3 days in Hamburg: the Ultimate Hamburg Itinerary for a Long Weekend

Here’s my tried and tested Hamburg itinerary for spending the best 3 days in Hamburg. You can also modify it to fit 2 days since the last day is super light. 

Do you know that Hamburg is my favorite city in Germany? 

Living in Germany for 6 years, I have visited a lot of big cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Dortmund. Out of all of them, it was Hamburg that shone the brightest.

Hamburg is fun, happy, colorful, hip yet historical, and super pretty. It has everything it takes to be a perfect city break for those who live in Europe.

Somehow different parts of Hamburg feel like they could be completely different cities altogether. The old town of Hamburg has this Dark Acadamia vibe going on, and the St. Pauli area is a lovely space for artists. Do you that the Beatles started their career in St. Pauli’s Reeperbahn? 

This is why I keep going back to Hamburg and I even celebrated my birthday there once. It was definitely epic and memorable since Hamburg has amazing nightlife!

So, how many days do you need for Hamburg? I’d say a minimum of 2 and at least 3 if you’d like to explore Hamburg at a relaxed pace. I spent 3 days in Hamburg the first time I visited and felt I did the city justice. I later visited Hamburg for 2 days on a few occasions and felt it was a bit rushed.

If it is your first time reading one of my itineraries, you will be very happy to discover that these are designed in a way that most stops are just around 2-5 minutes away from the previous ones by walking. You will just have to make an effort to reach the first one. 

So, as a Hamburg city expert. here’s my highly researched itinerary for experiencing Hamburg that’s tried and tested.

How to Move Around in Hamburg?

Hamburg has an amazing network of internal transportation and it just gets better with time. I have traveled on buses, subway trains, e-scooters, and also a lot of walking. Below is my experience with each one:

1) App Based E Scooter / E-Bike Rental

In recent years app based E-bikes and scooters have come up in a big way. I usually rent e-scooters using the Tier and Bolt apps. 

They are convenient because you can find the nearest one on your app, and cost as low as 17 cents per minute. You can set up the payment to go from your credit card or PayPal. You can pick them up and use them and leave them at your convenience. 

2) Buses

The buses in Hamburg are very cool because they also have a bookshelf inside! Being a bookworm, I say that the buses in Hamburg are the best in the world.

3) Trains

The fastest way of moving around long distances in Hamburg is definitely by subway train. You can take the S-Bahns and the U-Bahns. Some of the train stations are very cool and I love how the Hamburg Central Station looks from up above on the bridge.

How to Approach the Hamburg 3 Day Itinerary?

I have included different sections of Hamburg for each day, so you have something fun to look forward to each day. I have designed highly researched walking paths so that almost every stop in my Hamburg itinerary is reachable easily just a minute or two after the earlier one.

The first and the last days of this itinerary are lighter because I’m assuming that some of you will arrive in the morning or by lunchtime in Hamburg on your first day.

I’m also assuming that most of you will look at this itinerary for a long weekend in Hamburg, so the last day has “Sunday” activities. If Sunday is on your second day, then you can just switch the days.

The first day includes the fun area in and around St. Pauli, the second day has the more touristy spots, so feel free to swap the first day for the second if you are arriving the night before.

The last day of this itinerary for Hamburg has fewer things to do than the other two days so you can relax a little before you leave. 

I did publish a post about things to do in Hamburg for every kind of traveler, but I understand that it is easier to read an itinerary so that you don’t spend time planning your trip.

Day 1 in Hamburg Itinerary

Assuming your first day is the day when you will most likely arrive in Hamburg, the itinerary is a bit lighter and includes a smaller walking area that you can also do with buses or trains.

Most of the first day will be in St. Pauli and around and is perfect for the second half of the day because it includes an amazing sunset, dinner, and nightlife spots. 

 

Wear your comfortable shoes and your comfortable-fun clothes to express your style. You will spend most of your time today in and around St. Pauli – a superhip neighborhood. The unwritten dress-code memo says “chic casual”, so you don’t need your party dress or fancy shoes.

Download an offline version of this map and save it on your phone before you start your day.

Arrive at Landungsbrücken

Landungsbrücken is actually a train/subway station in St. Pauli which is surprisingly pretty. There is a clock tower here and this entire complex is a protected monument. 

Arrive at Landungsbrücken and walk around to click pictures. Keep this spot in mind because you will visit the elevated walking bridge that’s part of it across the road for a sunset viewpoint later today. For now, you will just enter the harbor area from Landungsbrücken.

Walk along the Harbour & See Rickmer Rickmers

Spend a few moments enjoying the vibe of Hamburg by walking on the harbor. You will see some interesting ships and also Rickmer Rickmers, Hamburg’s beloved historical ship. It was built in 1896 and is called a “museum ship”.

Across the Elbe River, you will also see the famous Elbphilharmonie building with a very interesting shape. We will visit this building on the second day of our Hamburg itinerary. The first day is for enjoying the Elbe Riverside, the culture, the food, and all the fun stuff.

Brücke 10 for Fischbrötchen or Krabbenbrötchen

Brücke 10 is a legendary Hamburg-style casual restaurant where you can eat a Fischbrötchen, the most famous food of Hamburg – fish in a bun.

Do you know that you get the best buns in Germany? Yes, just the way the French are proud of their Bagguttes, Germans have the same thing with the brötchen (buns). They are crispy on the outside and soft inside.

So, a very typical German thing that you can eat in Hamburg is fish or seafood in a bun and that’s what you get in Brücke 10 along with beer. (or course). I didn’t technically order a Fischbrötchen but a Krabbenbrötchen, which means prawns in a bun.

My Krabbenbrötchen costed around 10 Euros and my 4-year-old girl ate a Fischbrötchen, which was cheaper.

See the Elbtunnel & go to Steinwerder

There’s a tunnel that goes under River Elbe from Landungsbrücken to Steinwerder. In order to take this tunnel, you have to go underground on a very cool elevator. You can bring your cycle along with you on it.

Walking under the Elbe River through the tunnel is a fun experience without having the final destination in mind. Moreover, the tunnel makes a perfect spot for photos.

When you reach the other end of the tunnel, you will arrive at Steinwerder where you can walk around for a while to see the views. Explore the area if you’d like to and then get back to the tunnel because it closes at 6 pm.

Head to Stintfang for Sunset

When you return to the Landungsbrücken after a quick stop at Steinwerder, you can make your way to the other side of the road via the elevated bridge. It will take you directly to a hilly part of a public park.

The is an entire section of this hill that faces Landungsbrücken and this spot is called Stintfang. Get a mat, a few drinks, and set up a picnic as you sit here. There are many benches here also but they usually get occupied super fast so you can sit on the grass.

The sunset time in this part of the world varies drastically with the seasons. It can be as late as 10 pm in summer and as early as 5 pm in winter. Sometimes even 4:30 pm!

So, plan your time in a way that you can watch the sunset from Stintfang. That’s when you can see the spectacle of colors of the harbor with the clock tower of Landungsbrücken in front of you.

Explopre St. Pauli – Skatepark Holstenstraße & Schanzenviertel

You haven’t truly experienced Hamburg if you haven’t spent time in St. Pauli. Walk around here and see the fun streets where some parts are covered with art.

So where to go in St. Pauli? Walk in a circle and cross Skatepark Holstenstraße and Schanzenviertel. I have a thing about skate parks and I loved the graffiti at Skatepark Holstenstraße.

The first time I stayed in Hamburg, I was at Superbude St Pauli, so I was in the middle of it. That’s why I got to explore St. Pauli really well.

For maybe a Hamburg local, this would be a normal “blah” sight but I loved every nook and corner of St. Pauli. The shops are interesting and sometimes you can find really weird stuff.

Dinner in Sternschanze

Sternschanze is an area in St. Pauli that has good restaurants, bars, and a decent nightlife scene that isn’t sleazy like the nearby Reeperbahn.

We ate our dinnner at Fischimbiss schabi in Sternschanze.

Walk Through Reeperbahn – Hamburg’s Red Light Area

Hamburg’s Red Light Area is not at all like Amsterdam’s but it is supposed to be surprisingly bigger. It is called Reeperbahn and is historically significant because the Beatles played in pubs here before the Beatlemania hit the world.

If you want to visit the club where the Beatles performed, it is called Große Freiheit. I have a post about Hamburg’s nightlife, check it out because it has information about this club and many others.

Day 2 in Hamburg Itinerary

Your second itinerary day in Hamburg is around the older buildings and some of the prettiest spots in the city which I also mentioned in my Hamburg Instagram Spots post.

You will be surprised to know that day 2 is the exact same itinerary that I did with my 4-year-old daughter and my husband and ended up having a lot of fun. 

As mentioned before, in all of my itineraries, most of the stops are just 2-5 minutes after the previous one because I don’t want you to waste time. Moreover, I have tried and tested this itinerary with my 4-year-old, I can’t get her to walk as much as I do so I plan things in advance.

We arrived at our first stop on a bus from the Altona area and then walked our way to all the other stops. In the middle, we also rented Tier and Bolt E Scooters through the app.

Walk Around in HafenCity, See Elbphilharmonie

Arrive in HafenCity to start your second day in Hamburg. Today’s itinerary is busier than yesterday so hope you are feeling energetic. We will also visit Speicherstadt later today, which for me is the prettiest part of Hamburg.

Hamburg’s HafenCity is a newly built quarter and is on a river island called Grasbrook. It was formally established in 2008 and has some very interesting and futuristic buildings. 

Elbphilharmonie is the most iconic building in HafenCity and is actually a concert hall. Not just from HafenCity but you will see this building from many places in Hamburg, even from St. Pauli beach!

Honestly, if you want to photograph the Elbphilharmonie building, it is easier to do it from some of the bridges of Speicherstadt instead.

More than just Elbphilharmonie, for me the whole HafenCity experience is about noticing the weird buildings and even some of the residential ones looked insanely cool.

One cool place to spend your time (and money) in HafenCity would be a place called Discovery Docks. It is suitable for children over 7 as per their website, so I didn’t go with my 4year old.

If you are here with smaller children, then I’m happy to tell you that there are a few playgrounds in HafenCity. Look for Grasbrookpark on Google Maps and visit it if you’re nearby. This way your children can play for a while and you get a chance to relax on the bench.

Explore Speicherstadt – the Warehouse District

Now let’s explore my favorite area of Hamburg – Speicherstadt. It is the biggest warehouse district in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The buildings of Speicherstadt are red and they all look like they are a part of a Dark Academia theme. There are many bridges that go over intersecting canals. I don’t know about you but I wanted to get lost here and didn’t want to leave.

Walk around in Speicherstadt, it isn’t that big so you can cover it entirely by walking through from one end to another. There are so many things to see and a few hidden spots that I discover something new every single time.

I do remember on two occasions finding ourselves in the middle of a courtyard with arches around. I later found out that it is Chilehaus, which is an office building with a nice courtyard in the middle.

Although I have already mentioned this in my Hamburg Instagram spots post, I’d like to tell you that some of my favorite spots in Speicherstadt that you should see are Brooksfleet Canal, Wasserschloss, and Cafea GmbH building.

Lunch at Speicherstadt

Miniatur Wunderland

Founded in 2000, Miniatur Wunderland is one of a kind exhibit that is an absolute joy to see. There are miniature versions of many European landscapes with a functioning model train network.

As of today Miniatur Wunderland exhibit has 1,120 trains and more than 10,000 wagons.  The Guinness World Records states that Miniatur Wunderland has the largest model railway system in the world!

It started as sections of Germany and Austria but soon more sections were added because of its popularity. There are now sections for Switzerland, Scandinavia, Italy, the USA, and more that are added regularly.

See Deichstraße & Nikolaifleet

Deichstraße is the name of the street that goes along the Nikolaifleet canal and is Hamburg’s prettiest spot. Take your time and walk on the 280-long Deichstraße. 

The houses along the street on Deichstraße are narrow and long, just like the ones in Amsterdam. They are called “dyke houses” because they are built on a dyke between the street and the Nikolaifleet canal. Originally they were built as living spaces for merchants with also storage and working space.

Sadly, a lot was destroyed in 1842’s great fire but some of the buildings have been restored and the others have been completely changed from inside.

See St. Nikolai Main Church

Honestly, I don’t visit churches but I add them to my itineraries if they are on the way because some of them are interesting. Yes, you will cross St. Nikolai Main Church on this route and yes you should go inside, but I didn’t. I’d like to mention it to you just in case you want to go.

Explore the Rathaus Complex

Living in Germany since 2017, I have seen many amazing Rathaus buildings all over the country but the one that stands out the most is Hamburg’s. Rathaus means town hall by the way, and it is an important landmark of Hamburg.

Hamburg’s Rathaus is lovely from the outside and inside both. The building is wide, so you can only photograph it using a wide-angle lens. It displays baroque architecture and the roof is bluish-green.

Walk around the Rathaus complex, and eat ice cream or another snack. Watch the hustle-bustle of tourists and a few locals around you.

You can go inside the Rathaus too, it is very pretty and there’s usually some sort of an exhibit that takes place indoors. I also like the area behind the Rathaus with the fountain and some chairs.

Walk on Alster Arcade & Jungfernstieg (+ Dinner)

I have a thing for waterfront spots and I love them even more as the sun sets and the laps light up. This is why I loved Alster Arcade at the Jungfernstieg promenade.

Alster Arcade is high-end, so if you find a place to eat here, keep in mind that it won’t be cheap. This entire promenade has some interesting stores with luxurious things.

Stroll through the gleaming white arcades and see Rathaus from a different perspective. One of the restaurants that have amazing outdoor seating with a view is Vleet. Go there for a drink or two if you find a table.

We did not eat at Vleet or any of the restaurants at the Alster Arcade because they looked very high-end to us. Moreover, we were dressed very casually so we didn’t bother.

Sit by the Alster Lakes for Sunset with Swans

How to end your second day in Hamburg? Sit by Alster Lakes!

If you did not eat dinner at one of Alster Arcade’s high-end restaurants, then you can grab a snack or a bun and eat as you sit by the lovely Alster Lake. 

There are actually two Alster Lakes side by side so it is up to you how much you want to see. You can walk along the nearest Alster Lake and when you find a nice place, sit on a bench and eat your snack.

If it is summer, then most likely the sunset time will be 9:45 pm or 10 pm. You will see a few students here too from the nearby Hamburg University and some of them will also be carrying their portable speakers. So, the atmosphere can get really lively.

Alster Lakes have swans and it is an interesting experience watching the sunset with swans around. They are absolutely magnificent creatures. 

Enjoy Hamburg’s Nightlife

Hamburg has one of the liveliest party scenes in Germany and I also have an entirely separate post about it. The party scene is casual and you don’t need to dress up in fancy clothes. In fact, in most of the places in Germany, you don’t need to dress up fancy for nightlife (thank god).

You will have to get back to the St. Pauli area for nightlife because the best clubs are here. I recommend Docks or Südpol for techno and Grosse Freiheit 36 for live performances out of many. But hey, do give my post a read to know what the best nightclubs in Hamburg are.

Day 3 in Hamburg Itinerary

If you’re in Hamburg for a weekend, then you would have left already. But, if you are here for a long weekend then your third day in Hamburg will also be your last day and I have some fun stuff chalked out for you.

It is likely that you will spend just half of your third day in Hamburg and will get on a train or bus to travel out. Keeping this in mind, today’s itinerary is the lightest of all days and includes some relaxing stuff.

 

Breakfast at the Fischmarkt (Optional)

Are you a morning person? I’m not. But if you are then this point is for you. Ask any Hamburg local about their favorite place to go in their city, and most will say that you must visit the fish market – or Der Fischmarkt. 

Hamburg’s Fish Market is open from 5 am to 9:30 am in Summer and 7 am to 9:30 am in winter and it occurs only on Sundays. I will be honest with you, I could never wake up in time to visit the Fischmarkt. But just because I didn’t, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also. 

If you did go out partying the night before, then you can just enjoy the Fischmarkt at 5 am and eat fresh fish before you go back to your room to sleep. This is how a lot of younger locals do it! 

Walk from Landungsbrücken to Große Wallanlagen

From the Fish Market, you can take a Ferry 62 to “Landungsbrücken Brücke 1” and you will be back to where you were on your day 1 Hamburg itinerary. Walk from here for a kilometer to Große Wallanlagen, a state park that will take you from the St. Pauli area to the main city with a walking shortcut.

Große Wallanlagen used to be Hamburg’s city walls but it is a state park in the middle of Hamburg’s madness that has themed sub-parks and a lake with fountains. So expect to see some old structures and water features.

There’s something special for each season in Große Wallanlagen. The flowers bloom in spring, summer days are perfect for picnics and occasional concerts. If you enjoy seeing autumn foliage, Große Wallanlagen shows the perfect warm colors as the leaves turn orange and red. Wintertime is for ice skating so that’s very special for me.

If you have time, you can walk from Große Wallanlagen to Kleine Wallanlagen, which is also another state park next to it. Große means big and Kleine means small, so Kleine Wallanlagen is a smaller one.

Große Wallanlagen also has a cafe inside called Park Café Planten un Blomen. Sit here for a coffee if you’d like.

See St. Michael’s Church

From Große Wallanlagen, you will get out of the park at the exit nearest to “Handwerkskammer” to enter Hamburg’s city center and walk for 600 meters to arrive at St. Michael’s Church.

Now it is up to you whether you want to go inside the church or not, but I’d like you to at least look at the building which has a narrow copper-covered spire that’s 132 meters high.

I didn’t go inside but I heard it is bright and airy. The views from the top are supposed to be amazing.

Make Your Chocolate at Chocoversum

From St. Michael’s Church, walk for 100 meters to the Michaeliskirche bus stop and take bus number 16 going in the direction of Rentenversicherung Nord. Get off the bus after 4 stops at Jakobikirchhof, and walk for 400 meters to arrive at your next stop – Chocoversum.

Believe it or not, this was one of the most fun things that I did in Hamburg and this is how I celebrated my birthday. Chocoversum is a chocolate factory and a museum that’s a must-visit for any chocolate lover.

The Chocoversum chocolate factory is by Hachez and the chocolate actually tastes amazing. I’m actually a chocolate connoisseur and I’m very particular about which chocolates I like. I don’t like a lot of popular brands like Hershey’s or Cadburys but I loved the taste of Hachez chocolate.

There are a limited number of tours daily in English and German at Chocoversum and the English ones sell out very fast. The time I visited with my 4-year-old, the tours were sadly sold out because I didn’t book in advance. Don’t make the mistake that I did and book your tour in advance.

We did a tour that was for 1.5 hours and we learned a lot about chocolate making, cocoa beans, and different kinds of chocolates. 

Book Your Chocoversum Tour

At the end of the tour, we made our own chocolates with the ingredients that were given to us. I made a salted caramel dark chocolate. My husband made milk chocolate with cranberries.

Walk on Lange Reihe in St. Georg, 

From Chocoversum, walk for 100 meters to Meßberg U-Bahn station and get on U-1 going in the direction of Großhansdorf. Get off at Hauptbahnhof Süd and walk for 400 meters and you will be in St. Georg.

St. Georg is colourful and quirky with many hip studios and cafes. Hamburg in total is LGBTQ-friendly and St. Georg is often called Hamburg’s LGBTQ neighborhood.

Walk on Lange Reihe, which is often called one of the most beautiful streets in Hamburg. You will see historical high-end residential buildings alongside the street. Many of the half timber-framed buildings on Lange Reihe are protected monuments.

We ended up exploring St. Georg because, on one of our trips, we stayed in Superbude St. Georg so we obviously had to explore the area around where we stayed.

Lunch at Peter Pane Burger

Did you know that the people of Hamburg are actually called Hamburgers? I mention this in my post about interesting things to do in Hamburg.

Also, many believe that Hamburg actually came out of Hamburg and was popularized all over the world. In its original form, the bun was a typical German Brötchen. The convent of this sandwich of Hamburg traveled all over the world because Hamburg was historically a very important port city. So c’mon, you have to eat a Hamburger in Hamburg.

Peter Pane Burger is in Lange Reihe so you don’t have to make an extra effort to visit a new stop for lunch. They also have vegan burgers and you will love their sweet potato fries.

Lange Reihe has a lot of other hip and casual cafes and restaurants, so ff you want to eat something other than a burger then you will find a lot of options here.

Relax at Alsterwiese Schwanenwik

After you finish your lunch in Lange Reihe, walk for 900 meters to Alsterwiese Schwanenwik, which is a grassy patch along a part of one of the Alster Lakes. 

We grabbed a few Astra beers in our backpack to drink as we sat here enjoying the last day of our Hamburg city break. Astra is Hamburg’s beer brew and you should try it.

Unless it is raining, you don’t need a mat to sit here because the grass is well-kept. You will see an uninterrupted view of the lake and Heinrich-Hertz-Tower on the other side of it.

Most likely you already visited a part of Alster Lake side for sunset on your second evening but this is a slightly different part of the lakeside.

Night boat tour from Landungsbrücken

After spending a nice afternoon by the side of Alster Lake, you can go back to your hotel and make sure you are packed for your journey. Freshen up and get out for dinner and a night boat tour if you have time. We did this with our year old and loved it.

In order to get from Alsterwiese Schwanenwik to Landungsbrücken, get to Uhlandstraße U-Bahn station, and get on a U-3 going in the direction of Schlump – Barmbek. After 8 stops, you will reach Landungsbrücken.

Once you arrive at Landungsbrücken, you can walk around because your tour will start when the sun sets. So in June, it will be at 10:30 pm, 8:30 pm in September, and 6 pm in November. So, if you are doing this in summer, most likely you will have to eat dinner at Landungsbrücken before you go. 

We sat on the deck for the night boat tour for the best view but had to move downstairs after a while because it got too cold. You can also order your drinks on the boat if you’d like.

Book Hamburg Harbor Evening Lights Cruise

My 4-year-old daughter loved the night boat tour, even though it was a little after her bedtime but we made an exception. She was very happy when we crossed “The Mehr! Theater” with Die Eiskönigin (Disney’s Frozen) logo outside.

We saw a lot of interesting buildings, hotels, and massive ships. There was a commentary going on but we didn’t pay attention.

Where to Stay in Hamburg close to everything?

If you are looking for a perfect place to stay in Hamburg, I will give you three options and I have stayed in all three! They will all appeal to different kinds of travelers.

My favorite place to stay in Hamburg is Superbude St. Pauli and this location makes so much sense in every way. If you stay in St. Pauli, you are going to be close to the nightlife spots, the harbor, and a lot of fun spots.

Click here to book Superbude St. Pauli

Superbude St. Pauli also has a Rockstar Suite with 5 beds so it is perfect for a group of friends who are visiting for a festival or maybe even a family. 

The time I stayed in Superbude St. Pauli, it was just me and my husband so we had a perfectly spacious suite for the two of us.

I also stayed in Superbude St. Georg and it is the perfect location for exploring the older parts of Hamburg – the warehouse district, Lange Reihe, etc. 

I do remember a very funny singing fish in the toilet in our Superbude St. Georg suite which was of course a part of the decor.

Click here to book Superbude St. Georg

St. Georg is also very close to Hamburg Central train station so it is very convenient to reach and to leave from, especially if you don’t want to lug around your luggage in buses or the Subway as you arrive in Hamburg or as you leave the city at the end of your trip.

When I went with my 4-year-old to Hamburg, I stayed in Superbude Altona and I loved the massive room that we had and the most amazing breakfast spread.

Superbude Altona makes sense if you’re with your family because it is a quieter neighborhood. Also, it is close to the Fischmarkt so if you are waking up early on Sunday to see the Fish Market, then you don’t have to go very far.

I love the Superbude chain in Hamburg because the rooms are pretty quirky. They have an amazing sense of design and the service is beyond exceptional. It is a whole vibe, so staying in Superbude is an experience.

Click here to book Superbude Altona

Their beds are comfortable and because of all this, I would be happy to pay a little higher than normal nearby shady places and pick Superbude instead.

Closing Thoughts on Hamburg Itinerary

Hamburg is one of those destinations that’s fun throughout the year and there’s something for everyone here. Children will love it and so will grown-ups. Party travelers will have so much fun in Hamburg and so will history buffs who enjoy museums and old architecture.

I did mention a lot of things that you can do in Hamburg but don’t stress yourself into doing them all. Pick a few of them if you don’t like to do too many things on holidays, and enjoy your experience.

Disclosure: I collaborated with Superbude Hamburg in 2017 and 2022. However, all opinions expressed in this article are my own.