Hotels in Hamburg, Germany

A little about Hamburg...

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and along with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in Europe, ninth largest port in the world, and the largest city in the European Union which is not a national capital.

Hamburg is on the southern tip of the Jutland Peninsula, centered between Continental Europe to the south, Scandinavia to the north, the North Sea to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the east. The city of Hamburg lies at the junction of the River Elbe with the Rivers Alster and Bille. The city center is set around two lakes, the Binnenalster ("Inner Alster") and the Außenalster ("Outer Alster").

Main Sights:
Churches: The skyline of Hamburg features the high spires of the five principal churches (Hauptkirchen) covered with green copper plates.

Bridges and Tunnels: Hamburg has a number of prominent buildings from the past and present. The many canals in Hamburg are crossed by over 2300 bridges — more than Amsterdam (1200) and Venice (400) combined.

Public Transportation: A 24-hour bus network operates as frequently as every 2 minutes on busy routes (30 minutes in suburban areas). There are six ferry lines along the river Elbe, operated by the HADAG company. While mainly needed by Hamburg citizens and dock workers, they can also be used for sightseeing tours at the (relatively) low fees of a HVV public transport ticket.

Cuisine: Although Hamburg is jokingly said to be the birthplace of the Hamburger, this might just be a myth. However, the beef patties a German immigrant from Hamburg sold in the 1850s in New York allegedly were named after the butcher and then became a generic term.

Original Hamburg dishes are Bohnen, Birnen und Speck (Low Saxon Bohn, Peern un Speck, green runner beans cooked with pears and bacon), Aalsuppe (Low Saxon Oolsupp, often mistaken to be German for "eel soup", however the name probably comes from the Low Saxon allns, meaning “all”, “everything and the kitchen sink”, not necessarily eel.

Ordinary bread rolls—without which a leisurely weekend breakfast in Hamburg is unimaginable—tend to be oval-shaped and of the French bread variety.