The Jungfernstieg is one of the most famous streets in Hamburg…read more It is even known in the whole country. You may compare it probably with the Königsallee in Düsseldorf or few other famous streets in Germany. On one side of the Jungfernstieg is the Binnenalster, i.e. a small lake in the middle on the center of Hamburg. If you have enough time you may have a coffee at the Alex. On the other side you will find a lots of shops. Some are very noble and expensive. Others are in the midrange. Furthermore you will find the Alsterhaus at the Jungfernstieg. The Alsterhaus is a huge department store which is nearly as much famous as the Jungfernstieg itself. Everybody in Hamburg knows it and additionally lots of people in the whole country. On the same side you will find the pedestrian zone, only few "meters" away from the Jungfernstieg. If you follow the Jungfernstieg you will find the Gänsemarkt with even more shops, restaurants and cafés, etc.

I went along to the Market here in December 2015. The market is quite nice with its white tents…read moreand sells many things from scarfs to Christmas ornaments and various food and of course mulled wine. I like the fact that this is along the front of water. There's a lot of boat-tours that starts from there. For the children along the waterfront they have some boats moored at the side offering cookery class (cookies), face painting a theatre show and a café. Highly recommend especially for kids.

A very long shopping street with a train station and town hall square (Rathausmarkt). There are…read moreshops such as Adidas, Lego, Stieff, Zara, H&M, Esprit etc. The only thing this street I feel lacks in restaurants apart from if you want a Macdonalds or a café as they had plenty of those. During Christmas they have a Christmas parade at certain times which consist of three parade vehicles. I loved the dancers that were dressed as gingerbread men. Even though small and short was worth going along to watch. Also not part of the parade but if you are lucky there is a huge biker gang consisting of approx. 30 bikers that go around riding in santa clothes waving at people and bibbing their horns. Please note thought shops are NOT open on Sunday.

The Mönckebergstraße is the street where all people go shopping when they are in the center of…read moreHamburg. Here are lots of shops and department stores. So it is really easy to spend a lot of money here. Especially you may mention the departmentstores Kaufhof and Karstadt which offer a wide variety of products. For example, if you are a tourist visiting Hamburg and you did forget anything at home you may go to Karstadt or Kaufhof to replace what you´ve forgotten. You certainly find exact this article you are looking for. The Mönckebergstraße directly leads to the station of Hamburg, the Hamburger Hauptbahnhof. If you go in the other direction you will find the Rathausmarkt, a huge place in front of the city hall of Hamburg, the Hamburger Rathaus.

It was our first time cruising into and out of Hamburg on the Elbe. It's true that parts of the…read moreriver in that area are industrial, but most of the scenery was quite breathtaking. Just seeing all the unique & cool architecture along the left and right bank really added to the whole experience. There are sandy beaches, bike lanes, and farms with sheep along the river. On the way out, we were able to see the Bismarck Monument and Bunker St. Pauli in the distance. We saw the Heinrich Hertz Tower that looks like a futuristic Jetsons building. I wish I could name them all. I'll just post pictures instead. Here's a fun fact. Did you know Michael Jackson used to visit this area often? He's very much remembered for helping the flood victims along the Elbe. They've even honored him at the Stage Theatre with the Michael Jackson Musical. He was very fond of Hamburg, and I can totally see why. The river runs all the way from the mouth of the North Sea to Czechia. There are river cruises and ferries that can take you further past Hamburg depending on the water levels. It can become impassable in dry weather conditions. Just something to think about before scheduling a cruise. We arrived on a rainy day for an overnight port stay. It was sunny the following morning. However, there was one big storm cloud that rained icy hail on us for a couple of minutes during the sailaway. That was very memorable. Haha! Just be aware that you can experience all kinds of weather conditions throughout the day in the month of May. It was a fun time full of beautiful scenery on the Elbe.