Relaxing Things to Do In Hamburg

An Overview of Hamburg

Hamburg is a German city located on the banks of the Elbe River. It is the country’s largest port and commercial nexus. The seafaring hub is saturated with broad canals, a long shipping and commerce history, interesting buildings and the highest number of bridges in Europe The city’s many canals, public parks, shopping centers and museums provide many relaxing things to do in Hamburg.

Relaxing Things to Do In Hamburg

Baakenpark

This is an artificial penninsula park created with sand from the Elbe River. The park is home to a series of viewing platforms to overlook Hamburg’s impressive shipping district, as well as a small playground area.

Hamburg Rathaus

An imposing and stately building, the Neo-Renaissance city hall in located in Hamburg’s city center. The area is also decorated with several statues and an expansive plaza. The lavish interior offers tours through some of the 600 rooms, the Great Hall, the Emperor’s Hall and other features. The building remains an operational local governing site to this day.

Dialogue in the Dark

This is a subversively interesting museum of international artwork designed to experience life as a blind person.  The museum is experienced with a blindfold on and was created by Andreas Heinecke while processing the loss of his family during the Holocaust.

Treppenviertel Blankenese

This zone contains a hilly portion of the city known as the “Stairs Quarter” which was largely untouched by the numerous bombings and military campaigns of World War II.  For a pre-WWII German experience, visitors may walk the twisting alleys and whitewashed houses via 5,000 interconnected stairs, paths and streets. Walking these old streets is one of the most relaxing things to do in Hamburg.

The Chilehaus

This is a unique building created to look like the bow of a colossal ship. It serves as an important landmark and a prime example of the Brick Expressionism architecture style.

Fish Market (Fischauktionshalle)

A massive shopping area with fresh produce daily which sells flowers, fruit, mackerel, herring, pollock, salmon and shrimp. The fish-and-shopping center is housed inside an ornate 19th-century hall. It’s usually open on Sunday mornings, though other fish markets along the riverfront can also be visited nearby.

Planten un Blomen

This is one of Europe’s most renown urban parks. The large greenspace has numerous walking trails which lead to the Old Botanical Garden, a series of outdoor flowering gardens, greenhouses, a few botanical plantations, some statues and musical light-fountains. The fountain display is called Wasserlichtkonzerte, which includes a nightly show with organ music in the summer.

Speicherstadt

This is a large double-canal area surrounded by red brick buildings, Gothic Revival Architecture and narrow waterways.  Originally the world’s largest standing timber-foundation warehouse in the world, the area has been converted into an large zone for apartments, shops and museums.

St. Nicholas Church

This perfectly creepy Gothic tower was once the tallest building on Earth. Now, the Church is a bombed out spire thanks to damage wrought by bombing raids during WWII.  The tower is hollow and grim, but remains structurally sound. The building is home to numerous statues around it and a series of bells and museums within.

Blankenese Shipwrecks

Visible from the shore especially during low tide, the ruins of an old Finnish ship (the Polstjernan) rest in the waters. The ship met it’s end after it exploded.  It’s remains were left alongside WWII submarine scraps along the wreckage’s seawall.  This is a good beach walking area and the wrecks are roughly 300 meters past the lighthouse.

Harry’s Harbor Bazaar

This harbor is home to a strange collection of African masks, voodoo dolls, shrunken heads, witchery items, painted shields and stuffed jungle creatures. The bazaar operates out of a docked ship open to tourists.  The history of many of the pieces and their mysterious acquisitions are unknown.

German Food Additives Museum

An amazing little museum used to demonstrate the thousands of potent chemical substances concealed within everyday food. Though it doesn’t take long to visit the musuem, the subject matter is well-researched, informative and unsual.

The International Maritime Museum of Hamburg

This is likely on of the the most famous museums found in Hamburg. The musuem is houses in a solid brick building with various devices, artworks, models and uniforms harkening to Germany’s naval history.

Miniatur Wunderland (The Miniture Wonderland Museum)

A small but growing hidden museum located between canals in Hamburg. The museum hosts a vast array of model railways which are constantly expanding to include new global sites. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg is currently the world’s largest model railway.

Spicy’s Gewürzmuseum

This odd museum hosts a changing series of exhibitions regarding the cultivation, processes and history regarding spices and herbs.

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