Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [598]
Select neighbourhoods hug the 160-hectare Aussenalster north of the city centre, with Winterhude and Uhlenhorst on the eastern shores and Harvestehude and Rotherbaum on the western shores. The Universitätsviertel (University Quarter) takes up the western section of Rotherbaum.
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INFORMATION
Bookshops
Dr Götze Land & Karte (Map; 357 4630; www.mapshop-hamburg.de; Alstertor 14-18) Enormous range of guidebooks and maps.
Thalia Bücher (Map; 3020 7160; Grosse Bleichen 19) Stocks English books.
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Discount Cards
Tourist offices and some hostels and hotels sell the Hamburg Card (per 1/3/5 days €8.50/18.90/33.90). In addition to free public transport in the greater city area, it provides discounts on museums, tours and more.
If you’re exploring beyond the city limits, pick up the Hamburg Card plus Region (per 1/3 days €18.50/51).
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Emergency
Ambulance/Fire/Police ( 110)
Police Hauptbahnhof (Map; Kirchenallee exit); St Pauli (Davidwache; Map; Spielbudenplatz 31, cnr Davidstrasse)
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Internet Access
Hamburg teems with call shops offering internet access.
Cyber Zob (Map; 2442 3768; www.cyber-zob.de, in German; Adenauerallee 78; per hr €2; 10am-10pm) In the ZOB (central bus station).
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Laundry
Schnell & Sauber (Map; Neuer Pferdemarkt 27; 6am-11pm)
St Pauli Waschsalon (Map; Hein-Hoyer-Strasse 12; 6am-10pm)
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Medical Services
Ärztlicher Notfalldienst (Emergency Doctor Service Hamburg; 228 022) Provides 24-hour medical advice.
Internationale Apotheke (Map; 309 6060; Ballindamm 39; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-9pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun) Pharmacy.
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Money
There are ATMs at the Hauptbahnhof, the airport and all over town.
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Post
Main Post Office (Map; 01802-3333; Dammtorstrasse 14; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat)
Post Office (Map; 01802-3333; Mönckeberg-strasse 7; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat)
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Tourist Information
Hamburg Tourismus ( 3005 1300; www.hamburg-tourismus.de) airport (arrivals hall; 6am-11pm); Hauptbahnhof (Map; Kirchenallee exit; 8am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun); Landungsbrücken (Map; btwn Brücke 4 & Brücke 5; 8am-6pm Apr-Oct, 10am-6pm Nov-Mar)
Information booth (Map; Dammtor train station, Dag-Hammarskjöld-Platz; 8am-7.45pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat) No hotel bookings.
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DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
Although safe and wealthy, Hamburg is also undeniably sleazy in parts, with red-light districts around the Hauptbahnhof and Reeperbahn. The Kirchenallee exit of the Hauptbahnhof and Hansaplatz in St Georg are also dicey, both day and night. Fortunately, there’s a strong police presence in these areas, too.
As in any big city, pickpockets prey on people in busy places, so stay alert.
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SIGHTS
Altstadt, Merchant’s District & Around
Hamburg’s baroque Rathaus (Town Hall; Map; 428 312 010; Rathausmarkt; tour adult/child €3/0.50; English-language tours hourly 10.15am-3.15pm Mon-Thu, to 1.15pm Fri, to 5.15pm Sat, to 4.15pm Sun) is one of Europe’s most opulent, renowned for the Emperor’s Hall and the Great Hall, with its spectacular coffered ceiling. There are no fewer than 647 rooms here, but the guided 40-minute tours only take in a small number.
To the northwest, the elegant Renaissance-style arcades of the Alsterarkaden shelter shops and cafes alongside a canal.
One of the city’s most remarkable buildings lies to the south in the Merchant’s District. The brown-brick Chilehaus (Map; www.chilehaus-hamburg.de, in German; Burchardstrasse) is shaped like an ocean liner, with remarkable curved walls meeting