Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city and a melting pot for international students. With nine institutions and more than 70,000 students, cheap flights to Hamburg are filled with eager learners waiting to leave their mark on Germany. A vacation in Hamburg might be filled with students, but it’s also primed with history and culture.
Lined with parks, canals and modern buildings, Hamburg provides the perfect meeting place for Germany travelers. A couple of days in Hamburg and you’ll rediscover Germany at its finest– classic, simple and always entertaining. Take a stroll through one of Hamburg’s 1,400 parks and gardens or mingle with the locals at one of Hamburg’s late-night cafes. You might be surprised to learn that Hamburg is one of the greenest cities in Europe – in fact, Hamburg residents and visitors are some of the most committed to eco-friendly living.
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Wet and windy, Hamburg is in the region known for its year-round Reizklima—healthy, bracing climate. The city has warm summers with temperatures reaching the 70s (F) in July and August. July is also the wettest month with over three inches of rain. .Winters are cold with snow and ice and temperatures dropping to the 20s in January. Sometimes it stays cold long enough for the Elbe and city lakes to freeze for ice skating. The snowfall in the city tends to be light.
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Peak Season:
Hamburg is the busiest with tourists from May to September, after school lets out and students have left the city. This is also the time of folk festivals throughout Germany. Book flights to Hamburg early and reserve hotel rooms ahead of time if you're planning on visiting Hamburg for a festival.
Off Season:
March to May and October to early November have pleasant weather and fewer tourists. Cheap flights to Hamburg are found during November to March, when fewer visitors are here, lines are shorter, and you can focus on cultural events.
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The Airport Express runs frequent buses to the Central Station (Hauptbahnhof). The TRAVELPorter Airport transfer service provides a door-to-door service within the local area. Hamburg Bus Lines service the city center and other suburban areas. Taxis are readily available outside all terminals, they take around 30 minutes to the city center.
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Hamburg’s public transportation is very good and provides subways, surface trains, buses, and harbor ferries. The U-Bahn (subway) services the city center and connects with the S-Bahn (surface trains) that services the suburbs. The U/S Bahns are the fastest way of getting around town. The buses are also very good and provide views of the city as you ride. Tickets are sold at Automats and railway ticket counters. The Hamburg Card allows unlimited travel for a day and discounted admission to several attractions.
Driving in Hamburg is easier than in most German cities, except during rush hour when traffic snarls and gridlock can occur. Parking though is expensive. (If you park in a German garage, pay when you return to retrieve your car, not when driving out.)
Taxis are always available and a bit cheaper than in other German cities.
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- 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. Entrance is just €3.
- If you find you miss the port when you get home (or you want to take a look at it before you get there), there is a webcam available at the official Hamburg Port Web site.
- Hamburg is, of course, home to the Hamburger. 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 adaptations, 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 center. The collection was built up over three decades and contains more than 300 dolls and around 60 dollhouses.
- Germany’s nightlife is centered 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 at number 39.
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