Description
Hamburg – the highlight in the north
Located in northern Germany by the “Elbe” river, you find the world’s most beautiful city: Hamburg. You probably know many clichés: port and Reeperbahn, bad weather, musicals and fish market – all this is Hamburg. But the second largest city in Germany has much more to offer and is also: bright sunshine, a lake in the city center (“Alster”), quite a lot of parks, massive culture and subculture, interesting architecture, plenty museums, multiculturalism, more than 1.8 million inhabitants, the Nordic serenity and not forgetting the charming German accent.
ELSA Hamburg is one of the 42 German Local Groups and exists since 1990 at the University of Hamburg. Living our mission statement "Globally connected. Locally rooted.” the team from ELSA Hamburg is eager to meet with people from all over the world and help them understand why Hamburg is a must see. Let's grab a local beer, we're going to show you all those lovely places you won't find in the “Lonely Planet”.
We'd love to see you around!
City, Country
Hamburg, Germany
Accommodation Options
In Hamburg you find a huge choice of Hostels, like the “A&O Hostel”, the “Airport Hostel” or the “Generator”. Check the well-known travel websites.
Methods of getting from the airport(s)/train-station to the City Centre/Hotel
By plane – the main airport (HAM) is located right in the city and has a direct connection to the urban railway line “S1”.Passengers can travel from the airport station to Hamburg’s central railway station every 10 minutes. The journey takes only 25 minutes one-way. by train/bus – the main station is called „Hauptbahnhof“, located in the very center. To get from A to B in the city center you can choose between four underground lines, six railway lines and a vast number of bus lines. They run up to about 11 p.m. every 5 or 10 minutes during the week. At weekends the underground and rapid transit departs every 20 minutes all through the night. As a port city, you also have the opportunity to explore Hamburg on the water with ferry services.
Ideal length of Visit
A four-day weekend.
List of law-firms/firms/Institutions that the groups could visit
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS),
Consulates: You could visit one of the one hundred consulates,
University of Hamburg, Bucerius Law School,
Hamburg City Hall, Hanseatic Higher Regional Court Hamburg,
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, NDR (North German Broadcasting Corporation: Compliance Department (IP & Media Law),
In consultation with ELSA Hamburg: Brödermann Jahn, MÖHRLE HAPP LUTHER, Bird & Bird, White & Case, PwC, MLP Hamburg, KPMG Law, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gleiss Lutz, CMS Hasche Sigle, Heuking Kühn Löer Wojtek, Rödl & Partner, DLA Piper, Buse Heberer Fromm
Draft Academic Programme
- Participation in the local round of the Client Interviewing Competition of ELSA Hamburg (in consultation with our local academic activities team).
- A visit or workshop at one or several of our law-firms and institutions.
Draft Social Programme
Day 1 –
- Arrival
- City walking tour
To get a first impression of Hamburg you should do a city walking tour:
Start at the Landungsbrücken (landing stages). The floating dock – called “Landungsbrücken” is 700 meters long. Harbour tours leave from this water “station” and two musical houses are on the other side of the Elbe. Enjoy the great view over the second-largest port in Europe after Rotterdam with his shipyards, docks and terminals. Impressive luxury cruisers also dock here from time to time. Next stop is the “Speicherstadt” (warehouse district). The world’s largest contiguous warehouse complex, was built in 1883 and is one of the main attractions. The warehouses are built on oak piles and the district is crossed by canals that are flooded depending on the tides and can then also be explored in small barrages to savour the architectural details. At nightfall, the Speicherstadt is enveloped in an aura of mystery. At that time of day, the red brick buildings and steel bridges are artfully illuminated by 800 spotlights. Right next to the Speicherstadt, the futuristic HafenCity project is currently being built. Work began in 2003 and so far half of the buildings have been completed.
In summer we have quite a selection of great places to hang out by the water – our favorite is the beach club “Strand Pauli”.
Day 2 –
Do some stand up paddle boarding from the Jungfernstieg on the Alster or a bicycle tour along the Elbe. If it should rain: Make a journey all over the world in just a few hours: visit the “Miniature Wonderland”.
- Bar and restaurant hopping
Have a craft beer or two in Hamburg Sternschanze, have our local-drink “Mexikaner” at the Reeperbahn and visit the Portuguese Quarter which is next to the Hamburg landing stages for numerous Portuguese and Spanish restaurants.
In the summer months (May to October) a Water Light Concert and Fountain Show takes place at the lake of the park “Planten un Blomen” every night at 10 p.m. and lasts around 30 minutes.
Day 3 –
- “Stadtpark” and Planetarium
The Stadtpark (municipal park) is Hamburg’s green lung. It offers an open-air stage for concerts in summers, a Planetarium with a freely accessible viewing platform, miniature golf, natural and outdoor swimming pool, a lake and a big place to have a barbecue.
St. Michael’s Church, colloquially called “Michel” is one of Hamburg’s main churches. The Michel is considered to be one of the finest Hanseatic Protestant baroque churches. Explore the 132-metre high church tower with the old clockwork of Germany’s largest tower clock. The observation deck atop Hamburg’s iconic landmark gives you an amazing view of the city. You also have the opportunity to visit the tower and enjoy the view at night outside of the official opening times.
The Reeperbahn, also called “Kiez” is Hamburg’s entertainment district number one. Theatres, numerous table dance bars, nightclubs and student clubs – everything can be found on 930 meters! During the day rather quiet the street awakens at night. Thousands of people of all ages are out and about with the aim to have fun.
Day 4 –
For a perfect start to the last day after a long night of partying: a visit to the traditional Hamburg Fish Market. Eat a “Fischbrötchen” (fish sandwich) and have a cappuccino-special (with Liquor 43) at Jessys’. It takes place every Sunday from 6 to 9.30 in the morning.
Right next to the fish market is the “Dockland”. A 500 square meters roof terrace, which offers at sunrise the best view over the port of Hamburg and the northern banks of the Elbe.
- “Elbphilharmonie” – Hamburgs new landmark
Until you reach the end of your unforgettable journey, have a last view over Hamburg from the Elbphilharmonie – one of the best concert halls in the world. Visitors are transported over an 82-metre curved escalator through the former “Kaiserspeicher” (an old warehouse) to a plaza. From this 37m high and 4000 m2 wide platform you will be able to enjoy a unique 360° panoramic view of the port, the Elbe and the city. The plaza is full of architecturally interesting details, like the curved and sound muffling ceiling, the 3-D planned substructure, the custom made bricks on the floor and the geometrically arranged wind deflectors, which are up to 6m high.
