Photo: iStock / Matthäus Rojek

GERMANY: From the best ice-cream shops to beautiful walks in the Hafencity to the best flea markets in the city: We have put together our top five activities for spring in Hamburg.

1. Flea Market "Flohschanze" - Old Treasures and New Favourites

Whether furniture, clothing, crockery or jewellery: Those who have been busy with spring-cleaning have deserved to let some new old treasures moving in! A visit to the ‘Flohschanze’, one of Hamburg's most famous flea markets, should be on the bucket list of every Hamburg trip. Every Saturday, bargain hunters and antique lovers cavort on the square near the ‘Alte Rinderschlachthalle’ (Old Cattle Slaughter Hall) from eight to four o'clock. With the location directly at the underground station Feldstraße, between Karoviertel and the neighbourhood ‘Schanze’, you can perfectly stroll through small shops and boutiques in the area after the flea market! 

2. "Frühlingsdom" (from 22 March to 22 April 2019)

What the funfair or carnival is for some, the DOM is for the Hamburgers. The biggest folk festival of the north takes place three times a year on the ‘Heiligengeistfeld’ in St. Pauli and opens its gates for the first time in 2019 on 22nd March. On 1.9 kilometres and with 230 attractions, everybody will find a match. Adrenalin junkies are looking forward to the DOM novelty "The Beast", where guests can expect a spectacular 360-degree overhead looping ride at a height of 24 metres. Our recommendation: Watch the colourful spectacle from below and enjoy a traditional serving of poffertjes! Every Friday at 22:30 the DOM fireworks show takes place. To make sure all guests can enjoy the spectacular show, rides pause, booths turn down their music and dim the lights. Tip: Wednesdays are family days, most rides, amusements and games offer reduced prices. 

3. Spring Awakening at Planten un Blomen

The park in the middle of the city attracts many visitors especially on the first warm days of spring. No wonder, since the 47-hectare park, which stretches from the Congress Center to St. Pauli, invites visitors to relax and offers numerous themed gardens, playgrounds and recreational facilities. In particular, the Japanese Garden, the largest one in Europe, becomes a unique natural spectacle during the cherry blossom season. From the beginning of May, the colourful water light concerts of the water organ at the Parksee will amaze visitors.

4. When Snowballs turn into Scoops: Our Insider Tips for finding the Best Ice-cream Shops!

As soon as the temperature is more than ten degrees, the people in Hamburg call it summer - and of course a portion of ice-cream should not be missing! How lucky that the Hanseatic city has many great ice cream parlours for the choosing.

Delzepich Eis

Winterhuder Weg 67, 22085 Hamburg: Every day there are 8-10 different varieties on the menu which are mostly sold out until the early evening. But no wonder, because tastes like raspberry meringue, ‘Franzbrötchen’, caramel sea salt or ‘Milchschnitte’ are simply irresistibly delicious!

Eisliebe

Bei der Reitbahn 2, 22763 Hamburg: Here you will not only find the classic ice cream in the waffle or in the cup, which is prepared every day from fresh ingredients from the region: For a few years now, creations such as ice chocolates, ice cream cakes, ice cream bombs or iced apricot dumplings are definitely worth a try!

Eis Schmidt

Schulterblatt 78, 20357 Hamburg: Eis Schmidt now has a total of six locations in Hamburg. So on a beautiful spring day, you could easily walk from outlet to outlet and feast your way through the range, always including vegan and gluten-free varieties like last year's vegan chocolate marshmallow ice cream.

5. Take a Spring Walk through HafenCity

If you want to get to know the exciting and sophisticated architecture of HafenCity, the walk "In 100 minutes through HafenCity" by Hamburg Tourism is just the thing for you. The starting point is the Elbphilharmonie, the view from the public plaza almost 40 metres above the Elbe is stunning. The walk leads from here to the "Oval", the Unilever House and the Marco Polo Tower, on to the Cruise Center, the Sumatrakontor and the new Spiegel publishing house.

Don't just dream about your next getaway, book today!