Hamburg Off The Beaten Track

Visitors to Hamburg have a variety of offbeat ways to explore Germany’s second-largest city with guided tours highlighting its alternative culture, art and local flair.

Get a glimpse of the lesser-known side of Hamburg with the Alternative Hamburg walking tour, exploring the city’s bohemian districts and focusing on local and international graffiti and street artists. Lasting two hours, the tour tells visitors about community protests, Hamburg’s diversity and urban art movements and visits creative hubs and repurposed bunkers.

Learn more about the history of John, Ringo, Paul and George with the Beatles Tour from Stefanie Hempel, focusing on the Fab Four’s time spent in Hamburg before they returned to England and Beatles Mania began. The tour takes visitors to stops like Indra, a former strip club where the band met Ringo Starr; a hidden backyard famous as the location for the Rock’n’Roll album cover shoot; the Star Club, where the band played on opening night; and the house where the Beatles bunked after arriving in Hamburg.

Eat-The-World’s culinary exploration offers participants a taste of Hamburg with a tour through St. Georg, the city’s oldest district. The St. Georg Tour includes opportunities to sample delicacies from fantastic local shops, such as a traditional café, a spice and tea store, a Persian deli, a Lebanese sweet shop or a vegetarian bistro.

For a look at Hamburg’s nightlife scene, the Reeperbahn Tour explores the St. Pauli quarter and the city’s most famous street, the Reeperbahn, in the center of the red light district. Visitors can learn about local hotspots, famous landmarks and legendary venues as well as take a peek inside a strip club, see the boxing club where Mike Tyson trained and enjoy a drink at a local bar.