Making the most of Hamburg
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Hamburg port has three modern cruise facilities. The original is in HafenCity's redeveloped old warehouse district, and a second opened in 2010 at Altona in the regenerated former fish dock. HafenCity terminal is walkable from central Hamburg, with its entrance inside the Westfield shopping centre.
Cruise center 3 has operated in Steinwerder, at the heart of the Port of Hamburg, since 2015. Kronprinzkai berth can accommodate the next generation of cruise ships. A bus stop is about 500m from the terminal, while the Water bus stop is close by but does not operate at weekends.
Some large vessels use Altona Terminal. Although it is not walkable to town, Water bus #62 offers an excellent link to Landungsbrucken wharf, where all Hop on/off buses and harbour tours begin. The stop is 20 meters from the ship's aft; services run every 15 minutes by day and every 30 minutes until midnight. It costs 1.30 euro per ride or 6 euros all day, including all other Hamburg transport. The water bus is itself a pleasant sightseeing boat, and the full circuit is enjoyable.
Most cruise lines also provide a 10 Euro shuttle to the central station. A taxi is about 13 euro each way.
Hamburg Airport (Fuhlsbüttel) is 9.5 km away.
The s-bahn station sits directly beneath the airport terminal, with trains every 15mins. Travel to the city-center main station takes about 20 min's and to Altona station about 15mins.
Watch a video of Altona Cruise Terminal.
Accommodation options in Hamburg.
View the harbour webcam.
A printable map to bring with you.
Use Hamburg's cruise calendar to see schedules and your docking berth.
Hamburg is Germany's most visited cruise port; Warnemunde is nr2, followed by Kiel in third place.
The Elbe, Alster and Bille rivers cross Hamburg alongside a picturesque network of narrow Fleete canals. The centre also has the Inner and Outer Alster Lakes. Most of Hamburg's key sights are in the city centre, a half-moon-shaped area north of the Elbe, edged by a curve of roads ending in wall (ramparts), which trace the old city limits.
The Alsterfleet canal runs through the middle, dividing Altstadt (Old City) from Neustadt (New City). If you lose your bearings, use the bronze, helmet-shaped Michaeliskirche south of the city centre as an easy-to-spot landmark.
Getting around
Harbour boat tours leave from Landungsbrücken. Various operators offer these Hafenrundfahrten, which take about an hour. Larger vessels are more comfortable, while smaller ones travel through Speicherstadt; both are worth the cost. Ask about English-language departures, often at noon.
Landungsbrücken also has the u and s bahn station:
For Jungfernstieg, Hamburg's lively Alster-side centre, use the s1, s2 or s3.
Alternatively take the u3 to Baumwall for HafenCity, Europe's largest inner-city development project and a model for European waterfront-city development. For historic surroundings, explore Speicherstadt, whose listed buildings now contain leisure attractions including Minatur Wunderland's captivating toy-railway worlds and Hamburg Dungeon. Speicherstadt also has museums: the German Customs Museum (Deutsche Zollmuseum), covering Hamburg customs and smuggling, and the International Maritime Museum with thousands of nautical charts and ship models.
Hop on/off buses are available.
Taxis are reliable but costly.
Nearby places
Many cruise lines run Berlin excursions, though it is a fairly long journey. Check Berlin's weather forecast before booking: the city is stunning on a fine day.
Food and shopping
Hamburg's main shopping district is Mönckebergstraße in the city centre. Use the subway for central station, Rathaus (town hall) or Mönckebergstraße, and also explore side street Spitalerstraße. West of town hall towards Gaensemarkt are pricier names such as Hugo Boss. Most shops open 10AM to 8PM, extending to 10PM on Thursdays and Fridays.
Schnellimbiss snacks are common in Germany, notably Bock wurst (boiled sausage), Bratwurst (grilled sausage), Curry wurst (spiced sausage), fries and hamburgers.
German fast food is inexpensive, filling and varied, with sausage stalls, imbisses and specialist stands offering plenty of choices. Much comes from Turkish cooking and is popular as cheap, healthy food. The favourite Turkish option is Doner Kebab: a thick pita usually filled with chicken or beef, plus fresh French fries and salad.
Money
The currency is the Euro, and ATM machines are plentiful.
At smaller establishments, ask first whether Credit Cards are accepted.
Staying connected
German is spoken. Germans are considered punctual, disciplined and, not least, a little formal. German has two forms of you: "Du" and "Sie." "Du" is less formal and "Sie" is more formal; with people you do not know, almost always use "Sie" plus their last name.
Call 110 for Police Emergency and 112 for Fire Emergency or Ambulance Call.
Large bookstores such as Thalia offer internet facilities, as do many cafes.
Opening Hours and
Every store must close by 8 p.m., though some shut as early as 6:30 p.m. Saturday closing is 1 or 2 p.m.; in large city centres, most remain open until 2 or 4 p.m.
All stores close on Sundays, apart from some bakeries that open on sunday morning.
Hamburg is renowned for its festivals.