Noble Hanseatic city, unadulterated red-light mecca, leading media metropolis, modern trendsetter – Hamburg is many things, yet it is one thing in particular: the most happening German city after Berlin. For fans – anyone who has visited at least once – Hamburg is the coolest city in Germany, and they are not referring to the weather. It is as legendary in Hamburg as it is in London, with the difference that in Hamburg it is less apparent, because happiness in the city on the Elbe comes without a price. It may well come down to the waterways: the Elbe, Outer and Inner Alster are the lifelines of the city, providing continuous movement. In Karolinenviertel and Schanzenviertel the designer boutiques such as “Mägde und Knechte” and “Petra Teufel” fulfil the needs of shoppers, while the creative side of the city meets for Sunday breakfast over a Portuguese “Galão” in the hip cafés and bars scattered around the cultural hotspot “Rote Flora” in the Sternschanze area, which has been occupied since 1989. Those in the know spend their nights in the Schanze. When morning breaks it’s off to the Fischmarkt, which despite acting as a tourist magnet is still loved and regularly visited by the locals. Here you’ll get your first impressions of the inhabitants love for wordplays and their penchant for spinning tall seaman’s tales.