Lonely Planet’s Top Cities

ITS COMPLETION seemed to take longer than sitting through the entire cycle of Wagner’s Ring operas but the stunning new 790million Elbphilharmonie concert hall was worth every extra year of delay.

The glass top shimmers like crystalline sails while the base reflects the brick aesthetic of the surrounding historic and very walkable HafenCity port area.

From here, alluringly accessible Hamburg radiates out along its vast harbour and Elbe River. Surprises abound: three-season riverfront beach bars, nightlife that’s among Europe’s best, and low-rise charms that reward wanderers who use the city’s dozens of old steeples as compass points.

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The country’s second-largest city throbs with international beats, especially in its legendary nightclubs. At times you’ll forget you’re even in Germany, thanks to Hamburg’s unique stew of different cultures. Walk down a pedestrian street and you’ll pass a Portuguese seafood bistro, a Middle Eastern market and a designer boutique that defies categorisation.

This openness to outside influences dates back over the centuries since Hamburg became a prominent trading city in the 1200s. The city has lived for its maritime links to the outside world ever since, a legacy recognised by Unesco in 2015.

In Hamburg there’s always a sense of closeness to the water. Even when you think you’re inland, you’ll spot an impossibly large freighter gliding through breaks in the waterfront. And if you’re in the somewhat seedy Reeperbahn red-light district, where The Beatles found their groove in the early 1960s, you’ll hear the cry of gulls overhead.

UNMISSABLE EXPERIENCES

Don’t miss one of Hamburg’s many port tours. Take the U3 U-Bahn line which rattles above ground with