Where is the best place to stay in Hamburg?
By Alex Bird. January 17, 2024
With high-end shopping, international dining, and lots of sights to see, Neustadt is the very best place to stay in Hamburg. Although the name means New Town, Neustadt is historic and sits within the city’s former defences. The iconic view of Hamburg is surely the Neustadt skyline on the Inner Alster lake. In this district are must-see sights like St. Michael’s Church, along with wide waterfront promenades and chic shopping arcades. There’s even a dining quarter, Portugiesenviertel, filled with Spanish and Portuguese restaurants. Neustadt borders other must-see areas in Hamburg, so cannot be beaten for convenience, with swift transport connections by bicycle or train.
Hamburg is a city with magnificent sights, cutting-edge attractions, and a nightlife district with few equals anywhere. Connected to the world by the Elbe River, Hamburg has been a leader in water-based commerce for many centuries. That spirit thrives today in a truly vast container port, the busy dock in St. Pauli, and HafenCity, a stunning modern waterfront district. As a port city, Hamburg has entertained short-term visitors for hundreds of years, with bars, dining, nightclubs, live music and more. Everything, from the stately city centre to the harbour, is efficiently linked by public transport, including underground trains, a light railway, buses, and even ferries.If you are interested in where to stay in Hamburg, you may also be interested in where to stay in Berlin, where to stay in Munich and where to stay in Frankfurt.
Neustadt, the best area to stay in Hamburg
First-Time Visits / Sightseeing / Shopping
For tourists who have never been to Hamburg before, Neustadt is the city’s iconic heart, with dining, shopping, and famous sights aplenty.
Hamburg’s postcard view is the Neustadt waterfront on the Inner Alster lake, with the domed tower of St. Michael’s Church rising behind. This marvellous building features the largest clock faces in Germany, and can be climbed for a view more than 100 metres over the city.
True for all of Hamburg, water is never far away in Neustadt. The Inner Alster is edged by Jungfernsteig, a handsome promenade with a dock for ferry trips around the lake. Close by is the Kleine Alster canal, with the elegant white arches of the Alsterarkaden arcade.
As well as featuring upscale restaurants and locations for top luxury retailers, Neustadt rewards exploration. Hiding on these streets are little neighbourhoods like the Gängeviertel, a 19th-century slum, now a hub for creativity.
Other great areas to stay in Hamburg
St. Georg
Live Entertainment / LGBTQ+ Tourism / Dining
Centrally located, St. Georg welcomes the LGBTQ+ community, especially along the stylish Lange Reihe street. Stay for international cuisine, live entertainment, and one of the city’s best art museums.
St. Georg’s Lange Reihe, with its fine old tenement buildings, is lined with trendy shops and LGBTQ+ friendly cafes and bars. Check out the street crossing signals here, which show same sex couples.
There’s live entertainment too, at the Varieté im Hansa-Theater and the stately Schauspielhaus Hamburg. For visual arts, head to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, just a few steps from the train station.
The area is proudly diverse, and this shines through along Steindamm in St. Georg. Here there’s a global array of dining options, from falafel to dim sum. St. Georg traces the leafy shore of the Alster. This is home to some of Hamburg’s grandest waterfront real estate, with sleek apartment buildings and hotels.
St. Pauli
Nightlife / Live Music / Events
For night owls visiting Hamburg, St. Pauli offers bars, clubs and live entertainment near the city centre. St. Pauli is renowned for the Reeperbahn, one of the most notorious red-light districts around.
A few minutes on the U-Bahn from the heart of the city, St. Pauli’s Reeperbahn has been a nightspot since before The Beatles first made a buzz here in the early 1960s. There’s a club, bar, theatre, or live music venue for everyone along this 930-metre strip.
On Sunday mornings, all-night party animals and early risers mingle at the Fischmarkt, next to the riverfront piers. St. Pauli is always full of life, hosting events like Hamburger Dom, a massive fun fair three times a year.
Another essential St. Pauli experience is taking a ferry tour of the harbour, easy to do with the public transport network. Stop at one of the eateries along the dock for a fish roll, a Hamburg delicacy.
Altstadt
Sightseeing / First-time Visits / Shopping
Ideal for anyone staying in Hamburg for a limited time, the historic Altstadt has landmarks that communicate the city’s historical importance as a trading hub. Mönckebergstraße is Hamburg’s shopping street and brims with international retailers.
The perfect starting point for a tour of Hamburg is the Rathausmarkt, commanded by the Neo-Renaissance City Hall. Completed in 1897, it is still the seat of the State Parliament. The square in front is the setting for a cosy market in the build-up to Christmas.
Pedestrian-friendly Mönckebergstraße leads from the square, and is a dynamic commercial street with famous brands and plush shopping centres.
There are dramatic buildings throughout the Altstadt, like the 147-metre tower of the Church of St. Nicholas. The remainder of this Gothic Revival landmark was destroyed in the Second World War, while the tower was the tallest building in the world for a time in the 1870s.
HafenCity
Sightseeing / Culture / Architecture
Part of the city centre, this modern waterfront district is somewhere to stay for big sights and architecture, both old and new. Cultural attractions include the spectacular Elbphilharmonie concert hall, a 21st-century landmark for Hamburg.
A project more than 20 years in the making, HafenCity has expanded Hamburg’s city centre, as a new home and workspace for thousands of people.
HafenCity’s futuristic cityscape brings waterfront dining, upmarket shops, and epic towers rising over the water. The finest new building is the astonishing Elbphilharmonie concert hall, with a public observation deck offering one of the best views of the city.
New meets old in HafenCity, at the Speicherstadt, which is the harbour’s historic warehouse district. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with dozens of massive red brick warehouses, preserved since the turn of the 20th century. An impressive one contains the International Maritime Museum, while Miniatur Wunderland here is the largest miniature railway museum in the world.
Rotherbaum
Museums / Shopping
Rotherbaum is perfect for those who want to be close to the heart of Hamburg, but need a quieter spot. The University of Hamburg means museums and student-friendly cafes, while there’s peaceful parkland by the Outer Alster lake.
With students zipping around on bicycles, the Rotherbaum area contains the University of Hamburg, which has several accompanying museums. There are plenty of bars and cafes for students, but Rotherbaum has an affluent flavor, with some of Hamburg’s most exclusive residential streets.
The university makes Rotherbaum a place to immerse yourself in culture, just a short trip from the city centre. You can browse ancient artefacts at MARKK - Museum am Rothenbaum, and catch independent movies at the Abaton Cinema.
For anyone who likes discovering secret areas, Pöseldorf is tucked away in Rotherbaum, with a knot of cobblestone lanes. This is a shopping hotspot, dotted with boutiques, and has one of the city’s most cherished weekly markets nearby on Thursdays.
Our recommended hotels in Hamburg
Use the interactive map to navigate through our recommended hotels in HamburgNote: Hotel prices can change daily due to promotions, seasons, and demand. Our $ - $$$$ scale shows the overall cost range rather than exact prices.
