Hamburg/East

Eastern Hamburg includes the dense, gay-friendly district St. Georg filled with cozy narrow streets between the dense, 19th-century tenements, with its cafe-filled main street of Lange Reihe, as well as a part of lake Aussenalster's shoreline with the venerable Hotel Atlantic. Further east, the density becomes more and more sparse, and the outer districts are mostly residential, with a few less known points of interest for the inquisitive tourist.

Get in

Most of St. Georg is within walking distance from the main railway station, otherwise there's a rail line for most parts of the east; U1, U3, S1 and S11 for the northeast and U2, U4, S2 and S21 for the southeast. Some long-distance trains to or from northeastern Germany stop at Bergedorf railway station.

Of major Autobahns A1 (from Lübeck) and A25 (from Berlin) pass through the eastern suburbs of Hamburg and the district is also easily accessible from cities south and southwest of Hamburg.

See

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe

• 🌍 Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum of Arts and Crafts), Steintorplatz, just to the southeast of Hauptbahnhof., ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Open Tu - Su 11AM - 6PM, Th 11AM - 9PM. The museum is a leading centre for art, applied art, and design. Its collections of work from Europe and the Middle and the Far East are of the finest-quality and span all epochs from the Ancient World to the present day. They also have many activities and concerts (see the Classical Music section). The museum is housed in an 18th-century palace, which has the original roofs and ceilings. Admission: € 10, reduced: € 7, children unter 18 years free, family: € 17. (updated Mar 2015)

Sankt Georg

Situated northeast of Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and city centre, Sankt Georg is the lively, trendy centre of Hamburg's gay scene. Rainbow flags flutter from the balconies in summer. The streets are crowded with people shopping, having a chat, drinking coffee, or going to one of the many art exhibitions around the Lange Reihe street.

• 🌍 Dreieinigkeitskirche St. Georg. Baroque church in Sankt Georg. (updated Mar 2015)
• 🌍 St.-Marien-Dom St. Georg. Since 1995, this neo-romanesque church is the cathedral of the youngest Roman Catholic archbishop of Germany. Though the church has not the splendor one might expect, next to it you may find the first statue world wide of the late pope, John-Paul II. (updated Mar 2015)

Do

Classical Music

• 🌍 Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg has many smaller concerts — something almost every day — and is much cheaper than the Laeiszhalle. The programs range from the curator of their early keyboard instrument collection playing them and giving a spiel on the music and the instruments (in German only!) to formal concerts of renditions of Schubert's Die Winterreise. Pick up a schedule at the desk of the museum (down the street from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof). (updated Mar 2015)

Theatres

• 🌍 Deutsches Schauspielhaus. The biggest German speech theatre looks back on a famous tradition. Gustav Gründgens, Ivan Nagel, and Peter Zadek staged highlights in German theatre history here. (updated Mar 2015)

Buy

There aren't that many outstanding shopping opportunities in the East of Hamburg. One is the Quarree shopping center with a number of clothing and specialty stores and the Karstadt department store. It is next to the place where the weekly market Wandsbek Markt takes places, as well as the namesake U1 subway station.

Eat

Budget

• 🌍 Geelhaus, Koppel 76 (St. Georg). Daily 6PM-11PM, some meals until midnight.. Menu changes frequently, fresh food, creativity. (updated Feb 2017)
• 🌍 Batman Döner, Steindamm 58 (St. Georg). (updated Mar 2015)

Mid-range

• 🌍 Al Lido, Amsinckstraße 70 (In old factory near Elbe bridge, Hammerbrook), ☎ [phone]. Excellent Italian and Pizzeria (updated Mar 2015)
• 🌍 Restaurant Cox, Greifswalder Str. 43 (St. Georg, close to the Central Station), ☎ [phone]. Trendy restaurant with consistently good international cuisine, often local German dishes Dinner including wine is approximately €30-40. They have a value lunch deal (two course menu for €11). (updated Mar 2015)
• 🌍 Vasco da Gama, Lange Reihe 67 (close to the central station), ☎ [phone]. 11.30AM to 11PM. Good Portuguese and German food. lunch €10, dinner €20. (updated Mar 2015)

Splurge

Restaurant Le Ciel at the top floor of the Le Meridien hotel (see below) has a large glass wall providing splendid views of the Aussenalster. It is a fine dining establishment with an exquisite a la carte dinner menu, but during lunchtime you can enjoy the daily set menu from EUR 18. Parking for the restaurant's guests is free for 1 hour.

Drink

Cafes

• 🌍 Cafe Gnosa, Lange Reihe 93 (St. Georg-area), ☎ [phone]. Open 10AM-1AM, Fridays and Saturdays until 2AM. Coffeehouse with wide range of delicious self-made cakes and pastries. Famous for its cake buffet, also a great place to have breakfast or lunch. Gay-owned. Customers mixed by straight and gay people of any age. May not be easy to catch a table during rush-hours. For sugar- and caffeine-addicts. (updated Mar 2015)

GLBT

• 🌍 G-Bar, Lange Reihe 81. Open 6PM-2AM. The New Generation. 

Sleep

Hotel Atlantic — one of the world's Grand old hotels

Budget

Youth Hostels

• 🌍 Jugendherberge Hamburg - Horner Rennbahn, Rennbahnstraße 10, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 
• 🌍 A&O Hostel and Hostel, Amsinckstraße 6-10 (Near the main train station.), ☎ [phone]. 
• Superbude Multiple locations. A step up from the normal hostel - they have hostel rooms, but also affordable private rooms with bathrooms. Super modern and very cool, with 24 hour bars, breakfast from 8 AM until 12 PM, and friendly staff.
  • 🌍 Superbude St. Georg, Spaldingstraße 152, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. (updated Mar 2015)

Mid-range

• 🌍 Holiday Inn Hamburg, Billwerder Neuer Deich 14, ☎ [phone]. Outdated, worn and quite out of the way, with limited transit options. Pluses include breakfast and proximity to Elbpark for a walk or jog in the morning. Free soft drinks in minibar. 
• 🌍 Ibis Hamburg Alster Centrum, Holzdamm 4-12, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Next to Atlantic Kempinski, this is just like any other hotel in the Ibis chain — clean basic rooms with bathroom, TV and Wi-Fi. They have a bar and a restaurant too. (updated Mar 2015)
• Suite Novotel Hamburg City, Lübeckertordamm 2. Conveniently located next to the Lohmuehlenstraße U-Bahn station, the Suite Novotel is a large midscale hotel aimed at travellers staying for longer periods. Rooms have a small kitchenette and many come with extra sofa-beds. Unfortunately, the old Suite Novotel standards are far behind what more modern hotels offer. That said, the hotel is in a tall tower, so if you manage to get a room in one of the upper floors, you can enjoy a nice view of Hamburg. (updated Mar 2015)
• Mercure Hamburg City, Amsinckstraße 53. The hotel's slightly offside location over the Schleussenkanal in Hammerbrook makes it accessible by car and quite cosy. The neighbourhood consists of late 20th century development over canals, which may not be the most interesting in Hamburg, but the Hammerbrook S-Bahn station is a short walk away. The hotel's highlight is the floating event space Kai 10, unfortunately as of 2015 only available for special events. The hotel is easily accessibly by car. (updated Mar 2015)

Splurge

• 🌍 Le Royal Meridien, An der Alster 52-56 (near Hauptbahnhof), ☎ [phone]. One of the best hotels overlooking the Alster lake. Each room is designed in the "Art & Tech" design. Restaurant with nice view over the lake and spa. (updated Mar 2015)
• 🌍 Hotel Atlantic Kempinski. The grande dame of Hamburg overlooking the Aussenalster has grown to be an internationally recognized paragon of luxury hospitality. (updated Mar 2015)

Connect