In a beautiful location on Hamburg's harbor, this idiosyncratic structure towers above the Elbe River like a detached ship's bow - visitors can even climb onto its roof.

By train to Hamburg: Plan arrival

Whoever climbs the 136 stairs to the 500-square-meter public viewing platform will be richly rewarded. From the roof of the futuristic office building called Dockland, there is a great view over the Port of Hamburg to the Elbphilharmonie. And the sight of the Glass Palace alone is worth it. Like a glass ship's bow, the six-story, 132-meter-long building sits enthroned on the quay, only about 15 minutes' walk from the famous fish market. The Hamburg-based architectural firm Bothe Richter Teherani designed the complex, which is shaped like a parallelogram, in 1995 - but since sand had to be piled up on the banks of the Elbe before it could be built, it took 10 years before it was opened. The interior, which is home to a shipping company, is also quite different, with a diagonal passenger elevator, for example. After climbing the roof, you can easily get to the next Hamburg highlight - the ferries on lines 61 and 62 take just a few minutes from the Dockland/Fischereihafen pier to Landungsbrücken.

You can find more information about Hamburg here: The metropolis in the north

The special tip: Downstream, the ferry line 62 is only one pier away from the museum harbor Oevelgönne with its historic motor, steam and sailing ships.

Good connection by train: From Hamburg's main station, the S 1 and S 3 trains take 10 minutes to the Königsstraße stop, from there it's a good 15-minute walk to Dockland.
By the way, you can find tips on how to travel comfortably and inexpensively on long-distance and local trains with Deutsche Bahn here.

Cover photo: © ThisIsJulia Photography