Hamburg: Wind, water, and wide spaces
Hamburg invites you to enjoy a city break in close touch with nature: with its countless parks, nature reserves, urban beaches, open-air food stands and its unique urban shore, Hamburg ensures a relaxing and yet highly diverse holiday experience. That’s because in Hamburg, inspiring urban environments and soothing greenery go hand in hand.
This summer, there is really no need for lengthy journeys, complex planning, or rushing. Instead, you are invited to enjoy the simple things in life: with its 36 nature reserves, Hamburg is one of the greenest cities in all of Europe, allowing visitors to enjoy urban flair combined with beautiful nature experiences.
So why not venture out for a hiking trip in the nearby Harburg Hills, followed by a refreshing shandy at the Strandperle with a view of passing container ships. Or take a leisurely walk around the 200-year-old Planten un Blomen park and pop over to the adjacent Karolinenviertel afterwards for fair fashion and natural cosmetics. Or how about a bike tour along Hamburg’s urban shore? With a fresh tailwind, you can cycle alongside giant container ships, from the stairs quarter of Blankenese via the Oevelgönne beaches and past the St Pauli Fischmarkt all the way to the city centre. You can stop over at the Landungsbrücken for a fresh fish roll and enjoy a cool drink on the Elbphilharmonie’s Plaza at sunset.
Hamburg is a green pearl, with countless bodies of water, a fresh breeze, tree-lined streets, and residents who love their city just as much as Hamburg’s guests do. Hamburg offers an excellent climate especially in the summer months – and not just in terms of temperatures, but also in terms of street food locations, outdoor cafés, and lush green getaway destinations within easy reach.
Did you know that Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and Amsterdam? Little wonder, though, when you consider the countless canals and tributaries of the Alster and the Elbe. In Hamburg's urban ecosystem, water and nature are embedded in a unique way. To discover the city from an entirely new angle, you can rent a stand-up paddle board or a canoe at the Alster Lake in the city centre. From there, you can make your way along the Alster canals that will take you to green residential areas and to Stadtpark Hamburg, the city’s green lung and a much-loved location for open-air events – summery temperatures and a refreshing breeze included.
Hamburg provides a laid-back holiday experience – on the water and on land. A relaxing summer in the city can also take the shape of browsing around the city centre, strolling through the countless inner-city parks, or chilling out on the waterfront. That’s because Hamburg’s retail opportunities go well beyond shopping centres, and because Hamburg boasts Europe’s largest Japanese garden as well as Europe’s most extensive park cemetery. And because Hamburg is one of the few cities to have its own urban beaches.
The city’s cultural life is being rebooted cautiously and, due to current circumstances, Hamburg’s cultural venues will not be overcrowded this summer. But that’s just fine, because Hamburg’s locals have their own way of enjoying a long summer’s night: in the street cafés, at the beach clubs, beer gardens and open-air restaurant terraces – some of these with a maritime view of the Elbe, and others with a view of lush greenery on the banks of the Alster.
And all those wishing to escape from city life can get a train from the central station to the countryside on Hamburg’s doorstep: in the matter of one hour, you can reach the seaside resorts on the Baltic Sea as well as the national parks and the Wadden Sea on the North Sea. The unspoilt nature around the Lauenburg Lakes to the east is also worth a day trip, as are the extensive hiking areas of the Lüneburg Heath in the south of Hamburg.
And even as a stopover on the way to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea or the route to Denmark, Hamburg is the ideal place to enjoy two or three days of urban flair combined with wind, water, and wide spaces.
More info on Hamburg’s green spaces at https://www.hamburg-travel.com/see-explore/green-hamburg/
