Hamburg: Germany

Hamburg: Germany
Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city (after Berlin) and its principal port. The official name Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg) recalls its membership in the mediæval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is a city state and one of Germany’s sixteen Bundesländer.
The state and administrative city cover 750 km²; with 1.8 million inhabitants, while another 750,000 live in neighbouring urban areas. The Greater Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Hamburg) including nearby districts of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony covers 18,100 km; with a population of 4 million.
The city of Hamburg is situated at three rivers, the Alster, the Bille and the Elbe, at 53°33′ N 10°0′ E.
Tourism in Hamburg
Hamburg is best visited for a few days in spring or summer – and with a plan of things to do. For historical reasons Hamburg is not the typical sightseeing city, partly due to its old civic and trade tradition which didn’t leave grand palaces (except the city hall, the home of senate and parliament), partly due to severe air raids during World War II which flattened complete districts (see section History above).
A typical Hamburg visit includes a tour of the city hall and the grand church St. Michaelis (called the Michel), and visiting the old warehouse district (Speicherstadt) and the harbour promenade (Landungsbrücken). Sightseeing busses connect these points of interest. Of course, a visit in one of the world’s largest harbours would definitly be incomplete without having taken one of the harbour and/or channel boat tours (Große Hafenrundfahrt, Fleetfahrt) which start from the Landungsbrücken.
However, as already indicated, most people visit Hamburg because of a specific interest, notably one of the musicals, a sports event or an exhibition.