Luxury shops in noble boulevards, relaxed strolls in elegant shopping arcades, individual and young styles direct from the designer or quirky antiques from Hamburg's eventful past – or should shopping take place ecologically and consciously with manufacturers and small retailers? If you want to shop in Hamburg, you are spoilt for choice.
Magnificent streets
Large office blocks, wide pavements – Hamburg's boulevards have a long tradition. The most famous of them is the Jungfernstieg. The boulevard along the Binnenalster is Hamburg's most traditional shopping promenade. Here, everything revolves around shopping in large department stores such as the famous Alsterhaus. Another example of Hanseatic elegance is the arcade in the Hamburger Hof. Many exclusive shops await customers along the Jungfernstieg: There are shoes, leather and travel accessories, the elegant Alsterhaus department stores and many jewellery shops.
The Mönckebergstraße is Hamburg's main shopping street. The "Mö", as locals call the street, has connected the town hall and the main railway station since 1909 and is a symbol of merchant pride and an expression of economic solidity. The boulevard still impresses today with its diverse range of large department and fashion stores, retailers, cafés and snack bars. The Levantehaus is one of the smallest but finest shopping arcades in the city.
There is also plenty to discover in the streets around the "Mö": Gertrudenstraße, Rosenstraße, Hermannstraße or Paulstraße with their antique shops, galleries, book and record shops as well as in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kontorhaus district around Burchardplatz with its many galleries and high-quality retailers.
Fine and beautiful
Right next to the Rathausmarkt is the Neuer Wall, one of Europe's leading luxury streets. Fashion labels such as Louis Vuitton and Jil Sander, jewellery manufacturers Bulgari and Cartier and exclusive accessories from Hermès have their home here. Neuer Wall is also home to many traditional specialist shops such as the fashion house Unger, the jeweller Sönnichsen and the boutique of the Hamburg-based company Montblanc.
Beautiful Art Nouveau facades and small town villas characterise the streetscape in the ABC district. Together with the high-end boutiques, antique shops and jewellers, this part of the Hamburg city centre has earned the name "Quartier Satin". In the ABC quarter, you will find around 40 mostly owner-managed specialist shops that place great value on a personal approach, sound advice and excellent service. Incidentally, the name of the neighbourhood comes from the fact that the houses here used to have letters rather than numbers.
Hamburg's arcades
There are 26 arcades in Hamburg's city centre. Even from the outside, the Alsterarkaden enchant visitors with their Venetian flair. They were built between 1844 and 1846 after the great fire and still impress with their elegant lightness. The smallest and oldest Mellinpassage connects the Alsterarkaden with Neuer Wall and is a sight to behold with its Venetian-style ceiling paintings. In the centre of the Passagenviertel, also home to the newly renovated Kaufmannshaus, is a typical Hamburg office block built in 1905 in the splendid Hanseatic Gründerzeit style. A small pedestrian bridge, the Bleichensteg, leads from Neuer Wall to its entrance. Here you will find fashion, furniture, home accessories, art and lifestyle products from brands such as ACNE, Crabtree & Evelyn, Anamundi and Muji.
The Galleria impresses with marble, chrome and glass in the Art Deco style and 25 exclusive shops, including an art bookshop and a tobacco bar. In the Hanseviertel you can experience shopping in a Hanseatic atmosphere: More than 50 boutiques and speciality shops offer a huge selection here, ranging from interior design to lingerie – always with a smile and qualified advice included. Various restaurants and cafés sweeten the shopping spree. The Europapassage is Hamburg's largest inner-city shopping mall with 30.000 square metres and is located directly at the end of Jungfernstieg.
Young shopping
Young trendsetters stick to the pedestrian-only Spitalerstraße in the city centre with its many branches of well-known brands from Zara to H&M, as well as Monki and Weekday near the Rathausmarkt. A number of streetwear and sneaker shops as well as young brands such as Miss Sixty and Closed have also set up shop here. Streetwear and trends can also be found at the Gänsemarkt. Lovers of Scandinavian, French, young Berlin and Hamburg fashion and the latest street styles are more likely to find what they are looking for in the Schanzenviertel and Karolinenviertel. Between street cafés, the independent scene and advertising agencies, you'll find everything your style heart desires. Around the Schulterblatt, especially in Susannenstraße, Schanzenstraße and Bartelsstraße, there are many small and individual boutiques. The "young and wild" of Hamburg's design world have mainly settled in the Karolinenviertel around Marktstraße.
Individual shopping – Hamburg's neighbourhoods
Each neighbourhood has its own character. There is the elegant Pöseldorf with its interior design shops, galleries and high-class restaurants; the wealthy Eppendorf with its lovingly managed boutiques on the ground floor of magnificent art nouveau buildings; the upper Eimsbüttel with its lively and casual shopping life around Osterstraße. Shoppers with a desire for less hustle and bustle and a high level of quality awareness could find something for themselves in the neighbourhoods of Winterhude or in the Uhlenhorst district. And the formerly alternative Ottensen is home to the LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) – the many shops and restaurants around Ottenser Hauptstraße are all about sustainability and the good life. Even St. Georg also offers great shopping experiences with arts and crafts and design.
