Child-friendly Hamburg: 11 tips for a holiday in this raw, hip city

“A few years ago we had the plan to move to Hamburg, because of my friend’s work. But then corona came, and in that uncertain period a full move didn’t seem nice to me. And so I went to Germany every other week for six months, with the children in the backseat of our Volvo.

My boyfriend always liked that, but after a disastrous train ride with five changes and two children, I decided that driving myself was the best. It was also doable: a five-and-a-half hour drive with sleeping children, with one bathroom break at the Mac, at a nice leisurely pace, because our old Volvo doesn’t go that fast anymore.

Raw

Hamburg is a bit reminiscent of Berlin, but a lot smaller. It is above all a raw city: lots of graffiti on beautiful old houses, a bit of a Rotterdam feeling, with a large creative scene. I noticed that there were often demonstrations – for the climate, or on Labor Day. Then suddenly there were police vans everywhere through the city. In the street it was a little more schmutzier than I had expected; where a broom wagon drives past us in Amsterdam every day, here the rubbish remained on the street for days. Quite surprising, because the Germans are otherwise so neat.

In general I found the city quite hip, but at the same time it has something old-fashioned about it. You can hardly pin anywhere and you have many of those traditional brown cafes. We liked to order bratwursts, schnitzels and flammkuchen there – vegetable dishes are rarely on the menu. But on the other hand, there are also plenty of coffee shops where you can order twenty types of coffee in a minimalist design interior.

St. Paulic

After staying in hotels a few times, we found a cottage in between our favorite coffee spots. In St. Pauli, a neighborhood that is also known because it is partly located in a prostitution area. This is mainly on the edge of the neighborhood, we didn’t notice it at all. We mainly visited the sub-districts of Sternschanze and Karolinenviertel. That is somewhat reminiscent of De Pijp in Amsterdam, with many nice little cafes, shops and playgrounds. You see people drinking coffee on the street, later in the day they hang out together with half liters of beer – that is very common in Germany.

“We mainly came to the sub-districts of Sternschanze and Karolinenviertel. That is somewhat reminiscent of De Pijp in Amsterdam.”

Every weekend there was a flea market around the corner from our apartment complex. Not such a hip one, but one of those car boot markets as you often see in the north of the Netherlands. With racks of jackets from the seventies, paintings you used to see hanging at your grandmother’s, glassware, beaded necklaces, TVs that you don’t know if they work. For the children it was an outing to walk over it. Then I bought a plastic bag with toy cars for one euro and they were happy again.

Near

On weekends, we often took the car to get out of town. With half an hour’s drive we were at the Elbe. You hardly meet people there, you feel so free. We often walked on paths along the water, with the children in a wagon. Or we really went into the woods, walk between the pine trees, and then get a beer or cake at a cafe.

“With a half hour drive you are in quiet nature.”

Unfortunately there was not much to do in the city because of corona. It didn’t matter to me: with two small children I didn’t get very far anyway, so I mainly went to the things that were within a radius of two kilometers from our house.

Read also
A surprising Czech Republic on the spec: 8 tips for a pleasant tour >

kid friendly

Fortunately, Hamburg is a child-friendly city. The people are nice and patient, you get coloring pages and high chairs in restaurants and there are many large and beautiful playgrounds and elongated parks with waters that were skated on in winter. I bought ski suits and boots for Isabeau and Lowe so that we could stay outside for a long time in the winter – all the kids there are so ready. And so we enjoyed ourselves in the playground, we ate a pretzel somewhere, we looked at graffiti or at houses that were completely under-stickered.

“Hamburg is a kid-friendly city with nice, patient people.”

The children are still asking if we will go to Germany again. And that while we didn’t really do that much there; they were very happy with a playground. But the fact that we were together so much, with few social obligations and a lot of games, that’s probably what made it such an impression.”

To do

splash
Bäderland MidSommerland is a nice swimming pool (also outside) that is located in a very beautiful park with nice playgrounds.
baederland.de/BAEDER/STANDORTE/MIDSOMMERLAND

Ice skating
Planten un Blomen is a beautiful, spacious park with many playgrounds and cafes. In winter you can ice skate there.
plantsunblomen.hamburg.de

noses
On Saturdays there is flea market Flohschanze. Enjoy rummaging between the different positions.

nice and rough
At HafenCity and Speicherstadt you can stroll past old warehouses. In Sternschanze you will find many beautiful graffiti and stickered houses. And with a half hour drive you are in quiet nature

To sleep

well-located
Scandic Hamburg Emporio is a nice modern hotel. The location is ideal: on the edge of the Planten un Blomen park.
scandichotels.com

With a view
Do you prefer to sleep outside the city? Strandhotel Blankenese has a beautiful view of the Elbe.
strandhotel-blankenese.de

tent
Camping near Hamburg is of course also possible (in the summer), for example at Elbee camp Camping. From there you can enjoy a swim in the river.
elbecamp.de

Food

pink coffee
At café Teikei they have a lot of love for coffee. The interior is very nice, with a pink concrete floor.
teikeicoffee.org

brunch tip
Another good coffee shop: Bullerei, in an old shed. Ideal for a Sunday brunch.
bullerei.com

Meat and beer
You can eat top schnitzels with fried egg and fries at Paulaner’s Restaurant, a real brown café. Of course they serve Paulaner beers here.
paulaners-hamburg.de

Cozy
Zoë II – Sofabar is the perfect weekend hangout for tourists and locals alike. The nice thing is: it is full of old sofas and armchairs.
zoebar.de

This travel story is in Kek Mama 13-2021.

More travel stories? Follow us on facebook.