Hamburg’s old warehouse and free port district is re-emerging as a vibrant residential, commercial and retail zone. It’s part of the HafenCity Hamburg planning initiative, the largest of its kind in Europe, which is expected to continue until 2020.
Walk around the vicinity to see how the city’s New Docklands area is gradually taking shape. Find bold, modern architecture by the water on one side, and the renovated red brick warehouses of the Speicherstadt area intersected by canals on the other.
See the figurehead of the project, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, Hamburg's new concert hall. The modern glass structure was built on the foundations of the old Kaispeicher, a former cocoa warehouse building. The new venue, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is expected to be ready by 2016.
To learn more about this and other projects ongoing or planned as part of the redevelopment, join one of the free guided tours arranged by HafenCity Hamburg. Choose to travel on foot or by bike. Tours last approximately 2 hours and can be booked in advance online or daily from the area’s tourist office.
Visit the vantage point offering a view over the area. The 42-foot (13-meter) ViewPoint building is hard to miss look for the tower painted a striking shade of orange. The tower offers a view of the concert hall, the cruise ships moored at the Überseequartier and new buildings along the waterfront. Identify the structures using photos and text descriptions.
Reach New Docklands using Line 4 of the U-Bahn. Stop at either the Überseequartier station, an area that has plenty of shops and restaurants, or the HafenCity University station. Parking is available in the vicinity of Überseequartier. The New Docklands area is open at all hours and is free to enter.
