Discovering Hamburg #2

In yesterday’s post I took you through half of my trip to Hamburg – now I’ll show you the rest!

After exploring Hamburg’s independent design scene during the day, we met up again at 6pm for the evening’s activities. First stop was Clouds – a 24-storey building in the fashionable Reeperbahn area of the city. We headed up to the 23rd floor for cocktails and a glorious view of the sun setting over the city. The very top floor is a terrace still under construction, but it’s due to open in April and it will be stunning.

Then it was on to dinner at Hotel East. Despite being inside a hotel, the restaurant is one of the most popular in Hamburg and was packed full, even at 7pm on a Thursday. The surroundings are plush and decadent and there’s a live sushi kitchen in the centre so you can watch chefs prepare your food – very cool and tasty too!

After dinner we headed out to St. Pauli on the Hamburg Beatles Tour. I must admit I was a bit thrown by this – apparently Hamburg was a key location for the Beatles during their early years and they played many gigs here. Brilliant for Beatles fans but it wasn’t really my scene… luckily we ducked into one of the many full-to-bursting bars in St. Pauli for G&Ts and some dancing afterwards. Much better!

Our last day was reserved for exploring the HafenCity area, starting with the historic Speicherstadt building. Speicherstadt is a collection of warehouses designed to transfer goods in and out of Hamburg’s harbour. The harbour doesn’t see much action these days, so since 2009 Speicherstadt has been under development and exciting things are starting to happen inside these towering buildings.

We visited one of the businesses that now call Speicherstadt home, fashion label Brax. It was great to see how the space has been repurposed for a more modern use while still retaining its original character – all exposed wood, concrete flooring and an amazing view over the city.

With a couple of hours left before lunch, we were guided around the HafenCity area. Right on the water, this part of Hamburg is up-and-coming with loads of development including luxury apartments, a university and a concert hall.

We visited the 25hours Hotel and had a little sneak peek around – I absolutely loved the design of this place, all bright colours, copper piping and bicycles as art. We also ducked into JAN KATH – an amazing German designer who creates bespoke rugs from deconstructed Persian styles. The shop was beautiful and full of inspiration… shame the rugs cost upwards of €7,000!

After a final walk along the waterfront, we sheltered from the wind in Carls – a gorgeous French restaurant that overlooks the bay. Carls’ parent restaurant Jacob’s has two Michelin stars so I was very excited to eat, and the fresh, delicious food did not disappoint. A wonderful way to end our trip!

I had a fantastic few days in Hamburg – if you’re bored of Berlin and want a city break with something different, I’d definitely recommend a trip. Fascinating culture, stunning design and delicious food – everything you need for a weekend away!

My trip to Hamburg was provided by Hamburg Marketing.