Go Discover - InterContinental Hotels Group

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Hamburg
WATEr-BoUND HAMBUrG IS oUTWArD-
LooKING, DYNAMIC AND MULTICULTUrAL.
ITS HEDoNISTIC rED-LIGHT DISTrICT, THE
rEEPErBAHN, IS WELL KNoWN BUT THE CITY
ALSo HAS A SErIoUS rEPUTATIoN AS AN
UPMArKET SHoPPING DESTINATIoN.
Hamburg’s fortunes owe
everything to its seaside
location. Joining the Hanseatic
League trading bloc in the
Middle Ages, this long-standing
duty-free port has been
enthusiastically doing business
with the world ever since. In the
1960s, it nurtured the musical
talent of the Beatles. In the
21st century, it’s also a media
capital, an aerospace player and
the wealthiest city in Germany.
Since the 1990s, this thriving
‘harbourpolis’ has been one of
globalisation’s few true winners,
with its container ports growing
like mad thanks to new Eastern
European business. It’s this
easygoing self-confidence and
the harbour that make Germany’s
second largest city so wonderful
to visit.
Hot tip!
Immigrant workers mingle
with students among the
Portuguese, Turkish and Asian
eateries of vibrant St Pauli and
Schanzenviertel. Shipping,
TV and newspaper magnates
drive their Porsches up to lavish
mansions in leafy Blankenese,
Harvestehude and Winterhude.
Take a cruise around the Alster
Lakes and the neo-Gothic
Speicherstadt warehouse
district, or haggle at the rowdy
fish market as cargo ships
navigate the Elbe River. And
if this hubbub isn’t enough to
hold your interest, there are
huge brown-brick buildings
shaped like ocean liners in
the Merchant’s District and
the HafenCity archipelago,
the largest building project
in Europe.
Rather than a costly cruise, use the city’s inexpensive ferries for a
sightseeing trip along the Elbe. A recommended route is to catch Ferry
No 62 from Landungsbrücken towards Finkenwerder and change there
for the No 64 to Teufelsbrücke.
Suggested Itinerary:
Day 1
Explore the Altstadt, home to Hamburg’s opulent baroque town hall, the Rathaus,
and the Alsterarkaden, elegant Renaissance-style arcades sheltering shops and cafés
alongside a canal. Then head to the Merchant’s District to marvel at the brownbrick
Chile Haus shaped like an ocean liner. Relax on a cruise across the Inner and
Outer Alster Lakes (Binnenalster and Aussenalster) – it’s a great way to appreciate
Hamburg’s elegant architecture.
Day 2
If it’s Sunday, get up early for the boisterous Fischmarkt in St Pauli, a Hamburg
institution since 1703; on any evening, this area has a great bar scene. Hamburg’s
main shopping drags – Spitalerstrasse and Mönckebergstrasse – are located back
near the Alster Lakes; find more elegant shops within the triangle created by
Jungfernstieg, Fuhlentwiete and Neuer Wall. Don’t leave town without dining
along the Elbmeile Hamburg’s new gastro strip.
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1km = 0.6 mile approximately. The featured distances on the map correspond to the approximate distance
between the city centre and the hotels. For a full list of hotels and other destinations, see pages 28-35.
Book online at www.ichotels.com/GoDiscover Call 00800 95 800 800 (from Europe) or 0870 400 8840 (from the UK only)
Eating out
Die Bank (Hohe Bleichen 17; +49 40 238 0030)
Hamburg’s most schmicki-micki (chi-chi) downtown
eatery is about conspicuous consumption – fill up
on ‘banker’s platters’ of prawns, crabs, more prawns
and lobster.
Das Weisse Haus (Neumühlen 50; +49 40 390 9016)
Chef Tim Mälzer is Germany’s answer to Jamie Oliver;
you’ll need to book a month ahead to sample one of
his team’s ‘surprise’ dinners.
Eating in
A delicious two course dinner is available from €20 per
person at Crowne Plaza and €15 at Holiday Inn hotels.
Where to stay: see map
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InterContinental Hamburg from €119
Crowne Plaza Hamburg from €119
Holiday Inn:
Hamburg from €89
Hamburg - Kielerstrasse from €79
Prices include breakfast and are per room per night.
Valid 1 November 06 – 31 March 07.
If you like Hamburg, why not
also visit Frankfurt or Stuttgart?
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