Hamburg Weekend Itinerary

This is an itinerary for 2 and a half days in Hamburg with younger children. We did this with children ranging from 2 to 10 years of age.

Day 1: 

• Kunsthalle Hamburg (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; closed on Mondays)
• Planten um Blomen   (interactive plan of the park in German)

Day 2: 

• Fischmarkt (only open on Sunday; closes at 9:30 a.m.)
• Ferry ride
• Hagenbeck Zoo (at least from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) 

Day 3:

• Miniatur Wunderland (at least from 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

The Details!

Day 1: 

After breakfast we headed out to the "Kunsthalle Hamburg" (closed on Mondays). Since we were up early we opted to walk from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express Hamburg City Center) to the museum. We walked along the Aussenalster and it took about 30 minutes with the kids riding scooters.

View Hamburg in a larger map

We only stayed a couple of hours at the museum and walked over to the main train station (Hamburg Hbf) to have lunch. They have a huge selection of healthy and unhealthy foods in their food court which is on the left hand side as you walk in through the main entrance. On the first floor there is a supermarket where you can also get food and drinks. We stocked up on drinks here because it was cheaper than in the food court!

From the train station we caught the subway U2 in the direction Niendorf Nord and got out at Messehallen. Don't follow the signs to Planten um Blomen because you'll end up on a main road and it's not obvious where you should go from here. Take the exit "Sievekingplatz" and you'll end up right in the park itself. When you come out turn right and continue down the path and you'll see a huge playground which is where we spent a good part of our afternoon. The cafe is very close by and serves simple food. Further down the road there are trampolines and mini-golf. We finished up our afternoon by visiting the green houses (Tropenhaus or schaugewächshäuser). They were really good and were free. A bit of information that we wished we had known before is that the green houses have public toilets. These are neither marked on the maps nor sign boarded!

After this we headed to the university area (which is north east of the park) to find some dinner. There are plenty of dinning options in the area.

Day 2: 

Our second day was a Sunday and after a quick breakfast we took the subway down to the Elbe. We took the U3 from Lübeckerstr. in the direction of Hbf to Landungsbrüken. From there we walked out to the river and caught the ferry number 62. This took us to the Fischmarkt. Inside the huge building there is not much to see. It's a great place to get some breakfast if you haven't already and there are toilets on the first floor, just ask someone working there for directions. Outside the building walk back in the direction you came from and you will pass people selling all kinds of things! At last you will see a few fish mongers. Wait until around 9 to 9:15 and the vendors selling fresh food will start shouting and trying to sell off their ware!! 

The ferry makes a loop so if you want to see some of the harbour just get on the 62 and continue along the river. You don't need to get out at the end just stay on till it eventually gets back to Landungsbrüken. The ferry is the cheapest way to see the harbour because it is part of the public transport system. You can find other harbour ferry routes at this website: www.hadag.de/english/harbour-ferries.html 

After a nice relaxing morning we hit the zoo. To get there you need to take the U3 back to Hbf and then from there the U2 in the direction Niendorf Nord. Exit at "Hagenbecks Tierpark". The zoo is very good and likewise it is also rather expensive. Plan to spend the rest of your day there! 

We got back to the city in the late afternoon and ate at a fish restaurant (they have veggie options too) that turned out to be very friendly to our tiered and loud children!

Day 3:

Today we hit the Miniatur Wunderland. We reserved our tickets on-line to avoid the lines and got in without having to wait. It was quite amazing the amount of detail that they put into the exhibits. The kids had a lot of fun at the beginning but they didn't last more than 2 hours before they needed a break. No problems the cafeteria at the Miniatur Wunderland was very good and reasonably priced. We had some healthy pasta that they prepare as you order right in front of you again veggie options were available. Then we quickly walked through the rest of the exhibits. If you can hold out it could take the whole day to walk through this place but I doubt that that would be possible if you have children with you. The air gets a bit stuffy and the crowds a bit much. My advice: get there as soon as they open so that the kids can get a good view. 

After this we left Hamburg!!