Travel Information

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany, its most important sea port and its largest foreign trading centre. Founded in about 811 during the reign of Charlemagne, Hamburg was one of the great Hanseatic cities and has maintained its prominence down the centuries until the present day as a meeting place for the world. This city on the Elbe river also has an elegant side, with palatial department stores along its boulevards, art centres, international musicals, exclusive shopping arcades and the famous St. Pauli entertainment district.

Things to do and see

A brief list of interesting places and things to see in Hamburg far from being complete.

Miniatur Wunderland (German for 'miniature wonderland')
It is a model railway attraction and the largest of its kind in the world. The railway is located in the historic Speicherstadt district of the city. It has different areas which represent different countries and even shows a model of the Hamburg airport with departing and landing model airplanes.

Speicherstadt (literally: City of Warehouses, meaning warehouse district)
It is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations, oak logs, in this particular case. It was built from 1883 to 1927 with a certain architecture and using the local common red bricks. It has been awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hafencity quarter with the Elbphilharmonie
A formerly unused area of the free port of Hamburg was revitalised and completely, restructured‘ into a modern quarter with new hotels, shops, office buildings, and residential areas. Some interesting architecture can be found here. And the new highlight is the new concert hall of Hamburg, the Elbphilharmonie.

Hamburger Hafen
The Port of Hamburg is a sea port on the river Elbe, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea. It is Germany's largest port and is named the country's ‚Gateway to the World‘ (Tor zur Welt). Hamburg is the second-busiest port in Europe and 15th-largest worldwide.

Rathaus
The Hamburg Rathaus is the city hall or town hall of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. It is the seat of the government of Hamburg and as such, the seat of one of Germany's 16 state parliaments. It houses the office of the First Mayor of Hamburg and the meeting rooms for Hamburg's parliament and senate (the city's executive).

Alster
In the city centre the Alster river fills two artificial lakes. The inner lake Binnenalster is located close to the town hall and main shopping area. The outer and by far larger lake Aussenalster is surrounded by parks and greenery. Walking along the lakefront of both lakes offer stunning views of the city.

Hagenbecks Tierpark
Hagenbecks is a zoo in Stellingen, a quarter in Hamburg. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. in 1907. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. Today the zoo is still owned and run by descendants of the founders.

Die Reeperbahn Famous red light district St. Pauli with the main street Reeperbahn nowadays is an area not only for adult entertainment. On the main street and in the small side streets we find lots of bars and dancing clubs that offer drinks and music on every day of the week. There are clubs for every music taste.

St. Michaelis
Visit Hamburg’s most impressive observation deck in the St. Michael's tower with an unrivalled panoramic view of the city, port and beyond from 106 metres above the river Elbe. You can usually access the platform via the lift conveniently located in the lift hall on the first floor (52 steps). With a diameter of 8 metres, the tower clock is the largest in Germany. The big hand measures 5 metres in length and the small hand 3.6 metres. Each hand weighs 130 kg. The tower features six chime bells and two clock bells.

Museumshafen Oevelgönne
The Museumshafen (Museum Harbour) Oevelgönne is a wonderful destination on the Elbe beach for young and old. Around 20 vintage ships are anchored at this location – including German and Dutch flat-bottomed vessels (the leeboards of which challenge the public to work out their purpose), steam tugs and barges. Located right on the main shipping channel, the Museumshafen Oevelgönne is a unique attraction for young and old alike. It was founded in 1976 by a private, non-profit association which set itself the task of restoring the former commercial vessels and keeping them afloat. These date largely from the period between 1880 and 1960 and were of exceptional significance for the north German region and the Port of Hamburg in terms of supply, infrastructure and the provision of services. They were undoubtedly jointly responsible for the economic success of the Hanseatic city.

Hamburger Kunsthalle (Artist’s Books: The Collection / 01. December to 02. April 2018)
In the exhibition Artist’s Books, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is for the first time presenting a selection of the best-known publications and photo books by artists from its collection of some 3,000 exemplars. Accompanying the books on display, designed by artists from Joseph Beuys and John Cage to Dieter Roth and Wolf Vostell, and also including members of the younger generation such as Yto Barrada, will be a selection of artworks from the collection of the Gallery of Contemporary Art that relate directly to the publications. These include primarily conceptual artworks by Sol LeWitt, Ed Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner and Richard Long. In the 1960s, the genre of the artist’s book was greatly expanded by the integration of a wide range of media including actions, happenings, audience participation, and everyday materials. Artists drew on various means of expression for the form and content of their book objects: script, drawing, musical notation, stamping, photocopies, painting, collage and mechanical printing techniques. The publications conjoin poetry and documentation, taking the form of manifestos, sketch books, multiples or political proclamations and thus becoming a field for experimentation that transcends traditional concepts of the book. In recent years, young artists in particular have rediscovered the artist’s book, a trend that is evident at international forums such as the now-legendary NY Art Book Fair in New York. Artist’s record albums are also enjoying a renaissance. Categorised simply as “vinyl”, artist-designed LPs and album covers from the Kunsthalle collection will also figure in the show.

The Hotel offers a map that shows atracktive Jogging-courses nearby.

Travelling to Hamburg

Arriving by plane:

Hamburg Airport (HAM)

The local train S-Bahn S1 (green line) operates every 10 minutes between Hamburg Airport (Flughafen) and Hamburgs central railway station (Hauptbahnhof), a journey of approx. 30 minutes. A single ticket costs 3,20 EURO (http://www.hvv.de/pdf/tarif/hvv_fahrkarten_preise.pdf)The Hamburg Airport (Flughafen) S-Bahn station is directly in front of the terminals and is easily reached by lift, escalator or stairs. The S1 goes from the airport via the central railway station directly to the station ‚Stadthausbrücke‘, which is 2 minutes walk to the meeting venue, the Steigenberger Hotel Hamburg.

A taxi ride from the Hamburg airport to the meeting venue or the city centre will cost approx. 30 EURO and take approx. 30 – 45 minutes depending on the traffic. Taxis line up at a stand in front of the exit at the arrival level. Taxi drivers usually accept credit cards but please check before you get into the car.

Arriving by train:

The Hamburg central railway station is located in the city centre. There are several metro lines, local train lines and bus lines that will take you in every direction. You can find train information on the website of the Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) at https://www.bahn.com/en/ .

Arriving by car:

The highways (Autobahn) A1, A7, A23, A24 or A255 connect Hamburg to the north, the south and to the east. Coming in on the A7 either use the exit‚ Bahrenfeld‘ or‚ Volkspark‘ and follow the signs to the city centre (Stadtmitte). Depending on driving from the south or the north on the A1 you need to change to the A255 direction‚ Elbbrücken‘ and than follow the signs to city centre. Or change to the A24 direction‚ Jenfeld‘ or ‚Horner Kreisel‘ and follow the signs to city centre as well.

Getting around Hamburg:

Taxis

Taxi fares are regulated so you will pay the same fares on every car. There is a basic fee for every ride and additional distance costs per kilometres. During rush hour on weekdays the fees are slightly higher. You can find the current taxi fares at http://www.hamburg.de/taxi/2936756/taxi-fahrpreise/ (unfortunately only in German). If you do not find a free taxi on the street you can either call a taxi provider or use a taxi app. Some taxi providers are:

Currently the ‚mytaxi‘ app is the most popular taxi app.

Public transportation

For information about local transport connections please use the pages of the public transport association for travel in and around Hamburg (HVV).
The HVV operates all metro and bus lines and some ferry lines as well, http://www.hvv.de/en
Ticket prices can be found at http://www.hvv.de/en/tickets/single-day-tickets/overview/index.php
Lines and routes plans can be found at http://www.hvv.de/en/timetables/line-route-networks-plans/overview/

Hamburg quick facts

Time Zone
Central European Time (GMT +1)

Electricity
Standard electrical voltage is 220 V AC. Germany uses type C and F plugs, see
http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/.

Currency
Euro

ATMS
ATM can be found almost everywhere.

Country Code
+49

Emergency Services
112

Police
110

Climate
Average day temperatures in February are 5 C with lows around -3 C and highs of 8 C.

Tipping
Service charge and tax are included in all prices and bills, so tipping is not considered obligatory. However, if the service received is considered satisfactory, especially in bars and restaurants, a tip is often appreciated. A tip of 7% - 10% of the bill is common.