The beautiful red-brick, neo-Gothic warehouses lining the Elbe archipelago south of the Altstadt once stored exotic goods from around the world. Now the so-called Speicherstadt is a popular sightseeing attraction. It's best appreciated by simply wandering through its streets or taking a Barkassenboat up its canals. Kapitän Prüsse offers regular Speicherstadt tours, leaving from the port. Other Barkassen operators simply tout for business opposite the archipelago.
Another way to see the Speicherstadt is from the High-Flyer Hot Air Balloon tethered nearby.
The Speicherstadt merges into the HafenCity , an area where the old docks are being transformed into a 155-hectare extension of the city – what looks like a never-ending construction zone is actually Europe's largest inner-city development project. When finished, the area will house a university, approximately 6000 apartments and more. It's estimated that in the next 20 years, it will extend the centre city of Hamburg by about 40%. Some 40,000 people will work here, and 12,000 will live here. The squat brown-brick former warehouse at the far west of the zone is being transformed into the new Elbphilharmonie , due for completion by 2012. Pritzker Prize–winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron are responsible for the design, which, like their Tate Modern building in London, boasts a glass top. This time, however, they're being far more ambitious, as the glass facade should be taller than its brick base and the roof line will rise in wavelike peaks to reflect the waterfront location. Get details and ponder models detailing the magnitude of the project at the HafenCity InfoCenter . HafenCity will be connected to the Hauptbahnhof and several other central transport hubs when the new U-Bahn line (U4) opens in late 2011.
Port and Elbe River cruises start in summer at the St Pauli Landungsbrücken. Hadag offers some of the best deals and cruises.
