Hamburg

[TheLivelyRose]

My partner wants to go. With a side trip to some smaller towns.

I'm really not interested as i'm no stranger to Germany and I think there are better places to go.

Does anyone have any positive things to say about it.

Hamburg is a wonderful city. Lots of water- tidal river, lake in the centre of the city. Thriving night life and music scene - the Beatles launched there. Reeperbahn at night (might not appeal to all!) Elbephilharmonie - the wonderful new concert hall with much more accessible prices than similar UK venues. The Christmas markets are starting up next week. There is the main one outside the town hall but lots of smaller less crowded ones throughout the city. Side trips to Luneburg (also lots of Christmas markets) Lubeck (home of Thomas Mann for those who have read Death in Venice etc).
Great place for a long weekend.

Hamburg is brilliant and I am not just saying it because it's DH's hometown.

When do you want to go? Christmas obviously means plenty of markets, as PP said, you have music venues, you also have art.
In Summer there is a fantastic botanical garden, you can take river cruises, it has heritage, just not your typical castle/royal ones as it was always a free town with focus on commerce. The Speicherstadt, the docklands of Hamburg, are filled with museums and attractions.

Lovely cities nearby are Lüneburg and Lübeck. You can also easily go on a daytrip to the Baltic Sea to towns like Timmendorfer Strand.

I find too many are just looking at the stereotype Germany, there is so much more.

@OctaviaWeber - I love the Reeperbahn, it has it's reputation but it also has a great nightlife.

Mr Monkey has run Hamburg marathon twice and loves the city - good nightlife, interesting culture, attractive waterfront city.

I went there for a weekend once - a friends wedding in a boat in the lske. I loved it. Had a good wander round.

Want to go for the christmas markets or my partner, does anyway.

It depends what you're interested in.

We went for boat trips on the Alster lake and canals, on standard tourist boats and a cute little steam powered boat, went to see the maritime museum, the all-steel museum ship, the historic boat dock which has some classy restaurants nearby. Just pootling about on the ferries was great fun. Didn't make it to Miniatur Wunderland nor the art museums - must go back and see those.

Lüneburg is easy to get to on the train and has picturesque architecture and loads of cafes bars and restaurants.

Best christmas markets! As a previous poster said there are lots of smaller ones around. They are really fun in the evening especially! Very easy to use public transport and a cool industrial/city waterfront. Good bars and restaurants and friendly people. Hamburg is great!

Thanks it sounds really good.

have been to Hamburg twice recently, a friend moved back there, lots to see. Things to do Rathaus tour, Miniatur Wunderland (not just for children), nighttime boat cruise on the Elbe, Elbphilharmonie, Lubeck (for marzipan if nothing else). Niche museums, Spice, Coffee, and Customs house. The buildings are beautiful, good beer.

Love Hamburg, definitely well worth a visit (or several). There's something for everyone and the vibe is generally great!

If you want to go to Miniatur Wunderland (amazing model railway) you need to book tickets online in advance.

This is similar to what I was going to post. As you know Germany well, you will know that it is an extremely varied country. Hamburg is really interesting and has its own vibe.

Didn’t have time on my last visit but would love to go to Miniatur Wunderland. Worth a boat trip too.

But it's only because my partner wants to go. There is 'nothing there I actually want to see, which is why i'm worried about it.

I do know germany well as I live there in childhood and I ve been back there to see old friends.A few times and from what I recall, hamburg was described as an industrial hell hole

Definitely not an industrial hell hole now - and I do not think it ever was. Big port city but the port infrastructure is very intersting!
Best, or second best after Munich, city in Germany.

Unless you go to the port I honestly have no idea what you are talking about?
Driving through the old Freihafen (non-custom harbour area) may have been the only time I came across the working port part.

Not sure how long ago you lived in Germany and where but I am together with DH for over 30 years and visted Hamburg frequently since then and never thought about it as an "industrial hell hole".

My current boss in Germany is from there and I have two colleagues here in London from the area and they never mention that Hamburg is a town with nothing to do or see but always recommend it as a city break when you want something more than your typical castles, museums and cookie box towns from the southern part.

The old Freihafen has been redeveloped into the Hafen City - residential, restaurants, old ship harbour, Elbephilharmonie etc. And the Speicherstadt (UNESCO world heritage site) is now open to tourists.

I really enjoyed the Spice/customs house. If the migration museum is still there, I loved that. And the Rathaus tour.

We visited Hamburg a few years ago and loved it. We were amazed to find that most of the restaurants by the docks are Portuguese - it was quite unexpected and made a change from the usual German cuisine. There is a lovely old part of town and a wonderful botanical garden.