Photo: Powell's Point / Shutterstock

GERMANY: Hamburg is one of Germany’s most beautiful harbour cities and a visit to the fish market is a definite must on a lazy Sunday morning.  Down by the water, the city smells of the wind and the sea and it exudes a wonderful maritime charm. So, if you're an early bird and you're passing through, why not come and explore for yourself?

Insider Tips

Every Sunday morning around 5am in the summer, the famous Hamburger Fischmarkt (fish market) swings into action. The market criers don’t hold back as they raise their voices to sell their wares, and super fresh eels, shrimps and seafood change hands at a rate of knots.

Once you’re at the Fischmarkt, we recommend taking a relaxing stroll along the St. Pauli Piers - the largest landing place in the Port of Hamburg and one of the city's major tourist attractions - over to the HafenCity. Nowhere else in the city, can you get such a sense of place, or daydream of faraway places as you watch cargo ships, tugboats, and gigantic cruise liners sailing down the River Elbe.

This port city is known as the Gateway to the World, and every stroll between the old, red-brick storehouses tells its own maritime history while a tour of the harbour is an interesting way to while away the hours. After all, the harbour is the largest seaport in Germany and the second largest in Europe.

Here, you can experience the city from a sailor’s perspective, see St. Michael’s Church, the Speicherstadt (City of Warehouses) and HafenCity district, and meander past large dockyards, container terminals, locks and famous bridges. If you prefer, you can also sail down the Elbe on the “Louisiana Star” paddle steamer or enjoy a romantic twilight evening boat tour for yet another perspective of the city.

Top Tip: The freighter Cap San Diego, anchored at the Überseebrücke, is the world’s largest seaworthy civilian museum ship and offers insight into this harbour city’s seafaring history. Their permanent exhibition - “A suitcase full of hope” (Ein Koffer voller Hoffnung) - takes a look at immigrants who said their final goodbyes on Hamburg's harbour and is worth a look.

But wait, there's more...

Housed in an old storehouse from 1888, the Speicherstadtmuseum offers further insights into the city’s history and explores its deep connection to the tea and coffee trades. Tucked away in Kaispeicher B - Hamburg’s oldest remaining storehouse - the Internationale Maritime Museum Hamburg proudly exhibits the largest historical collection of shipping and seafaring artefacts – and best of all, it's right in the heart of the modern HafenCity District.

If you haven't got your fix before you leave, you can check out which cruise ships will be sailing into the Hanseatic city during your stay and coordinate a visit to the waterfront. The St. Pauli piers offer a fantastic view over tug boats both big and small, and is only a few minutes’ walk from the Adina Apartment Hotel Hamburg Speicherstadt - your perfect accommodation base for weekends away in this gorgeous harbour city.