About just under 2 miles from the Cruise Ship Terminal is the Harbor area of Landungsbrucken.  You may choose do do an "On Your Own" walking tour to this interesting area where they have harbor boat tours, many great seafood restaurants and souvenir shops.

LANDUNGSBRUCKEN

     The first Landungsbrücken piers were built in 1839 and served as moorings for steamers at the harbor's edge, away from the city and danger of fires from their coal-fired operation.   The Landungsbrücken was the place where large passenger ships started their travels.  Many future Americans departed from here to the New World.  But since the decline of intercontinental passenger travel by sea, today these piers are mostly used by sightseeing boat tours throughout the harbor. 

       Clock Tower with water level indicator.                            Bridges leading to the floating pontoon pier.

     Halfway up the tower on the side of the Elbe embedded in the wall, is a water level indicator.  The dial is visible from afar.  Its second function is the Clock and Bell Tower.  The bell rings out the hour and half hours.

     Google map says it is about 1.68 miles or 35 minutes from the Cruise Port to Landungsbrucken.  These distances and times are approximate and for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results, and you should plan your route accordingly. You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route.

  Built in 1906-10 the 420 meters (1,378 feet) long building features two towers of differing heights, as well as a number of bridge-shaped passageways and copper domes. Several piers lead out to floating pontoons in the middle of the Elbe. (The difference between ebb and tide can be up to 1.60 meters (5.25 ft) here in Hamburg, that is why a floating platform is needed.) Thus,  Landungsbruecken is known as Europe’s largest floating island, a giant, platform with various shops, restaurants and  boats offering tours throughout the port of Hamburg.  Along with the many fish restaurants and shops, you will also find a few museum ships here, too.

Freedom of the Seas at Landungsbrücken

    The jetties are also the location of the  transportation hub of S-Bahn, U-Bahn. 

 Alte Elbtunnel (Old Elbe Tunnel)               

Directly at the western end of the piers is the entrance to the old Elbe tunnel completed in 1911.   It connects St Pauli with the opposite bank via two tiled tunnels. Elevators on both ends are used to lower cars and pedestrians by 23 m (75 feet). Cars have to pay a toll and may only use this tunnel from Monday to Saturday. The New Elbe Tunnel, part of the Autobahn A7, is three km (two miles) west of the old one and opened in 1975. It currently has four passageways and is used by 100,000 cars per day.

Museum Ships
Cap San Diego is the last classic cargo freighter that was built in 1960, shortly before container-ships took over the business much more efficiently. Today this ship is a museum and you may walk around the ship freely and without restrictions. See the big cranes and look down to the many floors of the cargo-halls. Walking through this ship will give you an idea of what life onboard was like -one thing for sure-- it was a lot less romantic than going on a cruise.  On one of the decks you may watch an old film about this ship sailing between South-America and Europe back in 1960.  The museum-ship is open daily 10.00 a.m.-6.00 p.m.
Entrance fee is 6 Euros.
Rickmer Rickmers - is one of the last merchant sailing ships and is more than 110 years old.  It is an old sailing boat made of steel and  docked permanently in the port of Hamburg. This is not really a museum. The owner transformed this ship into a bar and restaurant with a jazz program offered in the middle of the harbour. A unique place to have a drink.  Directions: SS Rickmer Rickmers is docked in the centre of Hamburg, next to St. Pauli Landungsbruecken.

 

FISH MARKET

The highlight, however, is the old fish auction building itself - a very impressive structure. The place is packed with people eating and drinking. (Some, perhaps, having breakfast from an all-nighter in the Reeperbahn). Here the party continues for some, and just gets started for others with a live band and a hearty breakfast.

Directions: The Fischmarkt is in a square between St. Pauli Landungsbrücken (port) and south of the Reeperbahn.

HOMES ON THE ELBE RIVER WEST OF HAMBURG (Treppenviertel Blankenese)

Treppenviertel Blankenese     Some nine miles east of Hamburg is a small suburb on the Elbe River called  Blankenese.  If you take a ferry to Blankenese (ferries depart from Pier 3).This pretty part of Hamburg is where large villas and little fisherman's cottages intermix on the step-slopes that form the riverbank. While the rich merchants were building their spacious country houses high on the slope, the fishermen, pilots and captains built their little houses clinging to the slopes or directly at the river Elbe's edge. Many of the white thatched cottages remain and give an idyllic, almost southern atmosphere to this part of town.  Make no mistake--its the most expensive place to live in Hamburg. The richest of Hamburg live here.
     The outlying area of Blankenese is called the Treppenviertel, or Step Quarter, a very nice part of the Blankenese neighborhood of historic homes connected only by twenty thousand stone steps which all lead to the river’s edge.  Those who wish to see the beauty of this upscale neighborhood of Blankenese, will need to invest a goodly amount of energy. Known as the 'staircase district,' Blankenese contains a total of 4,864 steps. As you walk up, down, around, and between these homes on paths and passageways with steps you will see colorful flowers and plants and ivy-covered walls.  The small, narrow lanes give a Mediterranean feel with a mixture of elegant turn-of-the-century villas, old fishermen's houses and modern concrete buildings.

Dining: The Ahrberg (Strandweg 33, Blankenese,)  has a warm atmosphere that fits perfectly with its traditional German menu and seafood dishes. There are also other shops and restaurants there.

Charming villages with NO roads!