Hamburg Bingo: Spot 30 Typically Hamburg Things
Walk the harbour, tick off the card, snap a photo of every typically Hamburg thing you can find. From a Fischbrötchen at the Sunday fish market to the brick warehouses of Speicherstadt, this is a 30-item Hamburg bingo that turns any walk into a treasure hunt. No fixed route. Just keep your eyes open.
Challenges (30)
Spot a Fischbrötchen
Find a Fischbrötchen (Hamburg fish sandwich with pickled herring, prawns or fried fish) at a harbour stall or a Brücke 10 booth. Photograph the bun.
Spot a Franzbrötchen
Find a Franzbrötchen (Hamburg cinnamon-sugar pastry, the city's signature bake) in a bakery window. Photograph the swirl.
Spot a Hamburg brick facade
Find a red-brick Hanseatic warehouse or office building (Speicherstadt or the Kontorhaus district). Photograph the brick patterning.
Spot a Hamburg ship from the harbour
Find a container ship, ferry or tour boat in the Hamburg harbour. Photograph the boat with the cranes behind.
Spot the German flag in Hamburg
Find a German flag flying on a Hamburg building. Bonus if you also catch the white-red Hamburg state flag with the gate emblem. Photograph the flags.
Spot a Hamburg currywurst
Find a currywurst at a Hamburg Imbiss. Photograph the curry-powdered slices.
Spot a Hamburg sailor cap or maritime souvenir
Find a maritime souvenir shop with sailor caps, anchor pendants, ships in bottles, lifebuoys. Photograph the display.
Spot a HSV or Sankt Pauli kit
Find a Hamburger SV (blue) or FC Sankt Pauli (brown-white with skull) kit on someone or in a shop. Photograph the kit.
Spot a U-Bahn in Hamburg
Find a blue U-Bahn sign at a Hamburg Metro entrance. Photograph the U.
Spot a Holsten or Astra beer
Find a bottle or glass of Holsten or Astra beer (Hamburg's local breweries) on a bar. Photograph the bottle.
Spot the Elbphilharmonie wave roof
Find the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in HafenCity, with its glass wave on top of a brick warehouse. Photograph the building from across the water.
Spot a Speicherstadt warehouse and canal
Walk into Speicherstadt and find a brick warehouse with a canal in front. Photograph the warehouse reflected in the water.
Spot the Rathausmarkt facade
Walk to Rathausmarkt and find the Hamburg town hall (Rathaus) facade with its 112-metre tower. Photograph the building.
Spot a Hamburg dock crane
Find a tall harbour container crane in the port. Photograph the cranes against the sky.
Spot a Hamburg ferry (HADAG)
Find a yellow HADAG harbour ferry on the Elbe (it doubles as public transport with HVV tickets). Photograph one underway.
Spot a Landungsbrücken bridge
Walk to St Pauli Landungsbrücken and find the floating pontoons. Photograph the row of bridges.
Spot the Reeperbahn neon
Walk down the Reeperbahn in St Pauli (daytime is fine, but it really comes alive at night) and find a neon sign or pub front. Photograph the sign.
Spot a Hamburg Christmas market or seasonal scene
In December find a Hamburg Christmas market on Rathausmarkt or Jungfernstieg. Outside the season, find any market stall with Hanseatic goods. Photograph the scene.
Spot the St. Michaelis (Michel) spire
Find the Michel, the Hauptkirche St. Michaelis, with its bronze spire. Photograph the church.
Spot the Alster lake
Find a view of the Inner or Outer Alster lake. Photograph the boats, swans or fountains on the lake.
Spot a Hamburg Wasserschloss
Find the iconic Wasserschloss in Speicherstadt, the small red-brick tea-trader's house on the canal corner. Photograph the gabled facade.
Spot a Hamburg Sunday Fischmarkt stall
If it is a Sunday morning, find the Altona Fischmarkt with its loud sellers. Otherwise find a fish-shop window. Photograph the action.
Spot a Hamburg Beatles reference
Find a Beatles reference on the Reeperbahn or Große Freiheit (the Beatles came up here playing the Star-Club and Indra). Photograph a Beatles statue or plaque.
Spot a Miniatur Wunderland sign
Find the Miniatur Wunderland sign or entrance in Speicherstadt (the world's largest model railway). Photograph the sign.
Spot the Köhlbrandbrücke
Find a view of the Köhlbrandbrücke, the cable-stayed bridge over the harbour. Photograph from a Landungsbrücken or harbour boat.
Spot a Hamburg gable Kontorhaus
Find a Kontorhaus office building in the Chilehaus district. Chilehaus itself has the ship-prow corner. Photograph the brick prow.
Spot a Labskaus plate
Find Labskaus (Hamburg sailor's hash of corned beef, beetroot, potato, fried egg) on a brasserie menu. Photograph the pink hash.
Spot a Hamburg Hummel statue
Find a Hummel statue (a colourfully painted figure of the Hamburg water carrier) on a street corner. There are dozens around the city. Photograph one.
Spot a Hamburg Schanze graffiti
Walk into the Schanzenviertel and find a piece of street art or anti-gentrification stencil. Photograph the wall.
Spot a Hamburg ship-bottle (Buddelschiff)
Find a Buddelschiff (ship-in-a-bottle) in a maritime shop window. Photograph the miniature.
Frequently asked questions
The duration is up to the organizer when they set up the adventure. As a guideline, a focused day across the Altstadt, HafenCity, Speicherstadt and Reeperbahn ticks off most of the easy items, and stretching across a weekend (with Sankt Pauli on Sunday morning) lets a determined group complete all 30.
Each of the 30 items is a camera challenge. When you spot the thing, take a photo and submit it; the bingo card tracks progress. Play solo, with friends or split into teams and race to tick off the most items.
Some items (Sunday fish market, a Sankt Pauli match day) need timing. Sweep the Rathausmarkt for the easy items, HafenCity for the Elbphilharmonie, Speicherstadt for warehouses, the Reeperbahn for the nightlife district.
The Altstadt, HafenCity and Speicherstadt hit the most items in a walking loop along the water. Add the Reeperbahn in St. Pauli (or just the daytime version), the Sunday Fischmarkt at Altona, and the Alster lakes for the harder items.
Yes. Kids love spotting Fischbrötchen, the giant model railway Miniatur Wunderland, harbour ships and the Elbphilharmonie; adults enjoy hunting Franzbrötchen, brick warehouses and St. Pauli kits. The Reeperbahn at night is adult-oriented.