy building of sinking. The length of the building, as well as its height to the top of the tower is 112 meters. Its facade was designed in a Renaissance style, and is richly decorated..
At the lake of Alster
From the City Hall, we continue to lake Alster, which is located in the heart of Hamburg. The lake was split several hundred years ago in two, by the fortifications erected there. At the center of the city wall, an opening was left allowing the water to flow into the nearby river Elbe. The wall no longer exists, but the lake is still divided. The smaller part of the lake, closer to the river, is called the Inner Ulster.
To get to the inner Alster, we simply cross the Town Hall market. The lake is immediately seen to our left. From the grand promenade Jungferstieg (pronounced: yoong-fair-shteek), on the southern shore of the inner Alster, cruises may be taken to both lakes.
During a short rest in one of the cafes along the promenades, we should decide how to get to the port. If we are "in good shape", the best to do is crossing on foot the inner city, through streets Neuer-Wall and Admiralitaet-Strasse,
The Warehouse's City
A faster way is taking line 3 of the subway at the Jungferstieg station, and count three stations. Get down at the Baumwall station and first enjoy the great view to the harbor. On your left, see the historic warehouses' city, the world's largest warehouse complex. Its total storage space is half a million square meters. The elongated red brick buildings, with 7-6 floors, are next to a paved street on one side, and to a water canal on
the other, one of many in Hamburg.
Three times a day a boat leaves the dock at the Jungferstieg promenade through the canal for a tour through warehouses' city.
You may also visit the warehouses' city museum or one of the other museums around, such as the museum of spices, the Hamburg's dungeon or the miniature wonderland. Each of them is considered a great attraction.
The ancient port docks
We should now walk away from downtown toward the Landungsbruecken, the old docks within the port, near the river Elbe. They are easily recognizable by their blue-greenish domes and the tower on their edge. On our way, we enjoy the sight of the port. It would be a good idea to take a further guided cruise, this time inside the port. Such trips start along the way to the Landungsbruecken subway station.
Back to land and renewing our walk, we pass by the huge management's building of "Gruner und Jahr", the largest printing and publishing company in Europe. The ultra-modern structure reminds of a ship. We continue walking, slightly up, along the Neuer Weg street and reach the Church of St. Michaelis, nicknamed "Michel", the symbol of Hamburg.
The St. Michaelis Church
The 433 feet tall St. Michaelis church dominates the skyline of Hamburg along with the television tower and the city Hall Tower. The church is the most important Protestant Baroque structure in Germany. It takes 453 steps to climb up to the observation deck, located 269 feet above the street level. A simpler way is just using the elevator (in either case, climbing the tower will cost you some bucks).
You can visit the special crypt of the church (entrance fee). Classic music fans will probably have an interest in the tomb of the composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1788-1714), son of the more famous Bach, Johann Sebastian. Bach Jr. was born in Leipzig, moved to Hamburg and served there as a music director until his death.
In the Church, there is also a multimedia presentation on the history of Hamburg and its most important churches (panoramic screens, 16 feet wide, extra fee).
Culture institutions in the Red-lights' street
Not far away is Reeperbahn, the red lights' street of Hamburg. The urban train (S-bahn) goes there. Reeperbahn is worth seeing only at night (for those who, nevertheless, decided to stay). The street is part of the St. Pauli neighborhood, often referred to on the headlines in Germany, thanks to its soccer team and its colorful audience. There are of course the usual sex paraphernalia shops, strip clubs, prostitutes. However, in recent years, discos, bars, nightclubs and even theaters and other cultural institutions have been opened here.
One of the attractions is the Panoptikum (the Wax Museum). Although it is not the scale of Madame Tussaud, its display is of interesting and original.
The Panoptikum is the oldest Wax Museum in Germany. It works since 1879, and it's family owned. There are 125 life-size wax figures - some of them German, such as Charlemagne, Luther, Goethe, Schiller and the tennis player Steffi Graf, but many of them are of other nationalities, e.g. Picasso, Princess Diana, Elvis, the Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, Madonna, Michael Jackson.
Finally, if you happen to have a weekend in Hamburg, on Sundays, from 5 AM the Fish Market is waiting for you. The market is located in Altona quarter more to the west of here.
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