Hamburg City Breaks 2012

One of the great port towns of Europe and Germany's second city, Hamburg's population nudges two million and it is a frenetic and exciting place to visit. As with most port towns, Hamburg has it's seedy side and is well known throughout the world for it's red light district als known as 'The Reeperbahn.

Hamburg was a trading giant in years gone by and a member of The Hanseatic League. This is reflected in the city's grand architecture, confidence and sense of importance. Hamburg is becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination for visitors from the UK and not just stag parties. 2012 is sure to have Hamburg high on people’s city break wish lists.

The Reeperbahn and Saint Pauli

Hamburg is thought, perhaps, unfairly as Europe’s second sin city destination after Amsterdam. Sure there are plenty of seedy strip shows and such like on the Reeperbahn and red light area, but there’s a whole lot more to the city than that.

The Reeperbahn itself is located in the Saint Pauli district and the district as a whole is an extremely lively and interesting place to visit. Of course there are many sex related attractions on offer here, from prostitutes to peep shows to sex shops, and everyone is remarkably open about it in that very German way.

As with most neighbourhoods of such repute, it’s advised that you keep an eye on your valuables and don’t go wandering about yourself. Generally speaking, Saint Pauli is a reasonably safe place to visit and is usually thronging with tourists enjoying the bars and restaurants but you would be advised to keep your wits about you.

St Pauli also boasts many fantastic ethnic restaurants. The city’s Portugese, Asian and Turkish immigrants have provided the city with many fine eateries.

Around the Harbour Area

There are a number of excellent attractions around Hamuburg’s harbour area including The Miniatur Wunderland which is actualy the largest model train set in the world. There are many interesting scenes including an American wild west feature and an Alpine area. Well worth a look.

Also located nearby is the Hamburg Dungeon which is a real life representation of some of Hamburgs more sordid and scary secrets. Definetely not for the feint hearted!

Around the City

Getting around Hamburg is easy and public transport is generally reliable. Hamburg is in general a safe city, about as safe as you can get for a city of 1.8 million people but you are advised to use general precautions as much as you would in any big city. And try not to get into any fights on the Reeperbahn!