So should you visit Hamburg? I’ll save you time right now - the answer is yes. This Hamburg travel guide is going to take you through why this hidden gem is an absolute essential for any traveller’s bucket list and how to make the most of it when you’re here.

Let’s jump straight into it. This is your Hamburg travel guide!

Is Hamburg a good city to visit?

Honestly, Hamburg is one of my favourite cities to date. I was blown away by how friendly people were, the beautiful architecture, the quality of the food, how much there was to do and weirdly, how nice the weather was!

It’s not somewhere that immediately springs to mind when you’re planning places to visit but in my opinion, it is the jewel in Germany’s crown.

This sentiment is backed up by a lot of German’s I spoke to who told me that Hamburg offers the absolute best of Germany without any of the downsides.

A big statement, but it felt like a utopia!

Is Hamburg good for guys?

Absolutely. Hamburg is a perfect place for guys to visit. There is so much to do, whether that’s sightseeing, going shopping at high end stores or getting on the sauce! There is absolutely something for everybody. Here’s a few things I did during my stay that I think are perfect for the blokes.

Bars

There are so, so many places to grab a drink throughout Hamburg, but I am not a massive drinker so didn’t get round to too many.

What I did do (like any good tourist) was hit up a local Irish Bar which I can attest to being great.

Restaurants

More my thing these days! Hamburg is full of gems. I went to Cafe Paris which was unbelievable. Try the steak tartare and be amazed.

I also visited a few more that I’ll detail a little further on!

Reeperbahn

We only went down in the day but you could already see the buzz beginning. And that was only midweek. Apparently, the Reeperbahn gets crazy in an evening.

If you’re into a big party, this will be your Valhalla.

Cars

Germany and cars go hand in hand. They’re a match made in haven.

Get ready to walk round with your jaw on the floor as Porsches, G Wagons and all sorts of supercars fly past you with such regularity that it almost seems absurd.

I also stumbled into the Polestar showroom as I spotted the incredibly rare Polestar 1 in the window. In true German fashion, the guy in there was so friendly that I had to shake his hand when we left. He opened up the car, let me sit in it and we chatted for about 20 minutes about cars like a pair of nerds.

Football

Another thing synoymous with Germany is football. Their national team is phenomenal and their league is full of star-studded teams (especially Bayern Munich), but Hamburg has its own slice of football heritage and you can feel that running through the city.

The St. Pauli stadium is literally a stone’s throw from the Reeperbahn and Hamburg’s stadium isn’t much further.

It’s a city with two huge teams and you’d be silly not to try and absorb a bit of it.

What to do in Hamburg

Boat tour to get your bearings

This is something I do in every city where a boat tour is an option, because it lets you you see so much of a place in a short period of time.

It’s also an amazing experience in its own right. I love how relaxing boat rides are and this was the best I’ve been on - they had a bar on board! Great way to spend an hour when you arrive in Hamburg.

Talk to locals / taxis

This is something I do even before I hop on a boat tour of the city and it’s why I always get a taxi/Uber from the airport to my accommodation.

And this is because taxi drivers have the most knowledge of their city. They drive around it and talk to dozens of people every single day.

They are usually chatty and always want to showcase their city in the best way possible to visitors. I find Uber to work even better because of the their rating system. Drivers will usually go above and beyond to help you out for a 5-star rating.

So I recommend booking yourself one from the airport and striking up a conversation with your driver. Let it flow and in no time, you’ll be talking about all the best places to go, things to see and stuff to do. This local knowledge always comes in handy.

St Pauli

If you’re into football whatsoever you will have heard about St. Pauli. If you could get to a game here then I absolutely recommend it.

Unfortunately the main stadium was closed when I arrived so I could only see glimpses from outside and then took a look through their shop.

But there is a museum and tours available from Fri-Sun if you can’t get a ticket for a game.

St. Michaelis church

This church is absolutely beautiful and for about €15 you can go all the way to the top for the best view in Hamburg.

There’s viewing platforms and a huge bell up there that goes off every 15 minutes so there’s quite a lot going on! An absolute must do.

Museum of Illusions

This was one of the first things I made a beeline for when we arrived because I knew how much it’d be.

I was not disappointed! To my surprise, everything in Hamburg was much cheaper than I anticipated and the Museum of Illusions was no different. Great place at a great price.

Alter Elbtunnel

Whilst this isn’t the most *exciting* thing in Hamburg to do, it’s still a nice interesting walk that takes 10 minutes and is free. So don’t sleep on the Alter Elbtunnel!

Town hall

Easily the most aesthetic town hall I’ve ever laid eyes on! This was a proper marvel. Another cracking freebie too.

High end shopping

If you fancy spending some big bucks, then head to just behind the town hall and you’ll find rows and rows of designer stores from Cartier to Gucci to Louis Vuitton. There is absolutely everything. I honestly had no idea that Hamburg had this level of luxury.

The fact that it has something for literally everyone is astonishing to me.

All of the fun of the Reeperbahn, the football clubs, restaurants, bars and all ranges of shopping PLUS amazing car showrooms (which is my personal fav) is mind boggling. All of this in a city centre is just next level.

Bravo Hamburg!

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Honourable mentions that I didn’t get around to

I was only in Hamburg for 3 days and even though I got through a LOT of stuff, it felt like I barely scratched the surface. Here’s a couple of the popular things that I didn’t get round to but I would imagine to be great fun.

Bikes

I didn’t quite get round to this, but you can hire bikes all across the city. They even had them available to rent at our hotel which was a really nice touch.

Chocoversum

What’s not to love about a museum all about chocolate?!

I really regret not going here, but next time I will 100% be heading down.

Miniaturmuseum

Another one I regret not getting round to, but the Miniaturmuseum seems like a must-see for those with the time available.

Yes it might look a bit childish, but apparently it’s great for people of all ages.

Where to stay in Hamburg

If you want your trip to be as perfect as possible, you need your accommodation to be spot on. Luckily, mine was.

Madison Hamburg

The Madison is the perfect base for exploration in Hamburg. Its location lends itself nicely to exploring all four corners of the city centre, so you’re pretty much amongst the action as soon as you step out the front door.

Its rooms were huge, with a full desk setup for people like me who work from their laptop. We had a great balcony with an uninterrupted view right up to St. Michaelis Church AND the room was stacked with treats like Pringles, Hamburg popcorn and espressos. What a place.

Add to this that they have a top-rated restaurant and high-end luxury gym & spa (for free!) and I think it’s quite apparent that The Madison is a no-brainer for anyone visiting Hamburg.

And my personal favourite part - the unlimited sweets jar that seemed to restock every hour of the day…

Gym is essential

Any self-respecting modern day gent should strive to be active in some way and the Madison offers the absolute best way to do this.

Next door is a David Lloyd gym and spa that you have complete, free access to. This is by far and away the best hotel gym I’ve ever seen. It even had an official Hyrox certification which is unreal. It was also perfect for me as I am training for my first Hyrox competition in November.

Where to eat in Hamburg

As I touched on near the start of the article, the food in Hamburg is way better than I had imagined. Believe it or not, it’s not just Bratwurst and Schnitzel! Even though both of them are 10/10.

Froyo

I noticed this place on the way back to our hotel and immediately had cravings. It was then my breakfast of choice the next day and it was well worth the wait.

Toppings including white brownie, lotus biscoff and cheesecake tempt you in and deliver on their allure. Equally, you can get ample healthy toppings too but I had no desire for them during my visit.

Marley’s

Marley’s is actually part of the Madison Hotel so we had to give it a go. And I’m glad we did! The food was great, super attentive staff (as per the usual in Hamburg it would seem) and a great setting. If the weather calls for it, try and grab a seat outside. You won’t regret it.

Cafe Paris

I had seen this online and thought how cool it looked, but in person it is so much cooler. It has such an old school vibe, the staff were great and food was even better.

Cannot recommend this place highly enough.

Juicery by Em

It presents itself as quite ‘vegan’ but the Juicery by Em catered for everyone! I had a chicken and rice bowl which came with all sorts of random ingredients like pineapple, melon and cabbage that I had no idea could work so well together.

Being in a juicery, of course I had to try the juice itself which I have to say, was probably the best I’ve ever had.

Overall, Hamburg is an absolute must visit for anyone who wants a city that feels like home immediately and offers basically anything you could want.

I cannot thank the team at the City of Hamburg, Come to Hamburg and the Madison Hotel for making this trip happen, so be sure to check them out when planning your own trip.

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