10 reasons why you should visit Hamburg

2024-02-22 09:17:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Music at its highest level

Like the giant bow of a ship, the Elba Philharmonic Hall floats on the horizon. Built atop a former red-brick cocoa warehouse in the harbor, the glass-enclosed building rises 110 meters into the sky. The concert hall opened in January 2017.

Many warehouses

In 1888, German Emperor Wilhelm II opened the "Speicherstadt" (warehouse district). Hamburg was already established as a free port, where the storage and transfer of goods was duty-free. As a result, it became one of the largest storage areas in the world. Speicherstadt was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in 2015.

Miniature Wonderland Park

In the Speicherstadt district, you can also find Miniature Wonderland, the world's largest model railway system. Here, visitors can travel from Hamburg to Patagonia in miniature. 1,166 trains travel on 16,491 meters of track on an area of ??more than 1,600 square meters. There are even planes that take off and land, and cruise ships that travel on water.

Everything the eye can see

Hamburg is redefining itself with HafenCity, Europe's largest urban regeneration project. When completed in 2025, the complex will be home to 10,000 people. From the vantage point in Baakenhafen, the development can be observed in a 360-degree panorama. The design of the orange steel tower was inspired by dock cranes and was conceived to offer the panoramic view of a naval periscope.

Michele

The Baroque Church of St. Michael, known colloquially as "Michel," offers another perfect view of the city. The church is a historic building and can also be explored using an app. Prominent points such as a tower or an underground room are equipped with transmitters that react to the app and provide information.

Going underground

The Old Elbe Tunnel was the first river tunnel in continental Europe. It reduced the travel time from the city to the shipyards on the southern banks of the Elbe River. Since 1911, elevators have taken pedestrians, cars and cyclists to the bottom, where two 426-meter-long tunnels go. For pedestrians and cyclists, it costs nothing to use - apart from the "price" of overcoming their fears.

The swan song

In Hamburg, the harbingers of spring are the city's swans themselves, hundreds of them. The city council boasts a "swan office" called the "Schwanenwesen- the only global authority to employ a "father swan", he oversees the return of the white birds after the winter. Taking ownership of swans, normally an exclusive privilege of royalty, Hamburg proved its independence as a free city of the Hanseatic League.

Going with the flow

Boats sail day and night on the Elbe River to the port. Their foghorns and the call of seagulls provide the soundtrack to any early morning jog on the pale beach sands. The port of Hamburg is 70 nautical miles away from the open sea. This popular sandy beach along the Elbe is located in Ovelgönne in the Othmarschen district.

Tower Tango

These days, the office blocks dance on the Reeperbahn. The architect of these two squat office towers designed them as a couple dancing the tango, a nod to the red light district where they are located. There is a restaurant and bar on the top floor and the roof terrace offers a great view of the harbour, especially at night.

"Great Freedom"

Sailors have spent entire wages in just one night on Große Freiheit, a side street on the famous Reeperbahn. District St. Paulit is filled with bars, clubs and a variety of entertainment and games. Artists and musicians discovered the charm of the neglected area in the 1960s. For the Beatles, performing at the legendary Star-Club was training for their later global success. /DW