Sights in Hamburg
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Grosse Freiheit
Just north of the S-Bahn station is the Grosse Freiheit . Grosse Freiheit literally means 'great freedom' street, an apt name with its bright lights, dark doorways and live sex nightclubs. Smarmy doormen try to lure the passing crowd into clubs; if you're interested, ask about the conditions of entry.
Admission tends to be fairly low, but it's the mandatory drink minimum that drives up the cost. Ask at the bar how much drinks cost; we've heard reports of people being charged nearly €100 for a couple of watery cocktails.
As for Reeperbahn itself, even those not interested in strip shows usually pay a quick trip to Hamburg's vast red-light thoroughfare of the Reeperbahn ju…
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Süllberg Hill
Once, a former fishing village and haven for cut-throats, the suburb Blankenese now boasts some of the finest and most expensive houses in Germany. For visitors, the area's attraction lies in its hillside labyrinth of narrow, cobbled streets, with a network of 58 stairways (4864 steps in total!) connecting them.
The best views of the Elbe (nearly 3km wide here) and the container ships putting out to sea are enjoyed from the 75m-high Süllberg hill (head through the restaurant at the summit). Getting off bus 48 at Weseberg - having passed the clutch of beachfront restaurants and cafés and reached the summit of the following hill - you'll see a sign pointing to the nearby Sü…
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Port of Hamburg
Each year about 12,000 ships deliver and take on millions of tonnes of goods here. The port accounts for 12 percent of Hamburg's entire surface area. Two vessels that aren't going anywhere are the 1896 windjammer Rickmer Rickmers, which now serves as a museum and restaurant, and the Cap San Diego, a behemoth built in Hamburg during the 1960s.
To the west of St Pauli, a sturdy grey structure is topped by a giant copper cupola. This striking piece of architecture is the entrance to the St Pauli Elbtunnel, a 426m (1400ft) passage under the river, built in 1911.
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Tierpark Hagenbeck
Hamburgers prefer not to call Tierpark Hagenbeck a zoo. That's because its 2500 animals live in very open enclosures over 27 hectares. In addition to elephants, tigers, orang-utans, toucans and other creatures, you'll find a replica Nepalese temple, Japanese garden, art-deco gate and other similar attractions. A petting zoo, pony rides, a miniature railway and playground mean you'll have to drag the kids away at the end of the day.
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Rathaus
Hamburg's baroque Rathaus is one of Europe's most opulent, renowned for the Emperor's Hall and the Great Hall, with its spectacular coffered ceiling. There are no fewer than 647 rooms here, but the guided 40-minute tours only take in a small number.
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Miniatur-Wunderland
Kids and trainspotters will delight at this, the world's largest model railway, with astonishing recreations of recognisable landmarks. In busy times, prepurchase your ticket online to skip the queues.
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Museum Für Hamburgische Geschichte
East of the Reeperbahn, the kid-friendly (and kid-at-heart-friendly) Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte is chock-full of intricate ship models, has a large model train set (only open at certain times; check ahead), and even the actual bridge of the steamship Werner, which you can clamber over. As it chronicles the city's evolution, it reveals titbits such as the fact that the Reeperbahn was once the home of rope makers ( Reep means 'rope'). There's a reduced admission price of €6.50 for ticket-holders to Miniatur-Wunderland.
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Chilehaus
The brown-brick Chilehaus is shaped like an ocean liner, with remarkable curved walls meeting in the shape of a ship's bow and staggered balconies that look like decks. Designed by architect Fritz Höger for a merchant who derived his wealth from trading with Chile, the 1924 building is a leading example of German expressionist architecture. It's situated alongside other so-called 'Backsteingotik' buildings ( Backstein refers to a specially glazed brick; gotik means 'Gothic').
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Harry's Hamburger Hafenbasar
This shop-cum-museum-cum-whatever is the life's work of the late, great Harry Rosenberg, a bearded character famous with seamen around the globe for his intense collecting of worldly souvenirs. The result is this curio-crammed shop that is free to visit as long as you buy something, which is easy if you're in the market for a set of Zulu drums.
The shop is now run by Rosenberg's daughter; ask her about insider tours, in English, of the secrets of the St Pauli district.
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Museum für Völkerkunde
The newly refurbished, Museum für Völkerkunde demonstrates seafaring Hamburg's acute awareness of the outside world. Modern artefacts from Africa, Asia and the South Pacific are displayed alongside traditional masks, jewellery, costumes and musical instruments, including carved wooden canoes and giant sculptures from Papua New Guinea, and a complete, intricately carved Maori meeting hall. The approach is refreshingly respectful of the cultures it presents.
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International Maritime Museum
The centrepiece is the new International Maritime Museum. It takes 10 floors to house this, the world's largest private collection of maritime treasures. Professor Peter Tamm Sr has amassed an astonishing 26,000 model ships, 50,000 construction plans, 5000 illustrations, 2000 films, 1.5 million photographs and much more, including innumerable nautical devices, uniforms, military and other objects documenting 3000 years of maritime history.
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Elbmeile
In the last few years, Hamburg's western riverfront, from Altona to Övelgönne, has metamorphosed into one of Germany's hottest dining scenes. None of the restaurants along the so-called 'Elbmeile' (Elbe Mile) has been awarded a Michelin star (at least not at the time of writing). However, the sheer concentration of eateries and the setting - sometimes stunning, sometimes laughably industrial, sometimes both - is certainly memorable.
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Museum Für Kunst und Gewerbe
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe isn't quite so exalted, but is still lots of fun. Its vast collection of sculpture, furniture, fashion, jewellery, posters, porcelain, musical instruments and household objects runs the gamut from Italian to Islamic, Japanese to Viennese and medieval to pop art, and includes an art-nouveau salon from the 1900 Paris World Fair. The museum cafe is integrated into the exhibition space.
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Krameramtswohnungen
Below St Michaeliskirche, in a tiny alley off Krayenkamp 10, are the Krameramtswohnungen , a row of tiny half-timbered houses from the 17th century that, for nearly 200 years, were almshouses for the widows of members of the Guild of Small Shopkeepers. Taken over by the city in 1863, they became seniors' homes until 1969 and are now just a tourist attraction. Only one home is a museum; others are shops or restaurants.
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Beatlemania Museum
You can take a slightly surreal journey through the Beatles' career at the Beatlemania Museum. In addition to entertaining interactive exhibits (including recreated Abbey Road Studios), and rare memorabilia (such as the Beatles' first record contract, which was signed in Hamburg), it stages concerts and fashion shows. Look for the giant yellow submarine bulging from the building's facade.
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Kunsthalle
A treasure trove of art from the Renaissance to the present day, Hamburg's Kunsthalle spans two buildings - one old, one new - linked by an underground passage. The main building houses works ranging from medieval portraiture to 20th-century classics, such as Klee and Kokoschka. There's also a memorable room of 19th-century landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich.
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St Nikolai
Nearby St Nikolai, not to be confused with the new Hauptkirche St Nikolai in Harvestehude, was the world's tallest building from 1874 to 1876, and remains Hamburg's second-tallest structure (after the TV tower). Badly damaged in WWII, it now houses a war memorial. A glass lift zips you up to its 75.3m-high viewing platform inside the surviving spire.
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Color Line Arena
Hamburg's huge Color Line Arena was extensively refurbished for the 2006 football World Cup, and is home to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. The stadium lies in the city's northwest, just off the E45/7/27 by car. Alternatively, take S-Bahn 21 or 3 to 'Stellingen', which is linked by free shuttle buses with the stadium.
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Kunstmeile
Keep an eye out for special exhibitions in the museums along Hamburg's Kunstmeile, extending from Glockengiesserwall to Deichtorstrasse between the Alster lakes and the Elbe. In particular, the converted market halls of the wonderful Deichtorhallen show international touring exhibitions of contemporary art as well as photography.
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St Pauli Elbtunnel
Just west of the St Pauli landing piers stands a grey structure topped by a copper cupola. This is the entrance to the St Pauli Elbtunnel. Dated from 1911, it's a 426m-long passageway beneath the Elbe River. It is still used by vehicles and pedestrians, although most cars take the New Elbe Tunnel further west.
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Museum der Arbeit
The Museum der Arbeit chronicles the development of the workplace in the Hamburg area, with a focus on the changing rights and roles of working men and women. There's also a section on printing, appropriate for this media city. The museum is on the grounds of the former New York-Hamburg Rubber Company.
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St Michaeliskirche
The St Michaeliskirche, or 'Der Michel' as it's commonly called, is one of Hamburg's most recognisable landmarks and northern Germany's largest Protestant baroque church. Ascending the tower's steps (or catching the lift) rewards with great panoramas across the canals.
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Rickmer Rickmers
At the piers, you'll find the 1886 three-masted steel windjammer Rickmer Rickmers, now a museum ship and restaurant. The nearby 10,000-tonne Cap San Diego hosts some interesting temporary exhibitions on immigration and shipping.
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Deichtorhallen
The converted market halls of the wonderful Deichtorhallen show international touring exhibitions of contemporary art - Warhol, Lichtenstein, Haring etc - as well as photography by Helmut Newton, Annie Leibowitz and other prominent shooters.
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Hamburg Dungeon
Camped-up chamber of horrors brought to life by actors, incorporating various rides. Tours depart every seven minutes and last around one hour. Older kids will get a kick out of it, but it's not recommended for those under 10.
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