Altstadt & Rathaus

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/4

Where it sits

The circle is Altstadt & Rathaus and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• The Speicherstadt9 min walk720 m
• Miniatur Wunderland9 min walk765 m
• The Elbphilharmonie14 min walk1.1 km
• A harbour cruise20 min walk1.7 km
• The Reeperbahn23 min walk1.9 km
• Sternschanze8 min taxi2.5 km
• The Sunday Fischmarkt8 min taxi2.7 km
• The Elbe beach at Övelgönne16 min taxi5.5 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 6.The Alster lakes — Two beautiful lakes right in the middle of the city, ringed by grand villas, parks and promenades — the heart of genteel, green Hamburg. Stroll or cycle the shady paths around the outer Alster, hire a rowing boat or catch a little ferry, and watch the sailboats and joggers; in summer it's the city's playground, in winter it sometimes freezes for skating. A gorgeous, quintessentially Hamburg way to spend an afternoon.
• 8.A fischbrötchen & Hanseatic food — Hamburg eats from the sea — above all the fischbrötchen, a crusty roll stuffed with pickled herring, fried fish or shrimp, best eaten at the harbour with a squawk of gulls overhead. Add Labskaus (a curious sailors' hash of corned beef, beetroot and egg), Franzbrötchen cinnamon pastries and Aalsuppe eel soup; hearty, salty Hanseatic fare. Grab one from a harbour kiosk for the true taste of the port city.
• 9.The Rathaus — Hamburg's magnificent town hall — a vast, ornate neo-Renaissance palace of a building, its grand facade and clock tower presiding over a handsome square, with an arcaded courtyard behind. A symbol of the wealthy Hanseatic merchant city; admire the exterior, join a tour of the opulent state rooms, and enjoy the elegant shopping arcades and the Alster promenade all around. The proud civic heart of the city.
• 12.The Kunsthalle — One of Germany's great art museums, a short walk from the main station — a sweeping collection from medieval masters through Caspar David Friedrich's sublime Romantic landscapes to French Impressionists and modern art, in a grand building with a striking contemporary cube. Beautifully spaced and rarely overcrowded; a rewarding couple of hours for art-lovers and a fine rainy-day option in this often-wet city.