Hamburg Travel, Germany

“Now if you’ve lost your inheritance,

And all you’ve left is common sense,

And you’re not too picky about the crowd you keep,

Or the mattress where you sleep…

Down there in the Reeperbahn.” (Reeperbahn, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan)

Germany’s second biggest city, and home to one of Europe’s largest harbours, is elegant and cosmopolitan, but also slightly seedy, with the infamous Reeperbahn touted second only to Amsterdam in terms of red light debauchery and decadence.

With the Elbe River and Alster Lake, Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and is a very green city. Take a walk around the Speicherstadt, the warehouse district of the harbour, and stroll the Sinful Mile of the Reeperbahn.

Having got the “Beatles” started back in the early 60s, Hamburg remains an excellent place for live music. If a band plays one gig in Germany, it’s normally in Hamburg. Every night there’s a myriad of opportunities to see live bands from all over the world.

PREVIOUS: Berlin Ugly but fun

NEXT: German History Camps and castles