Berlin may rock, but Hamburg floats. Water, water is everywhere in this former Hanseatic
League city, Germany’s “gateway to the world” for centuries. Located on the Elbe River near the North Sea, Hamburg is Europe’s second busiest containerport (after Rotterdam) and is laced with canals. When the tide cooperates, you can cruise the canals crisscrossing Speicherstadt, one of the world’s largest historic port warehouse districts. This revitalized area is part of 388-acre HafenCity, Europe’s biggest inner-city development project, rising on the banks of the Elbe. HafenCity preserves elements of Hamburg’s maritime past while reinventing its once grungy Old Port with stunners such as the Elbphilharmonie, opening in January. The concert hall complex was built atop a brick warehouse and now features state-of-the-art acoustics and sweeping views of the city from an 11th-story plaza. —MKD
