Accommodation in Hamburg

Hamburg: Hafenluft, Alster und Elbphilharmonie

Hamburg is Germany's gateway to the world: the Elbphilharmonie gleams above the harbour, the Speicherstadt – the world's largest historic warehouse complex and a UNESCO site – is mirrored in its canals, and between the Landungsbrücken piers and the Alster stretches a city that joins maritime breadth with Hanseatic elegance.

The lodgings scatter across very different quarters: design houses like the east Hotel sit in the middle of St. Pauli, classic addresses like the Senator near the Alster, and in the Elbe suburbs towards Blankenese you stay in houses like the Baurspark, with villa districts and the river beach at the door. Guesthouses like the Lindemann keep the Hanseatic city open to smaller budgets too.

A harbour cruise, the Sunday-morning fish market, musicals and a night on the Kiez – Hamburg's programme fills any weekend. Book directly with the host and you save the agency fee – and learn from which spot at the Landungsbrücken the Queen Mary passes closest as she puts out to sea.