Admiring Hamburg on a boat tour

Hamburg is an international port city, so no visit is complete without seeing the city from the vantage point of the water that surrounds it.

When we were in this northern German city, we enjoyed going on a boat trip around the city center waterways and canals.

We also traveled through locks, admired the Hafenstadt with its impressive building spree from the water, the historic Speicherstadt and  the harbor.

We even  got a close-up look at the world’s largest (Chinese) cargo ship and the seemingly endless piles of containers that had to be unloaded and reloaded before its return voyage.

Not being so familiar with port cities, examining the size of today’s ships made a real impression.

We crossed under old bridges, passed by the Town Hall and all the city spires.

It was a great way to get an initial idea about the layout of the city, and we enjoyed going back and exploring neighborhoods we had enjoyed first by boat.

A boat trip is an ideal way to enjoy an overview of the city, but there’s plenty more to see.

See my earlier posts on things to do in Hamburg, including Climbing the Michaelis church bell tower, Relaxing in the Planten un Blomen Park, Climbing aboard the Rickmer Rickmers to see what life on a late 19th century merchant ship was like and Exploring HafenCity and the Dungeon.

Enjoy admiring Hamburg from aboard a harbor cruise on your next visit to this northern German city.