Lonely Planet and The New York Times declare love for Hamburg

The New York Times spotlights “36 Hours in Hamburg, Germany“ - Lonely Planet puts city on the Elbe among top 10 cities for 2018.

The New York Times sounds like a Hamburg fan in a recent article of the “36 Hours in …” series, published on October 19, 2017. This comes just as the Lonely Planet travel guide puts Hamburg fourth among the “Top 10” cities to visit in 2018. In January, The New York Times ranked Hamburg tenth among “52 Places to Go“ in 2017, and the only German destination on the list.

Declaration of love from New York

New York Times writer Davin O’Dwyer praised Hamburg as “a watery wonder, teeming with architectural marvels, restaurants and cultural charms”. The article is complimented by images of the Port of Hamburg, Miniaturwunderland and the Elbphilharmonie.

Naturally, the “shimmering new concert hall” is among 12 places featured by O’Dwyer, who describes the Elbphilharmonie as “a sturdy old brick warehouse serves as the base to a soaring rippled glass structure that culminates in a crown of peaks resembling billowing circus tents. The juxtaposition of brick and glass, old and new, practically begs to be seen as a metaphor for Hamburg’s marriage of traditional and modern industries.” Hamburg is like a “surprising jewel just waiting to be discovered.”

Hamburg among top 5 travel destinations for 2018

The international Lonely Planet travel guide also enthuses about Hamburg and has ranked the city fourth among the top five “Best in Travel 2018“. The annual travel guide ranks ten top cities, countries and regions for the coming year. The guide hailed the stunning Elphilharmonie with its “glass top that shimmers like crystalline sails”. It also praised the “oh-so-walkable HafenCity port area.“ From there, Hamburg is “alluringly accessible” and radiates along the Elbe River. Dozen of old steeples serve as compass points. Nightlife is definitely among the “Best in Europe“. Seville, Spain, is the number one city followed by Detroit Michigan, USA and Canberra, Australia.

Germany’s second most elegant city

Hamburg is also among the top fashion cities and not only in terms of architecture and culture. A recent study by Zalandor rated 80 cities in diverse categories such as fashion and urbanity. Hamburg ranked second after Munich among Germany’s most elegant cities. The city also scored well in terms of fashion (4.35/5 points) and cleanliness (4.37/5 points).