Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten

The Outer Alster is surrounded by ancient trees, green parks and beautiful mansions of the Winterhude, St. Georg and Rotherbaum districts, which give the area a sophisticated, exquisite charm. People come there to leave the stressful city life behind for a moment and relax in the shade of the trees. In summer, the parks surrounding the lake are a great place to grill (a national sport), to enjoy the sun’s rays or go for a jog around the lake. Sporty types engage in watersports. Boats, canoes and kayaks can be hired at many spots all around the Alster. Stand-up-paddling is also a fun and highly popular activity.

The floating dock - called the "Landungsbrücken" (landing stages) – is 700 metres long. Harbour tours and the HADAG steamers to Finkenwerder, Oevelgönne and Blankenese leave from this water "station". Impressive luxury cruisers also dock here from time to time. Standing here - the water on one side, and on the other colourful souvenir shops with waterfront memories and quaint fish restaurants with fresh cutter plaice or North Sea shrimps - it is easy to forget that you are walking on a floating platform. The first pontoons were built in 1839 and served as docks for steam ships because the coal they needed for their engines could be stored here. Similarly, the fire in the boilers, as a potential hazard, was kept far away from the actual harbour. From 1907 to 1909, the facility was greatly expanded - and heavily damaged in the Second World War. Today's pier area has existed since its reconstruction from 1953 to 1955, and a car once drove at extremely high speed across the bridges for a movie thriller. The water tower on the east side of the water station shows the time and the water level and also rings the ship's bell every half hour.

The Elbphilharmonie with its impressive glass facade and wave-like rooftop rises up from the former Kaispeicher building on the western tip of the HafenCity. Accommodated inside are two concert halls, a hotel and residential apartments. Between the old warehouse and the glass structure is the Plaza - a public viewing area that extends around the whole building.

Speicherstadt (lit. 'warehouse city') is the world's largest complex of warehouses, spanning an area of 260,000 square metres. It was built into the Elbe river between 1883 and the late 1920s on thousands of oak poles as a free economic zone in Hamburg's port. Speicherstadt's beautiful neo-gothic brick architecture makes for an exciting contrast to the modern steel-and-glass constructions of neighbouring HafenCity.

Hamburg's parliament, senate and mayor all have their seats in the City Hall on Rathausmarkt. Convenient as that may seem, it took quite some time for this distinctive building to become the Hamburg icon it is today. After several relocations, fires and other turmoil, the current City Hall is the sixth edition in Hamburg's history.

Fish, fruit, flowers, clothing and souvenirs – you can find almost anything at the Hamburg Fish Market, an institution since 1703. Every Sunday morning, early birds and night owls unite along the shores of the Elbe to barter over fresh fish, regain their spirits over a coffee or simply to enjoy the lively atmosphere.

Around 8,000 ship calls per year, almost 300 berths and a total of 43 kilometers of quay for seagoing vessels, more than 2,300 freight trains per week, four state-of-the-art container terminals, three cruise terminals and around 50 facilities specialized in handling roro and breakbulk and all kinds of bulk cargoes, along with about 7,300 logistics companies within the city limits – these are just a few of the factors making the Port of Hamburg to one of the world's most flexible, high-performance universal ports. 136.6 million tons of cargo crossed the quay walls of Germany's largest seaport in 2019. That included around 9.3 million standard containers (TEU). Hamburg is accordingly the third largest container port in Europe and in the 17th place on the list of the world's largest container ports.

Located conveniently along the Elbe river, the historic ropemakers’ district became a popular destination for seamen and others looking for amusement. In the 1960s, the red light district turned into something of a pop culture hothouse; The Beatles, The Jets, and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes were among the many budding artists who rose to international stardom after getting their start in the Reeperbahn's many dive bars.