hamburg city guide

Here's a little Hamburg guide... I really like getting travel inspiration and tips from blogs, Instagrams and such, so I thought I'd make a little one for you... We stayed at the Mövenpick Hotel in Sternschanzen Park (which could be pretty creepy in the evening). The hotel was very nice and pretty cool - it's an old water tower a landmark for Hamburg, you can see it in picture number 10.

Where to eat?

Nord Coast Coffee Roastery:

The perfect spot to enjoy breakfast or tea/coffee time. It has a really cool old-fashioned vibe but is still really fresh, cozy and modern. They've got healthy breakfast options - such as their Acai bowls (good but only for banana fans) and scrambled eggs etc. And they've also got stuff for the ones with a sweeter tooth, like: waffles, lots of different cakes etc. Their freshly squeezed orange juice is as delicious as their coffee. It's located in Deichstraße in HafenCity.

Elbgold:

The perfect Sternschanzen breakfast! Industrial, modern and most definitely a place hipsters come to enjoy one of Hamburgs best coffees. We had lunch and breakfast there during our stay, as it was quite close to Mövenpick hotel. It's also right beside Bullerei and Altes Mädchen. They have lots of different kinds of bread and toppings such as ciabatta, bagels, focaccia etc. and parma ham, salami, mozzarella, salmon and so on.

Bullerei:

Bullerei is a slightly weird but probably super good (judging from the burgers we had in the Bullerei Deli where you can probably get a table without having booked weeks in advance - if you're willing to wait) dinner place for meat lovers. Their cocktails are super good too and it's a very popular place. But for people who are not the biggest meat fans ever - the Deli is quite a nice alternative that also serves meat but not in as huge amounts as Bullerei. It's just beside Elbgold and Altes Mädchen.

Altes Mädchen:

A dark and also very popular restaurant. In the same street as Bullerei and Elbold - Lagerstraße. They specialize in craft beers and their menu is quite varied. We all had salads there and they were super good.

Café de Paris:

The food we had there was good, but I'd probably not recommend it. What I'd recommend instead is having a coffee and a lemon meringue pie or a macaron and enjoy the pretty French atmosphere and ceiling.

Alsterhaus Hamburg:

Quite dissapointing actually. But I'll post pictures of the breakfast later. It's quite a nice place to pick up a Berliner but stay away from their freshly squeezed juices!

What to do?

Fishmarket:

A Sunday visit to the local Fishmarket is quite funny. There's a lot of shop owners still trying to yell after having lost their voices - probably a couple of hours ago. Lots of locals and tourists go there but I think it's more fun for the locals who can actually buy some fish and big baskets full of exotic fruits. We were recommended to go there about 5-7 o'clock in the morning but we probably arrived at 8 o'clock - which was completely fine and it definitely wasn't over. Their Fishmarket concert and brunch was quite funny too. We didn't do it because I'm not sure cold beer, fish and "Sweet Home Alabama" is my breakfast thing... See picture 2.

Twisted Rooms:

I've written a post about this earlier. You pick a room and you have one hour to solve a mystery through finding different clues and solving problems. It's a quite nice teamworking exercise and it's actually not as all as lame as it sounds. Perfect for a rainy day in Hamburg.

HafenCity & Harbour:

A visit to the harbour is a must! It's industrial vibe and size are quite impressive. You can take a ride in a boat bus to experience Hamburg from the water. HafenCity is cool too even though there are lots of buildings in different styles (and some of them quite ugly). Picture 1 and 9.

Sternschanzen:

The cool hipster part of Hamburg. It has many interesting little shops but most of the clothes they sell are actually Danish or Swedish - which wasn't that much fun for us. But you can also come across jewellery from local young Hamburg designers, which makes for a perfect souvenir. The houses here are quite pretty but covered in graffiti.

Binnenalster & Town Hall:

This is probably the only "really pretty" place in Hamburg. All the major shopping malls and expensive stores are located in this area. I wouldn't say that there is anything particular about the shopping as there are mostly quite international brands. The Town Hall is pretty pompous too and it's definitely worth checking it out. We didn't go inside it though. The Pictures 4, 6 and 8.

St. Michael's Church & St. Catherine's Church:

This church is nothing special from the outside but the pale blue and white interior is worth a visit for! As is St. Catherine's Church - it's much simpler and plain white but still very pretty. Pictures 3 and 5. And 7 for St. Catherine's Church.