St. Pauli and the Reeperbahn: guided tour or on your own, and what is 18+?
4 min read
The short answer. If you do not speak German, book the Sex and Crime in St. Pauli tour for ages 18+: the listing offers an English or a German guide, it lasts two hours, and it is the most reviewed of all the Hamburg offers we list, at €25 per person, rated 4.7 from 20,036 reviews. Three of the four walks below are adults-only; the exception is the night watchman’s tour.
| Tour | Language | Length | From | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex and Crime in St. Pauli (ages 18+) | German, English | 2 hours | €25 | 4.7 | 20,036 |
| Insider tour of the Reeperbahn and St. Pauli | German | 100 minutes | €24.80 | 4.7 | 6,185 |
| Night watchman’s tour of St. Pauli | German | 1.5 hours | €23 | 4.7 | 5,501 |
| Olivia Jones tour with barkers and red-light legends | German | 100 minutes | €32.80 | 4.7 | 1,668 |
What each walk is like
The Sex and Crime tour covers local history, nightlife and organised crime, with stops including Spielbudenplatz, the Davidwache police station, Hans-Albers-Platz and the Große Freiheit. Its centrepiece is the boxing cellar beneath the bar Zur Ritze. The listing includes one alcoholic drink and entry to the Zur Ritze boxing club, and says the owner expects you to buy a drink there, so carry cash.
The Insider tour and the Olivia Jones tour both come from the Kult-Kieztouren operator and are led by Kiez veterans such as barkers and bouncers. Both are in German, strictly 18 and over, and both ask you to arrive 15 minutes early because the group cannot wait. The Insider tour says it is not barrier-free; the Olivia Jones listing lists wheelchair users as not suitable and says the tour also runs in bad weather. Its tours end on the Große Freiheit, with the option to carry on into Olivia’s clubs.
The night watchman’s tour is the exception on age: its listing names only children under 12 as not suitable. It starts at the Landungsbrücken, is in German, and is comedy-led, with a guide in a night watchman’s uniform. The listing is unclear on whether the Ritze schnapps is included, as it also notes that guests pay for the Ritze schnapps themselves, so check before you book.
On your own
You can walk the Reeperbahn without a guide. Two police rules apply. A weapons ban has applied in the Reeperbahn zone since 12 December 2007: under the Hamburg ordinance of 4 December 2007 it covers weapons as well as knives and pepper spray, with fines of up to 10,000 euros for weapons and up to 5,000 euros for knives and other dangerous objects. A glass ban applies from 10 pm to 6 am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and on the night before and on public holidays, covering the Reeperbahn area including Hans-Albers-Platz, surrounding streets and the Reeperbahn S-Bahn station; plastic bottles and cans are not covered. Check the police page for the current times.
The benefit of a tour is access and context: the boxing cellar is the clearest example, which the listing describes as something rarely allowed for city guides and visitors. If you want a night out rather than a history walk, see our guide to party boats, pub crawls and club nights.
Our recommendation
For most English-speaking adults: the Sex and Crime tour. If you speak German, the Insider or Olivia Jones tour adds the barker stories. With teenagers: of the four walks above, the night watchman’s tour is the one whose listing sets its age limit at 12 rather than 18. More walks are in the Reeperbahn and St. Pauli category.
