Hamburg in 2 days
Two days by the hour: the first on foot from the Speicherstadt to the Reeperbahn, the second down the Elbe to Övelgönne, then Altona, the city hall and the Alster.
- How long
- 2
- Getting around
- Day one two single tickets
- The port without a tour
- Ferry 62
Two days in Hamburg divide by water: day one is the port and the Speicherstadt, all on foot between Baumwall station and the Reeperbahn, and day two is the Elbe by ferry to Övelgönne, then Altona, the city hall and the Alster. Day one has only two rides, to Baumwall station and back from the Reeperbahn; day two has four and runs on a single day ticket, which is valid on the ferry too.
On foot from Baumwall to the Reeperbahn
U3 Baumwall station, then over the bridge into the Speicherstadt. Half an hour among the warehouses, from the bridges, before your Wunderland slot, which is in the same quarter, on Kehrwieder.
Miniatur Wunderland, on a slot booked online, until half past twelve.
Lunch, then the Elbphilharmonie, at the tip of HafenCity, across the water from Kehrwieder: the plaza is visited on a ticket for an exact time, so book it together with Wunderland.
On foot along the water past Baumwall to the Landungsbrücken and onto a barkasse. The tour goes into the Speicherstadt canals you saw from the bridges in the morning — which is why the barkasse comes in the afternoon, not first.
The Old Elbe Tunnel, entered by the Landungsbrücken: a pedestrian tunnel from 1911, 426 metres long and 24 metres below the river, free and open day and night. From the far bank you see the Landungsbrücken and the city across the water.
St Pauli, on foot uphill from the Landungsbrücken to the Reeperbahn. The night here runs longer than the plan, so day two does not start before 9:30.
The Elbe, Altona and the Alster
Sundays only: the fish market, then ferry 62 straight from its own stop, Altona (Fischmarkt). On other days the day starts at 9:30.
Ferry 62 from the Landungsbrücken to the Neumühlen/Övelgönne stop, on your day ticket. It runs down the Elbe past the container terminals on the far bank — the port without a tour, on a public transport ticket.
Övelgönne: the sandy bank of the Elbe and the Museum Harbour, old vessels moored along a pontoon and seen from the shore.
Along the river to Altona and Ottensen. Altona was a Danish town until 1864 and only became part of Hamburg in 1938; lunch in Ottensen.
The S-Bahn from Altona station to Jungfernstieg and the city hall: a tour of a building with six hundred and forty-seven rooms, where the Senate and the city parliament still sit.
The Binnenalster and Jungfernstieg, then a walk along the Aussenalster, the larger of the two lakes made by damming the river Alster.
What costs you an hour here
- The city hall as a fixed point. Tours are dropped when the Senate or parliament need the rooms, at short notice; that is why it sits in the afternoon, next to the Alster, which can absorb the hour.
- Ferry 62 instead of a barkasse. The ferry runs along the Elbe and does not enter the canals; the Speicherstadt from the water is only seen from a barkasse.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is a day ticket worth it on both days?
Not on day one: that is two rides, and a day ticket costs the same as two singles. On day two, yes: getting there, the ferry, the S-Bahn and the ride back make four.
Can I book the city hall tour?
You cannot. Tickets are sold at the desk in the city hall foyer, and sales open twenty minutes before the first tour of the day.
Ready for Hamburg?
Where to next
Where to stay in Hamburg
→Five quarters by what you hear under the window at night and by the line that gets you to the port in the…
Berlin · 255 km
→A city cut in half by a wall that fell in 1989, and which never made a secret of the scar
How well does Hamburg suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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