Hamburg travel guides – honest advice for your visit

Guides & tips

Plan your trip like a local

Honest answers to the questions travellers ask us most.

The glass wave of the Elbphilharmonie on its red-brick warehouse base in hazy morning light, with the Elbe and small boats around it

Elbphilharmonie Plaza: do you need a ticket, and is a guided tour worth it?

Elbphilharmonie Plaza tickets are timed and have cost €5 since 5 October 2026. What the guided tours include (and what they skip), how concert tickets work, and the opening hours.

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Shelves at a market stall packed with handmade glazed ceramic bowls in green, blue and terracotta

Hamburg Christmas markets 2026: Rathausmarkt, Santa Pauli and two guided walks

Dates and hours for Hamburg's main Christmas markets in 2026, from the Rathausmarkt to Santa Pauli, plus two guided Christmas market walks in the Old Town compared.

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An actor with red stage-blood marks on his face and shirt pointing at a visitor in a dim set with brick walls, other visitors standing around

Hamburg Dungeon, Chocoversum or a museum ship: which indoor attraction is worth a ticket?

Four indoor attractions in Hamburg compared: the Hamburg Dungeon, the Chocoversum chocolate tour, and the museum ships Cap San Diego and Rickmer Rickmers, with ages, languages and access.

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Three smiling people sitting at a restaurant table, passing plates of food between them

Food tours in Hamburg: Sternschanze, St. Pauli or St. Georg, and the fish market on your own

Hamburg's guided food tours compared: Sternschanze, St. Pauli, St. Georg and a Schanze beer tour, with tastings, languages, group prices, cash and vegetarian notes, plus the Sunday fish market.

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A brightly lit passenger boat on a dark canal between warehouses glowing purple and orange, with a gabled building lit in the background under a cloudy night sky

Hamburg harbour at night: which evening lights cruise is worth booking?

Four evening harbour lights cruises in Hamburg compared: piers, barge or large ship, commentary language, the tide-dependent Speicherstadt and which days they run.

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A passenger barge with people on deck moving along a narrow canal between red-brick warehouses, a small moated castle building and iron bridges ahead under a blue sky

Hamburg harbour cruise: 1, 1.5 or 2 hours, which one should you book?

How the one-hour, 1.5-hour and two-hour harbour cruises in Hamburg differ: boats, piers, commentary language, the tide-dependent Speicherstadt and who each suits.

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Red double-decker sightseeing bus with Stadtrundfahrt and Hop on Hop off lettering stopped beside a bus stop sign under green trees

Hop-on hop-off in Hamburg: Line A, bus plus boat, or the harbour ferry?

Hamburg's hop-on hop-off options compared: Line A with 20 stops, bus plus harbour cruise, the Line F bus and boat combination, the amphibious bus and the public ferry 62.

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A person in a colourful embroidered jacket with pink ruffles and bright make-up, arms spread wide on a ship's deck, with the half-built Elbphilharmonie and cranes behind

Party boat, pub crawl or club night in Hamburg: which one suits you?

Hamburg's party options compared: the Olivia Jones party cruise, the Saturday boat party and three pub crawls. Days, group size, age limits, cash and what to wear.

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A canal between red-brick warehouses seen through an iron railing, low sun glowing over the water and a distant building with a green roof

Speicherstadt and HafenCity: guided walk, canal cruise or on your own?

How to see Hamburg's Speicherstadt and HafenCity: a historical walk, a cruise through the canals or a self-guided stroll. Language, tide and mobility limits for each.

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The lit façade of the St. Pauli-Theater beside the red-brick Davidwache police station with a blue POLIZEI sign at night, two patrol cars parked in front

St. Pauli and the Reeperbahn: guided tour or on your own, and what is 18+?

Which St. Pauli tour to choose: the English-language Sex and Crime tour, the Olivia Jones and night watchman walks, and what the police rules mean if you go alone.

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