City guide

Hamburg

Maritime city on the Elbe

Hamburg splits the difference between Berlin's grit and Munich's polish: a wealthy port city built around water, with more bridges than Venice, Amsterdam and Stockholm combined and a skyline anchored by the Elbphilharmonie and the historic Speicherstadt warehouse district. It is elegant and maritime in its centre, but turns raw and loud fast around the Reeperbahn and St. Pauli after dark.