Shopping – Hamburg

Hamburg is a dream destination for people who love shopping. It has everything from major department stores full of exclusive designer wares to warrens of boutiques selling quirky accessories. Visitors can indulge their passion for shopping in the grand old mercantile buildings on Mönckebergstrasse or along Jungfernstieg, the city's most traditional boulevard. Wherever they go, they are constantly reminded that when it comes to fashion and design, there's nothing you can't buy in Hamburg.

Shopping arcades

In Hamburg, browsing for glamorous goods is a stylish experience come rain or shine. Because shopping arcades in Hamburg are larger and more numerous than anywhere else in Germany, people are able to acquire fashion, accessories and anything else their heart desires without feeling so much as a drop of rain. There are few who leave these temples of consumerism empty handed: whether it's the Hanse-Viertel, Levantehaus or Europa Passage.

Fashion & Design

But Hamburg is more than just a mecca for shoppers, this is also where world-famous brands such as Jil Sander, JOOP! and Talbot Runhof rose to prominence. And that's not all: the city is also a hotbed of up-and-coming fashion talent. Hamburg is peppered with studios and showrooms where gifted designers produce exclusive collections. The bright young things of the Hamburg design scene rub shoulders with other creative sorts in fashionable quarters such as Ottensen, St. Georg, Karolinenviertel and Schanzenviertel.

These exciting young designers are following in illustrious footsteps: the gentlemen's and ladies' outfitters Ladage & Oelke is one of a number of stores in Hamburg that has been in business for over 100 years. These old-established shops have long been the places to go for specialist products. Aspiring globetrotters can visit Ernst Brendler, for example, for maritime outfits and tropical clothing – from rugged safari jackets to the smartest captain's uniform. Matching headgear is supplied by Hamburg's cap maker Lars Künzel. He makes 18 different types of cap by hand using traditional methods. It's a great opportunity to bag an authentic souvenir of maritime Hamburg. But those with an interest in naval accoutrements are advised not to delay, because Künzel is the last practitioner of his trade.