One Day in Hamburg
Perfect Day-Trip Idea For Berliners
Since moving to Germany three years ago, I have visited a handful of cities around the country. One of them is Hamburg, the second-largest German city after Berlin. In some ways, Hamburg feels similar to the capital — it’s full of expats, startups, and cool places to visit. But unlike Berlin, the city is much more modern and cleaner — a welcomed change for someone from Warsaw.
I went to Hamburg again a couple of weeks ago to have a proper tour around the city rather than a stopover. Here’s how it went.
Going from Berlin to Hamburg by train
The route between the two cities is one of the most popular train connections in Germany. Trains come as often as every thirty minutes, and a one-way trip takes two to three hours, depending on if you take a standard inter-city (IC) train and an express one (ICE). Round trip prices start at around 36€ but may vary a lot if you have the BahnCard or qualify for other discounts. I like to plan my trips using Google Flights, which lets you browse through train connections around Germany.
There are cheaper alternatives to get you to Hamburg, like FlixTrain, FlixBus, and BlaBlaCar Bus.
Getting around Hamburg
Hamburg has a public transport network typical for big German cities. You can travel by U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (suburban trains), busses, and ferries. Unfortunately, the stops are quite far apart so you often end up walking 10–15 min to get to your destination. Check this route from Jungfernstieg to the Elbphilharmonie, for example:
In Hamburg’s defense, I might be spoiled by the public transport network in Berlin. I was also positively surprised that a group day ticket costs just 11,81€ and includes the ferries. But next time, I’m going to take my bike or use one of the StadtRAD ones, and I’d recommend you do the same.
There are plenty of alternatives to get around Hamburg, including:
- E-scooters: Tier, Bolt, VOI, Lime
- Electric mopeds: Tier, Emmy, Felix
- Ridesharing: Uber, FREE NOW, MOIA
- Car sharing: SHARE NOW, Miles, WeShare
I recommend getting the hvv switch app, which allows you to buy public transport tickets, unlock e-scooters, rent a car from SIXT share, or summon a futuristic MOIA ride (available only in Hamburg and Hannover).
Places to visit in Hamburg in one day
If you start your tour from the central railway station, first head to Mutterland for the best Franzbrötchen you can find. They are a local pastry, like a cross between a cinnamon bun and a croissant. From there, it’s a short walk to Jungfernstieg. It’s a shopping boulevard spreading along the Binnenalster lake with exclusive stores, including Apple and Tesla. You can also pop over to Alsterhaus (Hamburg’s KaDeWe) for a quick coffee in Elbgold or walk to the older part of the city to have a brunch in the Nord Coast Coffee Roastery.
One of the most recognizable spots in Hamburg is Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district with beautiful historic red-brick buildings. The islands are full of museums, like the International Maritime Museum, Miniature Wonderland, and Coffee Museum.
In a way, Hamburg reminds me of Amsterdam. Most of the city’s landmarks are situated around the riversides of the Elbe river, hence why I think that ferries are one of the best ways to explore Hamburg. For example, if you’re in Speicherstadt, you can take a ferry to the Landungsbrücken. From there, it’s a short walk to get to the Old Elbtunnel that connects the two sides of the city.
The Elbtunnel is free to enter, and you can even take a bike or an e-scooter, but you must watch out for people walking on the road as one of the two tunnels is currently closed for renovations. On both sides of the river, you can find Brücke 10, which serves the best Fischbrötchen in Hamburg, a local specialty. Just make sure to have cash or a good old Girocard.
If you’re in a mood for a drink, you should check out ÜberQuell (craft beer) or Dripbar (cocktails). Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to make it to either of them this time, but I plan to visit them the next time I’m in Hamburg.
With a short walk from the entrance to the Elbtunnel, you can get to the Portugiesenviertel. As the name suggests, it’s full of Portuguese-owned restaurants and bakeries. I especially wanted to visit Milch, but they are closed on the weekends. That didn’t stop me from getting pastel de Natas from Cafe Sul next door.
The St. Pauli district of Hamburg is as multi-cultural as it gets in a German city. Anywhere you go, there’s something interesting to explore. I wandered into Playground Coffee who have some of the best specialty coffee in the city. From there, you can go further north to Blanco coffee or Codos, where there are plenty of great restaurants.
If you’re more to the East of the city, the Jarrestadt neighborhood is worth stopping by. It’s full of cozy restaurants and coffee places, like one of my favorites, Public Coffee Roasters.
Enjoy your stay in Hamburg!
I hope that you will have a great time in Hamburg. I’m looking forward to revisiting the city in the future and checking off more places from my list. Let me know on Twitter if I missed on some hidden gems and share your own tips about visiting Hamburg down below.
