Hamburg Travel Guide - Activities

Sailing: can be enjoyed in the centre of the city on Alster Lake, where you can hire sailboats and rowing boats as well. You are advised that the winds can be treacherous, as the buildings around the lake tend to create wind gusts coming from directions that sailors might not expect. Canœeing through the upper Alster, its tributaries and the city’s network of canals is also a popular leisure activity.

Water sport: can be enjoyed on the Elbe even though there’s a fair amount of ocean-going commercial traffic: sailing, kayaking and canœeing are all enjoyed here by the locals. However, if you’d like to head for a more relaxed spot, you might want to consider one of the city’s lakes, such as the Alster, where these activities can be enjoyed with less concern about large ships and the tides.

Shopping: aficionados will feel at home in the eastern part of Neustadt, where there’s a wide array of fancy boutiques as well as a number of elegant restaurants. In between stops at the boutiques, visitors can enjoy a pleasant walk along the fashionable streets, taking in some of Hamburg’s top galleries and museums, which are located along the Kunstmeile (Art Mile).