Hamburg

St. Pauli, located directly on the Elbe between the city center and Altona, has been a Hamburg district since 1894. The former suburb of Hamburger Berg has borne this name since 1833. The Reeperbahn recalls the rope makers who settled here from 1633 and spun ship ropes. Today, the Kiez around Reeperbahn, Große Freiheit and Spielbudenplatz, FC St. Pauli with its Millerntor Stadium, and the harbor define the district, which is considered politically left-leaning, diverse, and tolerant.During the day, you can climb the Grüner Bunker on Feldstraße or visit Beatles-Platz, while evenings offer a choice between the theaters on Spielbudenplatz, live music clubs, and Kiez pubs. The U3 stops at Landungsbrücken, St. Pauli, and Feldstraße stations, and S-Bahn lines S1 and S3 stop at Reeperbahn station.

Around Domplatz, Hammaburg was Hamburg's genesis; by 1188, a merchant settlement had emerged at Nikolaifleet. The Great Fire of 1842 destroyed large parts of the Old Town; during reconstruction, the Alsterarkaden were built. Today, office buildings, department stores, and Mönckebergstraße, the main shopping street, define the Old Town; west of the Alsterfleet lies the Neustadt.Stroll along Jungfernstieg by the Binnenalster, take an Alster boat tour from the pier, walk under the Alsterarkaden, and ride the panoramic lift 76 meters high in Mahnmal St. Nikolai. On Deichstraße at Nikolaifleet, where the 1842 fire began, stands a Baroque merchant house from 1686 at number 37. At Jungfernstieg station, the U1, U2, U4, and S1 and S3 S-Bahn lines stop.

Altona originated around 1535 as a fishing settlement. On August 23, 1664, it received city rights from Danish King Frederick III and grew into the second-largest city in the Danish realm. It only became part of Hamburg in 1938. Neighboring Ottensen, first mentioned in 1310 as the village of Ottenhusen, developed into an industrial hub after 1866 and became part of Altona in 1889. Today, Ottensen, with some 35,000 residents across 2.9 square kilometers, is a popular district for shopping and going out.From Altona Balcony, you can see across the Elbe to the Köhlbrand Bridge; along the Palmaille stand grand bourgeois buildings from the early 19th century. In Ottensen, you'll find the Fabrik cultural center with its crane and the Zeise Kinos featuring a ship's propeller from the former propeller factory. The S-Bahn lines S1, S2, and S3 stop at Altona Station.

The HafenCity has been developing since its groundbreaking on April 9, 2001, on the former Großer Grasbrook, a port area of approximately 157 hectares, which was released from the Free Port on January 1, 2003, to allow for residential construction. Since March 1, 2008, it has been its own district. To its north lies the Speicherstadt, opened in 1888, for which the residential quarters Kehrwieder and Wandrahm were cleared starting in 1883.You'll walk across the Magellan and Marco Polo Terraces along the water, visit the International Maritime Museum in Kaispeicher B, and learn at the Speicherstadtmuseum how storekeepers stored coffee, tea, and rubber. The U4 stops at the stations Überseequartier, HafenCity Universität, and Elbbrücken.

Blankenese was a fishing village, first documented in 1301. Later, captains and pilots lived here; today, it is one of Hamburg's most affluent districts. In 1938, it became part of Hamburg along with Altona. The old village center is formed by the Treppenviertel on the steep Elbe slope with winding stairs and alleys, above which rises the 74.7-meter-high Süllberg. Upriver, in Othmarschen, lies Övelgönne with its kilometer-long Elbe beach and the museum harbor at Neumühlen pier.You descend the 170 steps of the Strandtreppe to the Strandweg, stroll through parks like the Römischer Garten, and watch the ships on the Elbe from the Elbe beach. You reach Blankenese with the S1; the small bus 488, the "Bergziege," runs through the steep streets. To Övelgönne, the HADAG Ferry 62 takes you from the Landungsbrücken to Neumühlen.

Sternschanze, mostly known as Schanzenviertel, is Hamburg's smallest district at roughly half a square kilometre, gaining independence only on March 1, 2008. Its name dates back to a star-shaped defensive fortification established in 1682. Solid blocks of old buildings and the Rote Flora, occupied since 1989, define a quarter that has primarily drawn students and young people since the 1970s.Along Schulterblatt, the main commercial street, cafés, bakeries, restaurants, and shops line up. To take a breather, visit the approximately 12-hectare Sternschanzenpark, featuring the 59-meter-high water tower built in 1910. At Sternschanze U- and S-Bahn station in the north of the district, the U3 underground line, among others, makes a stop.