$699+ Cheap flights to Hamburg

Getting around Hamburg

To get around, take the U-Bahn (subway). Take the S-Bahn (trains) to get out to the suburbs. The two services are connected. Buy bus tickets at Automats and railway ticket counters, and you’ll get a great view of the city in return. For unlimited travel, as well as discounted admission to Hamburg attractions, purchase a Hamburg Card. 

It’s fairly easy to drive in Hamburg, but rush hour can slow your travel and parking is expensive. Taxis can be found almost anywhere.

Getting from the airport to the city

Hamburg Airport (HAM) is situated 8 km from Hamburg. To get to the city from the airport you can hop on the S-Bahn (local train) to Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), which runs every ten minutes. Hamburg Bus Lines take visitors downtown and to the suburbs. A taxi will take around 30 minutes to get you downtown. Trains, subways, harbour ferries and buses can take you around central Hamburg easily. 

What is good to know if travelling to Hamburg?

• Hamburg’s port is the largest sea port in the country and the second largest in Europe. Industrial, but also attractive, you can easily spend an afternoon wandering round. Don’t miss Rickmer Rickmers, an old sailing ship permanently moored in the port and now a museum. Built in 1896, it has been used as a cargo ship to Hong Kong, and a carrier of war materials and owned by the Germans, Portuguese and British. Today, the ship houses a museum and on-board restaurant.
• Hamburg is, of course, said to be where the Hamburger originated. The origin of the dish is reputed to come from the city’s trade connections. Arab merchants introduced a raw version of the dish, called kibbeh, which was a mixture of ground lamb and spices. Locals made a few changes, including the crucial cooking of the meat, and the hamburger we know and love was born…
• With more bridges than Venice, Hamburg is a city on the water. Take a canal boat trip to see it from the river and enjoy the commentary of the ship’s captains. You can also hire kayaks or row boats to take to the water during the summer months.
• There are lots of museums and activities catering to children. One of the best is the Puppenmuseum, or Doll’s Museum, a short drive from the city centre. The collection was built up over three decades and contains more than 300 dolls and around 60 doll houses.
• Germany’s nightlife is centred around the Reeperbahn area. The red-light district is also the place where the Beatles first began their career, when they spent three months here in 1960. For a tour of Beatles nightclubs, visit the Top Ten Club on the Reeperbahn, then the Kaiserkeller on Grosse Freiheit and the Starclub.