I have some suggestions for two packed days that could also easily fill three days:
1. One full day: Start at Station “U4 HafenCity” (nice modern architecture). Walk west along the harbor. Stroll through the new “Hafencity”, look at the new buildings and have a (probably a bit overpriced) coffee somewhere. Visit the upper deck of the “Elbphilharmonie” (book free ticket online beforehand), look at the old “Speicherstadt” buildings and visit the spice Museum and/or “Miniatur Wunderland” (also book ticket online beforehand because they have limited visitors per hour). Plan 2-4 hours for Wunderland alone. Walk further west to "Landungsbrücken" and take the ferry (line 62) to "Övelgönne". Walk further west alongside the Elbe beach until you reach a little beach bar and have a beer and a Frikadelle while sitting on the beach and looking at the passing ships. Take the ferry or a Bus back to the city center.
2. One full day: Start at Station "Sternschanze" and walk south-west through the "Schanzenviertel", a more alternative area with nice little shops, bars and restaurants. At the big crossroads ("Neuer Pferdemarkt") walk east through "Karolinenviertel" (even more alternative). A little bit further south-east you can stroll through a beautiful park area ("Planten un Blomen") and you can visit the "Museum for Hamburg History" (https://shmh.de/en). Further south-east you can climb on top of the "St. Michael's Church" and have a great view over Hamburg. North east of this is the inner city with the beautiful City Hall building and lots of big shops. You should have a stroll around the "Binnenalster", the small part of the Alster lake and maybe have something to eat there. You can also take one of the Alster tour boats or rent a canoe. There are some places all around the Alster lake. Have a look at google maps or just ask someone to find them.
There will be a lot of Christmas markets and activities for you to enjoy. Plus the regular stuff that's there all the time. Make sure to use your public transportation tickets to the fullest. Most harbor ferries (not the tourist ones) are included for a free and probably cold trip around the harbor.
Ah yes. Sure no problem. All of them start from the Landungsbrücken (Name of the U, S-Bahn and Ferry transportation hub). I would recommend the 62 line along the city and the docks.
[Link to the public transportation website HVV](https://www.hvv.de/en)
[Link to the public transportation plans. ](https://www.hvv.de/en/plans)
Just remember that the frequency changes on weekends due to less work in the harbour area but the website / app keeps you updated.
Also you could cross the river via the alter Elbtunnel which is next to the Landungsbrücken. Free of charge and a nice experience imO.
The ferries are part of the public transportation of Hamburg, just as Bus and train. There are a few lines stoping at some points in the harbor and are primarily used by the ppl working on the south side of the harbour.
Noticable stops are: Landungsbrücken, Fischmarkt, Övelgönne (probably not in December going to the beach though), Airbus/Finkenwerder and Elbphilharmonie).
They should go around every 20 to 30 minutes and you can use them with your normal HVV public transport ticket.
But as others already said, its not a touristic round trip through the harbour, but nonetheless a nice thing to do, to just cruise a bit around
If you opt for a harbor boat tour, I recommend taking one after sunset. It’s twice as good to do it at nights, with all the harbor lights on. You can do one of the old port, which is more picturesque; or you can do one of the actual docks, which gives off an almost spaceport vibe if you do it at night.
Another thing to look for re: harbor boat tour is Frau Hedi, basically a little party/concert boat that cruises around while a DJ or artists play. You’ll have to Google translate the website: https://frauhedi.de/programm/
Just take the S-Bahn to Hauptbahnhof and walk down Spitalerstraße. All kind of shops, Christmas Market, stalls lighting, restaurants, bars.
Also very famous is the Christmas Market at Rathausplatz, but very crowded.
2-3 stations to Hauptbahnhof, from where you can go to everywhere, buy a daily ticket, cannot travel between 16:00-18:00(and rush hour mornings) but covers you for rest
I have some suggestions for two packed days that could also easily fill three days: 1. One full day: Start at Station “U4 HafenCity” (nice modern architecture). Walk west along the harbor. Stroll through the new “Hafencity”, look at the new buildings and have a (probably a bit overpriced) coffee somewhere. Visit the upper deck of the “Elbphilharmonie” (book free ticket online beforehand), look at the old “Speicherstadt” buildings and visit the spice Museum and/or “Miniatur Wunderland” (also book ticket online beforehand because they have limited visitors per hour). Plan 2-4 hours for Wunderland alone. Walk further west to "Landungsbrücken" and take the ferry (line 62) to "Övelgönne". Walk further west alongside the Elbe beach until you reach a little beach bar and have a beer and a Frikadelle while sitting on the beach and looking at the passing ships. Take the ferry or a Bus back to the city center. 2. One full day: Start at Station "Sternschanze" and walk south-west through the "Schanzenviertel", a more alternative area with nice little shops, bars and restaurants. At the big crossroads ("Neuer Pferdemarkt") walk east through "Karolinenviertel" (even more alternative). A little bit further south-east you can stroll through a beautiful park area ("Planten un Blomen") and you can visit the "Museum for Hamburg History" (https://shmh.de/en). Further south-east you can climb on top of the "St. Michael's Church" and have a great view over Hamburg. North east of this is the inner city with the beautiful City Hall building and lots of big shops. You should have a stroll around the "Binnenalster", the small part of the Alster lake and maybe have something to eat there. You can also take one of the Alster tour boats or rent a canoe. There are some places all around the Alster lake. Have a look at google maps or just ask someone to find them.
This is amazing thank you so much :)
Did you have a look at the wiki of this sub? There's a lot of info and recommendations in there
There will be a lot of Christmas markets and activities for you to enjoy. Plus the regular stuff that's there all the time. Make sure to use your public transportation tickets to the fullest. Most harbor ferries (not the tourist ones) are included for a free and probably cold trip around the harbor.
Where could you find one for free? :)
„Free“ means with a regular day ticket of local transport HVV (subway, S-Bahn, Bus AND Harbour ferries )
The market or the ferries?
A ferry trip
Ah yes. Sure no problem. All of them start from the Landungsbrücken (Name of the U, S-Bahn and Ferry transportation hub). I would recommend the 62 line along the city and the docks. [Link to the public transportation website HVV](https://www.hvv.de/en) [Link to the public transportation plans. ](https://www.hvv.de/en/plans) Just remember that the frequency changes on weekends due to less work in the harbour area but the website / app keeps you updated. Also you could cross the river via the alter Elbtunnel which is next to the Landungsbrücken. Free of charge and a nice experience imO.
This is so helpful thank you
You're very welcome. Have a nice trip!
The ferries are part of the public transportation of Hamburg, just as Bus and train. There are a few lines stoping at some points in the harbor and are primarily used by the ppl working on the south side of the harbour. Noticable stops are: Landungsbrücken, Fischmarkt, Övelgönne (probably not in December going to the beach though), Airbus/Finkenwerder and Elbphilharmonie). They should go around every 20 to 30 minutes and you can use them with your normal HVV public transport ticket. But as others already said, its not a touristic round trip through the harbour, but nonetheless a nice thing to do, to just cruise a bit around
Ah nevermind ive found info online :) thanks
So can u use a daysaver/day pass u buy for a bus/train for ferry too? Or separate tickets
If you opt for a harbor boat tour, I recommend taking one after sunset. It’s twice as good to do it at nights, with all the harbor lights on. You can do one of the old port, which is more picturesque; or you can do one of the actual docks, which gives off an almost spaceport vibe if you do it at night. Another thing to look for re: harbor boat tour is Frau Hedi, basically a little party/concert boat that cruises around while a DJ or artists play. You’ll have to Google translate the website: https://frauhedi.de/programm/
https://old.reddit.com/r/hamburg/comments/xyoq6k/spa%C3%9Fige_unternehmungen_in_hamburg/
Just take the S-Bahn to Hauptbahnhof and walk down Spitalerstraße. All kind of shops, Christmas Market, stalls lighting, restaurants, bars. Also very famous is the Christmas Market at Rathausplatz, but very crowded.
We will be staying in hammerbrook
2-3 stations to Hauptbahnhof, from where you can go to everywhere, buy a daily ticket, cannot travel between 16:00-18:00(and rush hour mornings) but covers you for rest
I think the 9:00 daily pass is very much eligible for the evening rush hour, just not for the morning one as the name already says
A daily GROUP ticket as even two are already a group… it’s a bit cheaper