Image: William Fawcett

GERMANY: Harbour, music, and fish sandwiches – that’s what Hamburg is famous for. But – the city has more to offer than what the average tourist knows. My name is Jenny, I am a dual student at the Adina Hotel Hamburg Speicherstadt and today I want to show you all my favourite places in the city. Spend a day in Hamburg with me and get to know all the local tips and tricks.

When past meets future: Speicherstadt and HafenCity

Begin your day in the Speicherstadt, where you can enjoy a breakfast in-midst of UNESCO world heritage at our Storehouse restaurant at the Adina Hamburg Speicherstadt. The restaurant is inspired by the old storage houses one can see everywhere in one of Hamburg’s oldest quarters. Here one can enjoy delicious cafés and bakeries, as well as marvel at the amount of bridges Hamburg has: With roughly 2500 bridges, Hamburg has the second most bridges in the world.

Crossing one of those bridges, one can find themselves transported from the past to the future: Red brick walls and copper roofs make way for glass and modern architecture. The HafenCity is Hamburg’s modern quarter, located right next to the Elbe River. My favourite thing to do here, is to visit the Überseequartier and look at one of the many photography exhibitions they host there, for free. Enjoying art with the fresh sea breeze in your face is truly the best! If you’ve got kids, take them to the Lohsepark. Playgrounds, basketball courts and so much more, invite one to be active and have fun. If you’d rather enjoy a view of the harbour, take a walk along the pier and see Europe’s third largest port from the viewing platform at the Elbphilharmonie. 

Walking with a view: Our beloved Alster

Nowhere else in Hamburg will you find more people taking a walk then here. A walk around the Alster takes you through the various parts of the city. While the inner Alster is situated in the main part of the bustling city and is sure to be filled with people, the outer part of the Alster lets one marvel at the nature and architecture in peace. Aside from beautiful mansions and gorgeous villas, the Alster also presents traces of the past: On the Western side, one can walk through the Jewish Grindel quarter and look at one of the only remaining German synagogues. My tip: Don’t just walk in a circle along the river, but also walk into side streets and alleys - because the little canals may just be the highlight. So, be brave and start walking!

Restaurants, Cafés and Boutiques: The Sternschanze

The perfect time to visit the Schanze is lunch time. Here you can find plenty of restaurants, cafés and bakeries, waiting to be visited. Whether you like Asian, Italian or American cuisine, everybody will find something here! My personal favourite is Kkokki Loves Vegan. The vegan Korean restaurant presents an authentic Korean interior style and a plenitude of delicious vegan dishes. This location is perfect for an enjoyable lunch, but also a great dinner spot. After a successful lunch, one can go on a shopping spree through all the boutiques and small shops or get a souvenir to bring back home. Walk through the Schanze and pick up a dessert, like a crepe or an ice cream, on your way.

PS: If you prefer a late start to the day, you can also visit the Sternschanze for brunch and start your shopping tour after having a coffee and a croissant at one of the many cafés.

A green oasis in the city: Planten un Blomen

Let’s spend the afternoon at one of my favourite places in Hamburg: Planten un Blomen. True to its name „plants and flowers“, the giant park offers a beautiful array of gardens. Because of its central location in between the Dammtor and Landungsbrücken, the park is easily accessible from many different train and bus stations. Families with children will find a variety of playgrounds scattered across the park – guests with dogs should find the large grass areas inviting. My favourite spot is the Japanese Garden: Amid flowers and trees, one can find a beautiful pond with a tea house. Here you can take part in a traditional Japanese matcha ceremony – perfect for all tea lovers!

If you aren’t tired of botanic yet, you can also visit the Botanical Garden in Klein Flottbek. There you will find even more plants and flowers. A walk around the garden transports you from one continent to the next, displaying plants from all over the world. More exhibitions can be found in the greenhouses.

Gate to the World: Hamburg Harbour

Before we make our way to Hamburg’s most famous sight, here is my tip for your dinner: In the Stadthöfe in the Bleichen quarter, one can enjoy delicious food with great ambience and choose from many different restaurants with different cuisines. Once your bellies are full, we’ll be visiting Europe’s third largest port – the Hamburg harbour. The best way to experience this sight, is by taking a boat trip around the harbour: visit the other side of the shore, drive through the cruise and container ship terminals and stop at Hamburg’s very own beach, Ovelgönne. From here you can take a walk through the famous „Treppenviertel“ of Blankenese. Alongside large mansions and villas, you can find old captain’s and fisher’s houses, which exude a nostalgic charm of their own.

To finish off our day together, we will be visiting the 20up bar in the Empire Riverside hotel. On the 20th floor of the hotel, you can enjoy drinks with a view of the entire harbour. Besides the view, the bar is famous for its devilishly good mocktails, so even non-alcoholics can end the night in style. My last tip is regarding the trip back to the hotel: Take the subway line U3 from Landungsbrücken to Rödingsmarkt and enjoy the enchanting view of Hamburg’s glittering port at night. Us locals call this one our most famous subway line in town. But if you would rather walk instead, enjoy the HafenCity and Speicherstadt at night as you make your way back to the hotel.

Adina Hamburg Speicherstadt: Your Hamburg Address!

My personal accommodation recommendation is, of course, the Adina Hotel Hamburg Speicherstadt. My team and I will make sure, that your stay is a round-about enjoyable experience. Our hotel is situated in the UNESCO world heritage Speicherstadt and offers the perfect distance to the central station, the harbour and the city centre. After a lovely day exploring all the city has to offer, you can relax in one of our spacious apartments, in the wellness area or at the hotel bar.