It’s a city filled with visual, culinary, and cultural delights – the place the Beatles (in their pre-Ringo days) first won over audiences, and where Germany’s top tourist attraction – a literal “Miniature Wonderland” – draws in more than a million visitors each year.

The second largest city (after Berlin), Hamburg is a dynamic mix of old and new. Hugely popular with Germans – more than 75 percent of its visitors in 2024 came from other parts of the country – it has yet to be truly discovered by American tourists. As an avid Beatles fan, I was eager to explore Hamburg during a recent five-day visit.

Closer to Copenhagen than to Berlin, some call this maritime metropolis of nearly two million the “Gateway to the World.” Others compare Hamburg to Venice because of its many rivers, canals

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