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Elbphilharmonie

Elbphilharmonie: Our most recommended tours and activities

Hamburg: 1.5-Hour Harbor and Speicherstadt Day Cruise

1. Hamburg: 1.5-Hour Harbor and Speicherstadt Day Cruise

See Hamburg’s harbor-side attractions from a unique perspective, float past impressive container ships, and discover the historic Speicherstadt District aboard a 1.5-hour cruise featuring live commentary from a German-speaking guide and an exclusive stop at the iconic Elbphilharmonie. Start your harbor adventure on land as you cross the famous "Überseebrücke" bridge to reach the pier where you will board a traditional Hamburger boat referred to as a Barkasse. Listen as your captain decides on which route the boat will take based on weather conditions, the water tides, or, if for example, a really exciting and interesting container ship or a special boat is visiting the harbor. Set off and glide into the narrow waterways of the largest warehouse district in the world known as Speicherstadt. Take in the stunning architecture of buildings standing on timber-pile foundations and oak logs. Sit back and relax as you go past Hafen City. Explore the open decks and feel the cooling sea breezes as you wait for perfect photo opportunities from the boat’s many vantage points. Cruise past rows of massive container ships as the boat makes its way into St. Pauli’s Pier and the Hamburg Port. Learn the history of the many important landmarks from your German-speaking expert guide. As your trip comes to an end, disembark right in front of the Elbphilharmonie or you can choose to get off back at where the cruise initially took off.

Hamburg: Elbphilharmonie Guided Walking Tour

2. Hamburg: Elbphilharmonie Guided Walking Tour

Admire the Elbphilharmonie from outside and gain exciting background information about the new Hamburg landmark. Experience the lovingly named 'Elphi' up close with your professional city guide and enjoy the unique view from the Plaza after our tour. Admire the Elbphilharmonie from the quay before you enter on the longest escalator in Europe. Then take a moment to enjoy one of the most beautiful views of Hamburg. Learn from your guide about the controversy surrounding the Elbphilharmonie project and hear exciting facts and insider information about the unique acoustics, the use of special materials, the construction costs and the price of an overnight stay in the building.

Hamburg: 1-Hour Harbor Cruise

3. Hamburg: 1-Hour Harbor Cruise

Discover Hamburg on a harbor cruise and admire views of the warehouse district and HafenCity. See the city with the most bridges in Europe, with approximately 2,400 structures over water, canals, channels, and docks. Climb aboard the boat and discover the many different attractions and sights in the city, depending on the tides and the day's events. Explore the historical Speicherstadt (warehouse district) with its canals, the modern HafenCity, the numerous bridges over the Elbe River, busy locks and container terminals, the Köhlbrand Bridge, and much more. Along the way, learn more about the city, its history, the incoming and outgoing ships, and anything else that interests you. Sit back and admire the views of the city on the sun deck or in the air-conditioned lounge with large panoramic windows.

Hamburg: Port of Hamburg Cruise Tour

4. Hamburg: Port of Hamburg Cruise Tour

Enjoy the unique maritime flair and colorful crowds at the Port of Hamburg on this daily cruise that loops the docks. Thanks to your guide, learn about the history of the port and the city and take an exciting ride through the locks. Discover this gateway to the world up-close onboard a little ship, equally suited to a fleet. Find out just how huge the Port of Hamburg, the second-largest port in Europe, is. Hardly another city in the world is so tied to its port; Hamburg truly developed because of it. The most important sights and the skyline are inextricably linked to it. Experience the contrast between past and present, commerce and culture, the little fishing town along the Elbe, and the state-of-the-art container complexes. You'll also learn about the sinful stretches and fish market, old cutters, and massive cruise and container ships.

Elbphilharmonie Highlights, Plaza & Surroundings

5. Elbphilharmonie Highlights, Plaza & Surroundings

Learn about the latest landmark of Hamburg on a guided tour of the Elbphilharmonie. Get answers to any questions you have about the stunning new building in the HafenCity quarter. Hear why it took so long to build and how much it cost. Start with a walk around the building to admire its façade and learn about the area's past and new architecture. Then, go to the Elbphilharmonie Plaza via the longest curved escalator in Europe and get interesting details about the building as you take in the views of the harbor. Listen to your guide as they share anecdotes about Hamburg and its new landmark and tell you about its unique acoustics.

Hamburg: Speicherstadt, HafenCity & Elbphilharmonie Tour

6. Hamburg: Speicherstadt, HafenCity & Elbphilharmonie Tour

Discover Hamburg's UNESCO World Heritage Speicherstadt, HafenCity, and the Elbphilharmonie on a guided walking tour. Learn about these 3 iconic landmarks from your local guide as you make your way through the city. Start your activity with a guided tour through the Speicherstadt warehouse district. Discover the world's largest warehouse complex and learn about its history, including tales of smuggling and extinct professions. Next, explore the modern HafenCity with its sometimes daring construction projects. See Hamburg's largest ongoing urban development project, built in the former free port area. Here, it is easy to see how tradition and modernity can be combined. Finally, visit the iconic Elbphilharmonie. See the building from all sides as your guide gives you a detailed introduction to the new concert hall. Then, take the longest curved escalator in Europe to the viewing platform for views over the city.

Hamburg: 1.5h Grand Harbor Evening Lights Cruise

7. Hamburg: 1.5h Grand Harbor Evening Lights Cruise

Explore Hamburg’s Harbor District on a relaxing evening boat cruise with live commentary in German, and discover the most romantic scenes and Hamburg’s architectural richness from a whole new perspective. Start your evening harbor adventure at Landungsbrücken and cross the famous bridge to reach Pier 3 where you will board your barge. Set off and glide into the narrow waterways of the largest warehouse district in the world known as Speicherstadt. Take in the stunning architecture and the illuminated views of Hamburg’s port shining in beautiful blue lights. See the lights of the Elbphilharmonie, the Harbor City, the musicals, the landing bridges, the ships, and the container bridges that are destined to set a romantic atmosphere. Sail through the canals, Elbe beach and Hamburg’s famous fish market, and learn the history of the many important landmarks from your German-speaking expert guide.

Hamburg: Harbor Cruise with Wine and Cheese

8. Hamburg: Harbor Cruise with Wine and Cheese

Sit back and take in the beautiful Hamburg sunset on this guided wine and cheese harbor cruise. Relax in the calm atmosphere on board and enjoy the views of the sun setting behind the city. A dedicated server will ensure that you enjoy delicious white or red wine and a variety of locally-sourced cheese. Dine outside in warmer weather or feel cozy and warm in the heated salon during winter.   Cruise through Hamburg Harbor as your live tour guide points out the important monuments of this Hanseatic city. Learn about the docks, St. Michael's Church, the Elbphilharmonie, the new district of HafenCity, and parts of the historical Speicherstadt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hamburg: Speicherstadt and Hafencity Guided Tour

9. Hamburg: Speicherstadt and Hafencity Guided Tour

Explore Hamburg from new Elbphilharmonie through to the historic Speicherstadt and on to the futuristic Hafencity. Enjoy a guided tour of Elbphilharmonie, this masterpiece of architecture with its abstract front is situated like a crown over the harbor and is the new landmark of the city.  Travel from the Elbphilharmonie to the Kaiser, past the Miniaturwunderland with the world's largest model railway, the old coffee roasting plant and the spice museum to the Magellan Terraces right across the Speicherstadt. Here you will follow in the footsteps of the Hanseatic merchants, the so-called Pfeffersäcken. The cathedral-like inner courtyards on the Dutch Brook make it clear that it was not the church but trade and money that determined everyday life in Hamburg.  After this journey to the past, visit the newest and most modern part of the city, Hafencity. This offers the perfect contrast to the Speicherstadt and shows with sophisticated and environmentally friendly buildings what is architecturally possible today.

Hamburg: Hop-On/ Hop-Off Sightseeing Tour Classic Line

10. Hamburg: Hop-On/ Hop-Off Sightseeing Tour Classic Line

Begin your guided sightseeing tour of Hamburg by boarding a wonderful yellow and red double-decker bus. You will then drive around the vast Alster Lakes, over the Jungfernstieg, and to the town hall on this hop-on-hop-off tour.  Along your journey, you will make 15 stops and have the chance to pause at each location, continuing on with a later bus if you wish. You will see many tourist attractions along the way, including St. Michel Church, the court of justice district, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Hafencity. You will also visit the fish market, St. Pauli Piers, and the beloved St. Georg district as your expert guide provides interesting facts and useful tips along the way. Weather permitting, the roof of the bus will be opened for fantastic city views.

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What people are saying about Elbphilharmonie

Overall rating

4.7 / 5

based on 37,085 reviews

The tour was great, the guide was great. However, you should first think about what to expect. Due to the energy crisis, Hamburg is no longer as illuminated as before. Correspondingly dark z. B. the warehouse district. Below deck, cozy and warm at a table, you really don't see that much, despite the glass roof. Rather only shadowy outlines. I was actually a bit frustrated at the time and would have missed the tour at most 1 or 2 stars at this point. However, if you are weatherproof, you can leave the passenger compartment and then have a wonderful view of Hamburg. In the typical gray Hamburg weather, of course, not always so pleasant. We only had a little drizzle, which was easy to bear. The perseverance on deck was actually rewarded with insane views. Conclusion: Light ride in good to moderate weather highly recommended.

A harbor tour is definitely part of a Hamburg city trip and we have decided on exactly this. At first I had concerns about the small size of the boat. I was accordingly enthusiastic about the driving skills and the anecdotes between the interesting facts about the port and the warehouse district from our guide Marco ☆☆☆☆☆ great praise! Highly recommended even with grumpy teenagers in tow

The boat we were on was wonderfully heated, were allowed in before the time. Seen a lot, enthusiastic captain (Marco). In the end sailed longer than the hour and a half that was on the ticket. An explanation was given in German, but we could still follow something….

Punctual departure, nice and understandable information - not too much, not too little. The 1.5 hours flew by and he kindly made a stopover at the Elbphilharmonie so that we could get off there; just before the regular end.

Tolle Tour, :) informativ, interessant gestaltet. Gerne wieder