Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [602]
South of the Reeperbahn stands the star of many a German crime film and TV show, the Davidwache (Map; Spielbudenplatz 31, cnr Davidstrasse). This brick police station, festooned with ornate ceramic tiles, is the base for 150 officers.
One of the most frequented shops in the area is the Condomerie (Map; Spielbudenplatz 18), with its mind-boggling collection of sex toys and flavoured condoms.
Along Davidstrasse, a painted tin wall bars views into Herbertstrasse, a block-long bordello that’s off-limits to men under 18 and to women of all ages (this is no joke: women have been met not only with verbal abuse but buckets of urine).
While the sex industry is still in full swing, some of the harsher edges (loitering pimps, for example) are gone. Mainstream musicals now play to sold-out houses on the eastern edge, and stylish nightclubs and bars entertain a hip, moneyed clientele until dawn. For comprehensive coverage of the area, pick up the free brochure Hamburg St Pauli – The Reeperbahn Experience from tourist offices, which even has a perforated ‘adults only’ sealed section (advising the going rates for sex, where to catch live sex shows and so on).
In the swinging ’60s, the Beatles cut their musical teeth at the area’s now-defunct Star-Club (see the boxed text, Click here). At the intersection of the Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit, the new Beatles-Platz (Map) is designed like a vinyl record. Standing on this circular, 29m-diameter black-paved plaza are abstract steel sculptures resembling cookie cutters of the fab four (including a hybrid of Ringo Starr and Pete Best) plus Stuart Sutcliffe.
You can take a slightly surreal journey through the Beatles’ career at the Beatlemania Museum (Map; 8538 8888; www.beatlemania-hamburg.de, in German; Nobistor 10; adult/child €10/6; 10am-10pm). In addition to entertaining interactive exhibits (including recreated Abbey Road Studios), and rare memorabilia (such as the Beatles’ first record contract, which was signed in Hamburg), it stages concerts and fashion shows. Look for the giant yellow submarine bulging from the building’s facade.
East of the Reeperbahn, the kid-friendly (and kid-at-heart-friendly) Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte (Museum of Hamburg History; Map; 428 412 380; www.hamburgmuseum.de; Holstenwall 24; adult/concession/under 18yr €7.50/4/free, adult Fri €4; 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, to 6pm Sun) is chock-full of intricate ship models, has a large model train set (only open at certain times; check ahead), and even the actual bridge of the steamship Werner, which you can clamber over. As it chronicles the city’s evolution, it reveals titbits such as the fact that the Reeperbahn was once the home of rope makers (Reep means ‘rope’). There’s a reduced admission price of €6.50 for ticket-holders to Miniatur-Wunderland.
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Schanzenviertel & Karolinenviertel
North of St Pauli lie the lively Schanzenviertel and Karolinenviertel districts, bordered by the U-Bahn Feldstrasse, S-/U-Bahn Sternschanze, and Stresemannstrasse, which retain a strong sense of Hamburg’s countercultural scene. Creative media types mix with students amid a landscape of multicultural cafes and restaurants, as well as funky retro and vintage clothing and music shops, particularly along Marktstrasse, where you’ll find everything from ’70s sportswear to Bollywood fashions.
One of the most outstanding remnants of the area’s rougher days, the graffiti- covered Rote Flora (Map; 439 5413; www.rote-flora.de, in German; Schulterblatt 71) looks one step away from demolition. Once the famous Flora Theatre, it’s now an alternative cultural centre.
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Altona
To the west of the Schanzenviertel, Altona is more gentrified but also has its share of off-beat shops (especially along the western stretch