Parks and the outdoors in Hamburg

30 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Hamburg.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

EatNorth
Alster Cliff
Nice place to stop for coffee and cake or a meal with a good view on the Alster lake. Lunch food (salad, pizza, pasta) are of average quality and above average price.
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Alter Elbtunnel
St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel
Completed in 1911, it links both sides of the river Elbe. A lift or stairs bring you the 24 m down into the tunnel. You then walk through one of its two 427-m-long pipes having 12 m of water over your head. At the other side, you again walk up the stairs or take a lift. The tunnel is decorated with ceramic arts of maritime motifs (e.g. fish, mussels, seals, old boots). For pedestrians and bicycles it is free and open all day and night, every day. Even cars can pass through the tunnel (only M-F 05:30-20:00 for €2) being brought down with four lifts.
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Altonaer Volkspark
This used to be the city park of the independent town of Altona. Unlike Hamburger Stadtpark, this park has been left in a more natural state. On the northern edge of the park is Volksparkstadion, the home stadium of the football team HSV, as well as the multi-purpose Barclaycard Arena.
SeeEast
Bergedorf Castle
Schloss Bergedorf
This is the only preserved castle inside the city borders of Hamburg, and it has been mentioned in documents in the 14th century. Since 1953 it houses a museum of Bergedorf and the Vierlande region. The idyllic castle park has been protected since 1926.
SeeEast
Bergedorf City Hall
Rathaus Bergedorf
This castle-like villa was built in 1898-99 and has hosted the city government of Bergedorf since 1927. It is also open to visitors, as is the 35 m high city hall tower (Rathausturm). There is a park (Rathauspark) behind the city hall with a scene, playground, stream and garden artworks.
EatEast
Café Chrysander
Cafe and restaurant at the edge of Bergedorf Castle Park with lunch, breakfast buffet, home made cakes and a range of special coffees. In the evening the place becomes a cultural club with regular concerts, movie presentations and lectures.
Tue-Sun 09:30-18:00
SeeNeustadt-Altstadt
Cap San Diego
One of the last generation of pre-containerisation cargo ships (built in the 1960s), now semi-permanently moored halfway between Landungsbrücken and the Speicherstadt, and is the largest functional cargo museum ship in the world. The ship has been restored and is maintained in full working order by volunteers (who take it out a few times a year, notably during the Hafengeburtstag celebration). You can visit the ship and walk around most areas, including the crew quarters, cargo compartments, and engine room. The ship also hosts a number of other minor attractions, including an exhibit on emigration and an escape room. The ship also has a few guest rooms for overnight stays.
Closed · opens 10 am tomorrow€7 adults, €4 children
SeeSouth
Container port
Hamburg's massive container ports line the southern bank of the river Elbe. They are most spectacular at night, and the best place to view them from is by driving north along the A7 highway (heading into the Elbtunnel tunnel). They are not freely accessible to the public, but there are bus tours (only in German, about €35 per person, must be booked in advance) which depart from Hamburg's city centre and, over the course of several hours, drive through the container terminals, with informative commentary.
DrinkAltona-St. Pauli
Dock 3
Beach club right at the Elbe bank, next to Hamburg del Mar. View to Elbe just from the front row.
Apr-Oct: daily from 11:00
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Dockland
Walk 136 steps to the roof of this building to get a wonderful view of the harbour. The six-storey glass and steel building has the shape of a parallelogram and is reminiscent of a ship bow.
SeeNorth
Eimsbüttler Park
also known as "Weiher"
This former forest and current park has survived both world wars and still offers green pastures around the Weiher lake together with a playground, swimming pool and a café.
BuyNeustadt-Altstadt
Europa Passage
The most frequented shopping complex in downtown Hamburg, near the town hall at the Alster lake.
EatAltona-St. Pauli
Fischereihafen-Restaurant
Große Elbstraße 143. Excellent view of parts of the port and the river Elbe. Many celebs have dined here, including English royals.
SeeNeustadt-Altstadt
HafenCity View Point
Look at the erecting process from an orange observation tower, which allows nice views on the HafenCity, the harbour, and the river.
Free admission
SeeNorth
Hamburg Stadtpark
150 ha of park with a pretty good Planetarium at an old water tower in its middle, multiple sporting areas and boat rental on the lake.
DrinkAltona-St. Pauli
Hamburg del Mar
Beach club right at the Elbe bank, next to Dock 3. View to Elbe just from the front row.
daily from 12:00
SeeEast
Hamburger Sternwarte
The astrophysics faculty of the Universität Hamburg is spread over a big park with protected neobaroque buildings with historical equipment for astronomy science including different telescopes. There's a visitor center with a café and tours every Sunday or by appointment.
Sat Sun 10:00-18:00
DoSouth
Harburger Berge
At the city (state) border and continue in to Lower Saxony, the part in Hamburg is classified as a natural park. Viewpoints offer good views over the Elbe valley all the way to Altona. One of them is at Opferberg, where according to a legend a treasure is hidden.
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Jenisch park
The oldest landscaped park in Hamburg. Two museums, Jenisch House and Ernst Barlach House, are in the park. Flottbek River flows through the park and into the Elbe at Teufelsbrück.
DrinkAltona-St. Pauli
Karo Beach
Beachclub in Karo-Viertel. Big sand beach but no water, also family friendly.
daily 12:00-22:00 during the summer
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Loki Schmidt Garten
Botanischer Garten der Universität Hamburg
For a century and a half, the botanical garden was situated in the current Planten un Blomen park, where the tropical greenhouses still remain. In 1979, the botanical garden was relocated to its current place in the Klein Flottbek district. In the southern part of the park there are several themed gardens with medical plants, farm plants, plants featured in the Bible, conifers, fragnant plants, poisonous plants, threatened plants, crops, roses and a desert garden. The central part is dedicated to the science categorizing plants. There you can see plants from temperate parts of the world; Eurasia, North America and far southern South America. In the Alpinium there are plants from the high mountain areas of Europe. The park is named Loki Schmidt garden after the biologist Loki Schmidt, wife of the former German federal chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
Daily open from 09:00 to about 1 hour before sunsetFree
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Planten un Blomen
This park is partially on the old city wall of Hamburg. Already in the 1930s the former zoological park was remodeled into a bird and entertainment park for the Lower German Garden Exhibition (Niederdeutsche Gartenschau). Afterwards it was rebuilt for three international garden shows in 1953, 1963 and 1973. The botanical garden was turned into a park landscape, and was moved to Klein Flottbek in Altona in 1979. The tropical greenhouses built in 1962/63 are still there.;In the summer months there are daily shows for kids with clowns, magicians and circus artists as well as theater. In the music pavilion there are concerts every evening.
Daily open until 23:00, in April until 22:00. Greenhouses are open during the summer season (Mar-Oct): Mon-Fri 09:00-16:45, Sat Sun and holidays 10:00-17:45, winter season (Nov-Feb) Mon-Fri 09:00-15:45, Sat Sun, holidays 10:00-15:45
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Spielbudenplatz
The place got its name from the entertainers putting up shows here for sailors from all over the world back in the day. For example Mr. Hagenback (who opened the zoo park in the city) showcased his sea lions here. Today it is surrounded by several venues including St. Pauli theater, Schmidt's Tivoli, Schmidt's Theater and Operettenhaus.
DrinkAltona-St. Pauli
Strand Pauli
Beachclub on different floors right at Elbe, hence great views of the river from almost all places.
Apr-Oct: Mon-Fri from 11:00, Sat Sun from 10:00; Nov-Mar: Mon-Fri from 17:00, Sat Sun from 10:00
DrinkAltona-St. Pauli
Strandperle
Considered the only "true" beach club right at the Elbe river bank with undisturbed views of the passing ships.
Mon-Fri from 10:00, Sat Sun from 09:00
SeeNorth
Tierpark Hagenbeck
Hamburg's Zoo. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. in 1907. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments.
Daily 09:00-18:00Adults: €20, children 4–16 years: €15, family: €60-70, with Tropen-Aquarium: €30, children: EUR 21, family: €85-98
SeeNeustadt-Altstadt
Wall-Anlagen
The western part of the former city wall is nowadays a park area surrounding the inner city as a semicircle, ranging from the Landungsbrücken (Helgoländer Allee) up to Binnenalster. In the Wallanlagen there's a big playground and in the winter an ice rink. There also the impressive Hanseatic Courthouse building.
DoAltona-St. Pauli Not mapped
HADAG Ferries
A low-budget alternative for a boat tour on the river Elbe. A part of Hamburg's public transport system (HVV). If you have already bought a HVV day ticket, the ride is free. Most tourists take ferry 62 from Landungsbrücken to Finkenwerder, via Neumühlen with the museum harbour Oevelgönne. The whole ride to Finkenwerder and return takes about an hour, and on weekends with good weather this ferry will be very full. In Finkenwerder, you can continue with another ferry to Teufelsbrück (Line 64 which is also part of the HVV) or just walk around on this island, which is a quarter of Hamburg. It has nice old houses, some places to eat and a great view of the harbor business as it is close to the container terminal. Another route from Landungsbrücken is the ferry line number 72 in the Hafencity to the station Elbphilharmonie. You have a good view to the harbour with the Überseebrücke and Sandtorhöft.
Do Not mapped
Kirschblütenfest
Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival
On May 19, the Japanese community of Hamburg celebrates the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival by the Lake Alster. Enormous fireworks and a peaceful atmosphere are characteristics of this event.
SeeAltona-St. Pauli
Baurs Park
Nice park with views to the Elbe river.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Hamburg (CC BY-SA 4.0).