Urban Trends and Scenes

Maritime Streetart

In the alternative oriented districts St. Pauli, Schanzen- und Karolinenviertel streetart in all its facettes can be found everywhere. For lovers of urban art galleries like Helium Art Cowboy or the Affenfaust Gallery just like the Knotenpunkt Festival or the blog urbanshit.de are highly recommended. Photo: Wim Jansen

Young designers in the Markstraße

Hat maker Ulla Machalett in her store Rotkäppchen - the store functions as a studio at the same time. Several stores like Rotkäppchen are gathered around the area of Marktstraße in the district Karolinenviertel. Round about 20 fashion-, jewellery-, and accessory-designers are producing here on-site. Photo: Wim Jansen

Café-Culture in Hamburg

Harbour Cake is one of many cosy cafés in the districts Karolinen- and Schanzenviertel. People from Hamburg love nothing more than combining fleemarket- and boutique-shopping on saturdays with long afternoons at a café. Especially at the Marktstraße and at Schulterblatt one can perfectly spend the time with people-spotting. Photo: Wim Jansen

Music and Art from Hamburg - Hanseplatte

The Hanseplatte is located next to the old slaughterhouse between Schanzen- and Karolinenviertel. The store is specialised on music, art, literature and stuff from Hamburg and ist often frequented by musicians who live in the neighbourhood. Photo: Wim Jansen

Passionate People from Hamburg

The anchor is Hamburgs informal city symbol - and a popular tattoo motif for all people from Hamburg, whose hearts beat passionately for the maritime flair of the harbor, the seagulls and the Elbe river. Nowhere else you can find such local patriotic citizens like here. Photo: Wim Jansen

When it comes to nightlife and creativity, Hamburg’s music and “in” crowds are constantly setting new trends. Hamburg’s former red-light district, the Reeperbahn in St Pauli, became an attractive entertainment district long ago, offering an abundance of theatres, restaurants, galleries, pubs, clubs and music venues. Even 50 years after the beginning of the Beatles’ career on the Reeperbahn, the district is still and not just during the famous Reeperbahn Festival a starting point for many young bands and the music-hotspot in northern Europe. When it comes to clubs and bars, the Reeperbahn has always been ahead of its time. In the streets next door many galleries, young designers, exiting restaurants and hip bars have settled.

Yet you will find hip locations and creative start-ups also in other quarters, buzzing with creativity, e.g. the Schanzenviertel, the Karolinenviertel, Ottensen or St Georg, and in the bars and beach clubs by the port. Here Hamburg’s creative and original clientele is living out its creativity in stylish cafés, charming boutiques and innovative start-ups – a colourful mixture somewhere between alternative lifestyles and hipstertourists.

The streetart scene has left its marks on the walls of the buildings and lovers of vinyl, vintage and young fashion- and productdesign are not missing out here. Hamburg’s alternative art and culture scenes merge in the historic Gängeviertel, its many independent galleries or the Oberhafenquartier behind Deichtorhallen; while the international hipsters can be found at the bohemian cafés and shops at Schanzenviertel, St. Pauli and Karolinenviertel.

The foodies have also discovered the potential of the Hanseatic city with ist craftbeerstores and –breweries, foodtruck-festivals and original restaurants. Besides the boom of the burger restaurants, the vegan and vegetarian kitchen is also on the way up - from 3 stars-restaurants to organic fastfood places, Hamburgs chefs have increased cooking with local and regional products.

Many well-visited design- and DIY-markets are presenting the handmade culture.The strong creative side of Hamburg constantly attracts thousands of visitors - Popup-stores and temporary Showrooms are providing a welcome change.

Throughout the year many culture and music festivals take place – amongst them the Reeperbahnfestival, the International Summerfestival on Kampnagel, the literature festival Harbour Front or the Filmfest Hamburg: Hamburgs scene and culture offers many interesting occasions for an exciting city trip.