When you think of #Hamburg, the first thing that comes to your mind is probably the famous fish #market with its delicious fish sandwiches, the Hamburg Michel, the Elbphilharmonie completed in 2017 and, last but not least, the wicked #Reeperbahn. But the Hanseatic city in the north of Germany has so much more to offer than these partially overcrowded spots, which have long ceased to be an insider tip - unlike our recommendations below!

Our Highlights

Falkensteiner Ufer, shipwrecks & Römischer garden - A relaxed walk on the Falkensteiner Ufer alone is an absolute highlight, passing the red and white striped #Blankenese lighthouse and many more. However, the leisurely stroll becomes a really dramatic event when you suddenly find the strange wood and metal parts from the Elbe protrude. 

These are fractions of the #shipwrecks "Polstjernan" and "MS Uwe". While the Finnish "Polstjernan" (which means polaris), mainly built of wood, sank almost a century ago in 1926 due to an engine fire on its way to England, the sinking of the barge "MS Uwe" dates from 1975. Two freighters - the German "Wiedau" as well as the Polish "Mieczyslaw Kalinowski" - collided in the thick december morning fog, whereby the "Wiedau" was rotated, changed the course and literally divided the "MS Uwe" in half. Today only the stern of the "MS Uwe" protrudes from the Elbe.

Only a few meters away from the shipwrecks is the Römische garden on the southern slope of the Polterberg, a beautiful #park, which - unlike most other parks in Hamburg - was designed in #Art Nouveau style. Its basic structure was created in the form of a terrace, which brings a little bit the #world-famous rice terraces on Indonesian island Bali to your mind. Since 2005, the park has also served as an open-air stage, on which various plays are performed in the summer months.

Tankweg & Bubendey  - There is hardly a place in Hamburg where you can get a better and clearer view of the highly industrialized Hamburg #harbour district than from the”Tankweg” and its enchanted Bubendey bank. The largely still very #secret spot invites you to take pictures of the loading and unloading container ships and prepare a relaxed #picnic during a beautiful summer day. However, be warned: The neighboring Eurogate Terminal is to be expanded, so that the demolition of the beautiful picnic area on the bank of Bubendey is already being considered.

Ohlsdorf Cemetery - The cemetery in the northern district of Ohlsdorf is around 390 hectares in size, making it the largest park cemetery worldwide and also Hamburg's largest #green area. Many German #celebrities are buried here, such as the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and his wife Loki, the musicians James Last and Roger Cicero or the film and literary critic Helmut Karasek.

Peterstraße - Due to its characteristic #merchant and town houses, you feel immediately transported back to the 18th century in this small street in the Hamburger Neustadt. A fallacy, however, as a large part of the houses was actually built in the 1960s according to the historical model. However, this certainly does not detract from the #beauty of this little avenue and its architectural style. In addition, if you are a little interested in the #classical music of high romanticism, you can visit the Johannes #Brahms Museum for five euros and learn more about the influential composer who was born in the port city in May 1833.

Boberger Dünen - There is not much left of the once lush #dune landscape of Hamburg. In the Billwerder district, however, there is still a #hiking dune to explore in the Boberger Niederung nature reserve. It is very nice to take a walk here, even it is located a little bit outside of Hamburg's city center.

Bunthäuser Spitze - Where the upper and lower #Elbe share in Hamburg at the so-called “Bunthäuser Sptze”, there is a small lighthouse, more precisely Hamburg's smallest #lighthouse with the name "Leuchtfeuer Bunthaus". The lighthouse, which is just under seven meters high, has been a listed building since 2005 and is located in Heuckenlock, the most biodiverse #nature reserve in Hamburg, where you can go on excellent hikes along the mudflats. A beautiful piece of natural idyll in the #urban jungle of Hamburg.

Park Fiction - Do you think #palm trees in the "Schietwetter" stronghold Hamburg (which in Hamburg slang means bad weather area) are not possible and only material for fairytales and legends? Then you are wrong! The "Park Fiction" in the #Altona-Altstadt district, built in the mid-90s, consists of different islands, which were once designed by the residents after they had spoken out against further development of their quarter by residential and office buildings and in favour of a public park. This is how the #colourful steel palm trees or the grassy "flying carpet" were created. From the park you have a fantastic view over the Elbe and the port of Hamburg and you are not far away from the popular #Landungsbrücken and the wicked, lively Reeperbahn.