Hamburg Christmas Markets

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A Merry Medieval Break

Let the atmospheric streets of Hamburg and its sizeable selection of Christmas markets get in you the festive mood. It’s hard to beat the immensely cheerful atmosphere of Hamburg, and during your stay, there will be a generous amount of time to survey some of the many Christmas markets. A guided tour will take you to the Town Hall and along the pedestrianised streets, bounded with fairy lights and festooned pine trees, before you’ll cruise across the harbour while a local skipper indicates points of interest. To conclude your break, an optional excursion to Lübeck can be enjoyed, which delves into this UNESCO World Heritage Site and its Christmas markets set in Gothic churches and on sprawling squares.

Holiday Highlights

Traverse the enchanting, pedestrianised streets of Hamburg’s old town
Visit the lively Christmas markets in and around the Town Hall
Sail across Hamburg’s historic harbour, taking in the historic port-side sights
Join an optional excursion to medieval Lübeck, with a visit to the Christmas markets in the charming old town

What's Included

Three nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation at the four-star Hotel NH Hamburg Altona, Hamburg
Three breakfasts
A Hamburg city tour
A Hamburg harbour cruise
Coach travel and transfers throughout
Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager

Itinerary

Day 1

You’ll arrive in beautiful Hamburg, one of Germany’s most festive destinations, be met by your friendly tour manager, and transferred to the ideally located Hotel NH Hamburg Altona. The rest of the day you can relax and choose to have dinner at the hotel or in the city.

Day 2

After breakfast today, you’ll join your local guide for a tour of Hamburg. As you walk the streets, you’ll feel enchanted by the cheerful atmosphere given that the city is home to more than 30 Christmas markets. Ghesenmarkt Square hosts a popular market, with its spread of stalls offering crafts, mulled wine, and local treats. In the centre of the city, the town hall square, the oldest city in Hamburg, is where you can also find around 80 artisans selling their wares. Spitalerstraße is one of the liveliest pedestrianised shopping streets during the festive period and Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz encompasses a natural pine tree forest and wooden cabins offering chestnuts and gingerbread. Later in the day, you’ll board a cruise and sail across the harbour while local skippers highlight points of interest on the banks. You’ll pass by Speicherstadt, the largest warehouse district in the world, the Hamburg concert hall, Elbphilharmonie, with its imposing façade, and many of the surrounding bridges, locks, and container terminals. Later in the afternoon, there will be free time to explore at your leisure and have dinner.

Day 3

Once you’ve had breakfast, you can choose to spend the day discovering more of Hamburg and its festive offering on your own or venture on an optional tour to 12th-century Lübeck. This is Germany’s most extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site, which comes to life during the festive period. A local guide will take you around the medieval old town and the most popular Christmas market, which takes place in and around Lübeck’s town hall. You’ll also amble past charming squares, Gothic, spired churches, and historic alleys, illuminated with fairy lights, and dotted with delightfully decorated pine trees. At the foot of St Mary’s Church, you’ll find a fairy-tale forest interspersed with food stands near the harbour a maritime market features a giant Ferris wheel and other amusement park rides, and within beautiful St Peter’s church, you can browse an assortment of craft booths. For your last evening, you can choose to have dinner at the hotel or in the city, maybe followed by a few celebratory tipples to conclude your merry break.

Day 4

After breakfast, depending on your flight time, you can spend some final free moments in Hamburg, before the transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Hotel transfer times

The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately 25 minutes.

Combining hotel transfers

We sometimes need to combine transfers to and from your hotel. We always try to keep any wait to a minimum, but you may be asked to wait at the airport for up to an hour, while other incoming flights arrive, before the transfer to your hotel. Similarly, we may need to transfer you back to the airport up to three hours before your flight home departs.

Special requirements

If you have notified us of any special requirements, please check that they have been noted and acknowledged. This is especially important with any dietary needs you may have.

Disabled access

The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Itinerary changes

Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.

Changes to your hotels

Should circumstances require, we reserve the right to accommodate you in alternative hotels, of a similar standard, nearby. Full details of your hotels will be sent with your Final Travel Documents.

Foreign Office Travel Advice

Visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice to find out the latest Foreign And Commonwealth Office travel advice for your holiday destination, as well as information about passports and visas.

Travelling to Europe

Rules may have changed since you last travelled to European Union countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The following are useful guidelines which will help you prepare for your next adventure. You do require government issued passport to travel.

Names - It is very important that all passenger names are exactly as per your passport although we do not require middle names.

Passport - Your passport must meet two requirements to travel to an EU country and to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It must be: Less than 10 years old on the day you return home (please check the "date of issue") and valid for at least 3 months after the day you return home (please check the "expiry date").

Visa - You do not need a visa for short trips to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You’ll be able to stay for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period.

European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS) - Commencing in late 2023 or 2024, all citizens of the United Kingdom will require a ETIAS electronic form completed prior to their arrival into the EU and Schengen member countries. The cost for this travel authorisation will be €7.00 per person with exceptions for under 18’s and over 70’s. The latest information and further details can be found at www.etias.com.

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