Hamburg

Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is Germany's "Gateway to the World" and its second largest city after Berlin, as well as a city-state in its own right. It lies on the river Elbe about 100 km southeast of the North Sea and has the country's largest seaport. Thanks to the harbor, the dammed Alster and countless canals and smaller rivers, it counts among the European cities with the most bridges. Settled since the Saxons and named after the Hammaburg castle of the 9th century, it grew through port rights and trade privileges into a medieval commercial hub and a Hanseatic League powerhouse, with Germany's first stock exchange (1558) and first opera house (1678). Fires, cholera, wartime bombing and floods have repeatedly reshaped it, and the newly built HafenCity district, home to the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, shows its constant renewal. Nearby, the neo-Gothic brick Speicherstadt, the world's largest warehouse complex built on oak piles, is well worth a visit, while the port draws crowds with the Sunday fish market, the harbor birthday in May and visiting cruise ships. Just around the corner in St. Pauli lies the famous Reeperbahn, Europe's largest red-light district.

Hamburg's gay life is centered in the St. Georg district, especially in and around Lange Reihe, the main shopping street and promenade, lined with numerous gay-friendly cafés and boutiques. The queer calendar has two annual highlights: Hamburg Gay Pride (CSD) in early August and the queer film festival in October.