A bike ride along the coast

Germans love their rules, so here are two basic rules for you when planning your cycle tour along Hamburg’s urban shore. First, you want to make sure you travel from west to east i.e. from Wedel / Blankenese to HafenCity or Entenwerder. That’s because you want to harness the tailwind coming from the North Sea. Second, you want to allow plenty of time even though the route might seem quite short for an experienced cyclist (about 17 km from Blankenese to the HafenCity). That’s because you want to accommodate at least three or four stops for refreshment or picnic breaks. If you follow these two basic rules, you will be sure to experience a highly diverse and utterly inspiring maritime excursion that is unparalleled among European metropolitan regions.

Your journey begins in the city centre, where you take your bike on the S 1 or S 11 to Blankenese. Pushing your bike downhill through the picturesque stairs quarter, you will reach the beach of Blankenese, a former fishing village and now a well-to-do Elbe suburb. Fancy a tasty lunch? “FISCHclub Blankenese” offers a great choice of maritime dishes – or perhaps try a fish roll at the “Op‘n Bulln” on a pontoon. Your route continues in the direction of Hamburg’s city centre. Cycling along the Elbwiesen nature reserve, you will follow the path of the river, passing yacht clubs (to the right) and stately villas (to the left). If you are in a competitive mood, you can take up a race with one of the giant ships arriving with the tide at the container terminals on the other side of the Elbe.

The south side of the Elbe is also home to the world‘s third largest aircraft workshops the Airbus plant in Finkenwerder, the birthplace of the A320 holiday planes and the legendary A380 double-decker. Passing various beer gardens, you will now reach the romantic highlight of your tour: the Lime Tree Terrace of the Hotel Louis C. Jacob, also known as the “Liebermann Terrace”, named after the famous impressionist painter, who captured the beauty of this place in 1902. Here you can enjoy your afternoon tea in a truly unique setting. A little later, as you reach the Teufelsbrück jetty, you will take a short detour to the Jenischpark, an English-style landscaped park that is also home to the Jenisch Haus and the Ernst Barlach Haus – the cultural highlight of your cycle tour.

A few minutes later, you will pass the “Alter Schwede”, a glacial erratic with a weight of more than 200 tonnes. You will then reach Oevelgönne, a lovely village with a great choice of eateries and some old captain‘s cottages (you are better off pushing your bike now). Here you can also find the Strandperle, the mother of all Hamburg beach clubs – ideal for a cool bottle of beer Leaving the Oevelgönne museum harbour behind you, the scenery becomes more urban: at Alter Fischereihafen, you can grab a fresh fish roll from the fish wholesalers, and on Saturday mornings you can treat yourself to oysters and champagne in one of the small fish restaurants opposite. By the way, Hamburg’s famous fish market is held every Sunday from 5 to 9:30 a.m. outside the historic fish auction hall. A must for all guests, it can be enjoyed first thing in the morning or at the end of a St Pauli party night. The route along the St Pauli Landungsbrücken (excellent fish rolls also at “Brücke 10”) will be a bit busier, until you reach your final destination – the Elbphilharmonie in the HafenCity. Make sure to check out the Plaza viewing platform for a gorgeous panoramic view. And if you’re still bursting with energy, you can continue along the cycle path to the Entenwerder peninsula for coffee at Public Coffee Roasters and a slice of cake at Entenwerder1 – a pontoon café on the Northern Elbe that is popular among locals.

Tip:
The city of Hamburg wants to become more bicycle-friendly! With the “Alliance for Bicycle Traffic”, Hamburg has set itself the goal of tackling the problems of bicycle traffic and encouraging citizens to change saddles. And the willingness is palpable. In order to strengthen the trend, in addition to the extensive construction work, a communication campaign is being carried out in order to further sensitize all road users to cycling. The goal is clear: in the near future, traffic in Hamburg should become safer, more relaxed and more sustainable. Numerous tips, exciting stories and helpful information about cycling in Hamburg are available online at: https://fahrrad.hamburg/en/