Parks

There are lots of beautiful parks in Hamburg:

  • Stadtpark (U3 Saarlandstraße station or U3 Borgweg station): always open, barbecues are allowed in BBQ zones. You can swim in the Stadtparksee.
  • Planten un Blomen (U1 Stephansplatz station, S Dammtor station): open October to March from 7 am – 8 pm, in April from 7 am – 10 pm and from May to September from 7 am – 11 pm. The botanical gardens, the tropical conservatory, children’s playgrounds and the skate park are free. There are free water light concerts at 11 pm (from September at 9 pm). The mini-golf course in the summer and ice rink in the winter are subject to a charge. You can find more information here: https://plantenunblomen.hamburg.de/service/3834054/oeffnungszeiten-artikel/.
  • Alsterwiesen (M15 or 109 bus, Alsterchaussee bus stop): Barbecues are allowed; in summer you can rent rowing boats and pedalos.
  • Elbstrand (112 bus or the 62 ferry to Övelgönne station): Small beach beside the port, open all year round.
  • Wilhelmsburger Inselpark (S Bahn station Wilhelmsburg): Open all year round. Several playgrounds and ponds, a free skate park and a high ropes course (payment required).
  • Altonaer Volkspark (M3 bus to Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld or M2 bus to Rugenbarg Nord): Hamburg’s largest public park, right beside the Volksparkstadium and Schnackenburgallee.
Museums

There are also several other museums, where you have to pay for a ticket:

  • Archäologisches Museum Hamburg (S Bahn stop Harburg Rathaus)
  • Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (U/S Bahn station Hauptbahnhof)
  • Miniaturwunderland Speicherstadt (U3 Baumwall station)
  • Museum für Arbeit (U/S Barmbek station)
  • Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte (112 bus Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte station)
  • Bucerius Kunst Forum (U/S Jungfernstieg station)
  • Deichtorhallen (U Steinstraße station)
Going out

There are many bars at the Sternschanze (U/S Sternschanze station). Between the S Reeperbahn and U3 St. Pauli stations there is also the Kiez.

This is a traditional red light district, but it also contains many clubs for partying (for a fee).

Swimming pools

There are public swimming pools in Hamburg. They are generally used by both men and women together. However, there are also women-only swimming and sauna times.

  • Bäderland Inselpark (Kurt-Emmerich-Platz 12, Wilhelmsburg S Bahn station):
    Monday to Thursday, 10 am – 8 pm, Friday 8.30 am – 8 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm
  • Bäderland St. Pauli (Budapester Straße 29, U3 St. Pauli stop):
    Tuesday to Thursday 2 pm – 6 pm, Friday 8.30 am – 6 pm, Saturday 2 pm – 6 pm,
    women and girls swimming: Saturday 10 am – 2 pm
  • Holthusenbad (Goernestraße 21, U Kellinghusenstraße station):
    between May and August: Monday to Sunday 9 am – 10 pm, from September to April: Monday to Sunday 9 am – 11 pm, women’s sauna: Monday and Wednesday
  • Alster-Schwimmhalle (Ifflandstraße 21, U3 Lübecker Straße stop):
    Monday to Friday 6.30 am – 11 pm, Saturday and Sunday 8 am – 10 pm, women’s sauna: Sunday

More information on the 26 public swimming pools: www.baederland.de

Prices:
Swimming for 1.5 hours, approx. €6 for adults / €3 for children.
Sauna tickets approx. €16.

Bücherhallen (Libraries)

In the Bücherhallen (libraries) you can use books, CDs , DVDs and eBooks for free and borrow books and other media. For this, you must have an employee of the Bücherhalle issue you a customer card. With this you can also use the Wi-Fi in all Hamburg Bücherhallen.With a day ticket you can borrow 3 items. This costs 3 €. An annual ticket for adults costs between 15 € and 45 €; an annual ticket for children costs between 3 € and 8 €.

If you bring proof that you receive benefits as an asylum seeker (Leistungen als Asylbewerber), from the Jobcenter (Jobcenter team.arbeit.hamburg, job centre) or from the Grundsicherungsamt (Fachamt für Grundsicherung und Soziales, Office for needs-based pension supplement in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity and for social affairs), the customer card is free for children and costs only 5 € for the first 6 months for adults and 20 € per year afterwards.

You can also use the online catalogue of the Bücherhallen: https://www.buecherhallen.de/ebuecherhalle.html. You need to enter the number of your customer card and a password that you receive together with the card.

If you borrow a book or other items, you will have to return it until a specific date. If you do not return it in time, you will have to pay a late fee (Versäumnisgebühren). This can soon be very expensive.

The Bücherhallen (book halls) offer a discussion group ‘Dialog in Deutsch’ (Dialogue in German) for beginners with and without German language skills.

Note for Ukrainian refugees: On some dates, a group leader who speaks Ukrainian is present.

You can find more information here:  

Plenty of information about the locations, prices, opening hours and events is available here.

Sport

There are more than 800 sports clubs in Hamburg. They allow you to take part in individual or team sports. At www.willkommen-im-sport.de there is an overview of the sports on offer for refugees. Special offers for refugees include:

  • VolleyWelcome: Register at Hamburg@VolleyWelcome.de  to find a volleyball team near you.
  • Refugees@ETV – ETV-Hamburg: ETV, in Eimsbüttel, offers every refugee the opportunity to do sport for free.
    Options for adults: Karate, fencing, table tennis, swimming, football, basketball, handball, volleyball, floorball, fitness & health, zumba.
    Options for children: Ball games, fencing, table tennis, ballet, judo, parent-child gymnastics and baby gymnastics.
    For more information: www.etv-hamburg.de

Special programmes for Ukrainian refugees: 

  • Elbyoga: JEvery Wednesday at 10.30 am, there is a yoga class in Ukrainian and Russian, which Ukrainian refugees can attend free of charge. You can find more information here: https://www.elb-yoga.com/ (German, parts in Ukranian) 
  • Sportoncourt: This tennis school in Hamburg Billstedt offers free tennis lessons for Ukrainian refugee children. You can find more information here: https://sportoncourt.de (German, parts in English and Ukrainian) 
  • The boxing department of FC St. Pauli offers free membership to all refugees. You can find more information herer: https://www.st-pauli-boxen.de/fc-st-pauli-boxen-fluechtlinge (German) 
  • The canoe club ‘Ring der Einzelpaddler (RdE) e.V.’ gives refugees access to canoeing. You can find more information here: https://nebenan.de/public_feed/21749592 (German, Ukrainian) 

Further cultural programmes for Ukrainian refugees

You can find free cultural prorgammes on this website: https://www.kulturlotse.de/ (German). 

The website https://www.jugendserver-hamburg.de/index.php?RUB_ID=6&NAV_ID=357 (German) can help you to find cultural programmes for children and adolescens. 

You can find many events specifically for Ukrainian refugees here: https://www.hamburg.de/bkm/kultur-hilft/ (German). 

The Deutsch-Ukrainische Kulturverein (German-Ukrainian Cultural Association) offers events on Ukrainian culture. You can find more information here: https://deutsch-ukrainischer-kulturverein.de/ueber-uns/ (German)   

You can find more programmes and activities here: 

More free activities in Hamburg
  • Hamburg kostenlos: Plenty of tips for activities that are fun and interesting related to the topics: experience Hamburg, exercise and sports, culture and education. More information: www.hamburg.de/kostenlos

Last Updated: 12.01.2022