Since I was a child – and for several years now with our own children – we have been going to the Hanseatic city on the Elbe at irregular intervals – including on a warm, late summer weekend at the end of September. Of course, you are much more motivated to explore a city in bright sunshine, but Hamburg has a lot to offer even in bad weather.
Until the last time, we were always staying wit family friends and have not relied on hotel accommodation. But this year we booked a stay at the Park-Hotel Hagenbeck (formerly Lindner). The 4* theme hotel is (as the name suggests) in the immediate vicinity of the Hagenbeck Zoo. Since the kids were staying with their godfather a few streets away, this time we two adults stayed in a double room. The room was on the third floor in the Asia themed area, furnished in a somewhat old-fashioned way, but clean and very quiet thanks to its location in the residential area. The hotel has a well-equipped fitness area and a sauna, but unfortunately no swimming pool. The staff was always super friendly. If you want to save yourself the fee for the underground car park, you will always find a free space on the street opposite along the allotment garden. We booked two nights without breakfast because we had breakfast with the kids and our friends in the morning, so I can’t report anything about that.
A few meters on the diagonally opposite side of the street you will find the Tierpark Hagenbeck U3 train station and an Edeka market with a bakery to stock up on snacks and drinks for the day if necessary.
If you don’t want to eat in the hotel, we can recommend the Italian restaurant “La Ponte” around the corner.
We went to Hagenbeck Zoo years ago – it’s definitely worth a visit! Did you know that Carl Hagenbeck was the first in the world to open his zoo in 1907 with so-called “natural enclosures” he invented? Tickets are currently €29 or €19 for the zoo and €45 or €33 as a combination ticket with entry to the aquarium. There is also a family ticket and as a hotel guest you save 20%.
For excursions within Hamburg, the crucial question is how to get from A to B (with children) without stress. I can only advise you to definitely leave your car parked somewhere and not try to get around the city by car! The traffic is terrible and is getting worse in my opinion. Because of this and the need for additional child car seats, taxi services such as Uber, FreeNow or Moia are not really an option. If you don’t want to explore everything on foot, it’s best to take public transport. The route network is well coordinated with bus, subway and S-Bahn. A day ticket for an adult costs €8,80 and even allows you to take up to three children under 15 years old. Depending on the number of children and adults, a 9 a.m. group ticket for €14,10 is also worthwhile.
If you want to experience one or two things and save money at the same time, you should definitely think about the Hamburg Card. You can get this from €11,90 for one person (and a maximum of three children under 15) and from €20,90 for a group including a ticket and a variety of partner offers with a discount of up to 50%.
You know the pace and interests of your families best, so below I’ll simply list our activities from the last few years, all of which are easy to do with children. Maybe there is one or two for you too!
If it’s your first time in the city, it’s definitely a good idea to explore the typical sights. If you don’t want to buy tickets for the hop on/hop off buses, you can take bus number 111 from HafenCity (directly at the U4 stop Überseequartier) along the Elbe to the Altona town hall – or the other way around – past the highlights such as the Elbphilharmonie , Landungsbrücken, St. Pauli/Reeperbahn, Davidwache, Hamburger Michel, fish market and cruise terminal. With the corresponding ticket or the Hamburg Card you can then get out as often as you like, explore the sight and use one of the next buses to continue your journey. In total, the bus ride takes just under an hour.
The Elbphilharmonie (called Elphi for short) is one of Hamburg’s eye-catchers. After some delay, finally completed in 2016, the concert hall is not only worth a visit for music lovers. If you want to enjoy the view over the city from the Plaza, you can do so without a hotel room or concert ticket. You can book a ticket for the viewing platform within a certain time window online or at the ticket offices in advance for €3. Our tip: remaining tickets are handed out free of charge on site! So if you’re there early in the morning like we are, you can save the €3 per person for the café!
From there you can take a wonderful stroll through the HafenCity and the Speicherstadt and let the kids let off steam on one of the playgrounds.
Nearby you can marvel at the Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. Not cheap at €20 or €17, but the visit is definitely worth it! With the Hamburg Card you save €1 or €0,50. We spent hours in there and still had the feeling that we hadn’t seen nearly everything. It’s best to book tickets online for a time slot early in the morning, as it’s not quite as crowded.
A few meters further you will find the Chocoversum Hamburg. As former Cologne residents, we of course had to test the North German competition to the chocolate museum. In 90 minutes you will be guided through the museum and have one or two sweet stops including your own chocolate bar creation. The tickets are currently €21 and €12, but family tickets are also offered and with the Hamburg Card you save 15%.
Opposite HafenCity is the German play town of the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. An absolute must for all Harry Potter fans! We were lucky enough to see the long version in two parts two years ago, but I wouldn’t hesitate to watch the shorter version again! Here you get 10% off tickets at the box office with the Hamburg Card.
When you’ve seen enough of HafenCity and Speicherstadt, you can walk along the waterfront along the Landungsbrücken (or take the 111 bus). Here you will find various providers of harbor tours and all sorts of culinary delights. Here, too, you can save with many organizers with the Hamburg Card.
At the end of the Landungsbrücken you will find access to the Old Elbe Tunnel not far from the Hard Rock Café (here you get 10% off with the Hamburg Card). Now extensively renovated, you can walk or cycle there every day on foot or, thanks to the elevators, by bike, 21 meters below the Elbe and then a further 426 meters to the other side.
If you don’t feel like taking a pre-packaged harbor tour or don’t want to spend money again, you can take ferry line 62from the Landungsbrücken towards Finkenwerder and back. The ferry ride is included in the hvv or Hamburg Card ticket. Maybe you can also walk a stretch through the Old Elbe Tunnel and then take the ferry back.
What would a visit to Hamburg be without a stop in St. Pauli?! Bus 111 takes you directly to the famous Davidwachepolice station or to the Reeperbahn S-Bahn station. Here you can easily – and completely unspectacularly – run around with the children during the day.
For young and old soccer fans a visit to FC St. Pauli’s Millerntor Stadium or the associated fan shop in the middle of the Reeperbahn is definitely a must.
Again with bus 111 the journey goes down to the Elbe and along the large Elbe road. Here you can marvel at the large fish auction hall.
If you’re hungry, big or small, we always stop at the cruise terminal. At Atlantic Fish you can get everything freshly caught, from normal fish sandwiches and apple spritzer to oysters and champagne.
With a fish sandwich from Atlantic and a cold drink from the kiosk next door, you can walk to the dockland, let the children run up and down the stairs and marvel at the hustle and bustle in the harbor including the huge cruise ships. (You can also take the ferry from here!)
Another area in Hamburg that you can’t miss is the town hall and Jungfernstieg. This is where (luxury) shopping hearts beat faster. City hall is worth at least one photo and you can admire one or two villas on the water on various tours of the inner and outer Alster. Check here again for partners of the Hamburg Card.
If you want to experience Hamburg’s flair far away from the tourist crowds, you are in good hands with children in the Eimsbüttel district. Whether it’s a delicious ice cream at “Eispiraten”, a visit to Budni (very popular with our teenage girls) or a coffee-to-go at one of the many playgrounds – there’s always something to experience and discover…
Do you have THE ultimate Hamburg tip for us? Then please get in touch!
With that in mind: goodbye!
Helpful Links:
https://www.hamburg-tourism.de/buchen/hamburg-card
https://www.hamburg-tourism.de/das-ist-hamburg/hamburg-fuer/familien
https://www.hamburg-tourism.de/magazin
https://parkhotel-hagenbeck.de
https://www.hamburg.de/verkehr/bus-bahn/bus/sightseeing-buslinie-111-366770
https://www.miniatur-wunderland.de
https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/de/plaza-tickets
www.chocoversum.de/de