- Get a real feel for the city by taking the overhead Ubahn from Moenckebergstraße or Rathausmarkt to the harbour, it's pretty high up and the kids will enjoy looking down on the town. Get off at Landungsbrücken, the long floating dock. Here you can take a boat tour or one of the many ferries to nearby interesting towns with great views of the city.  Just wandering around and watching the many ships on the water is also a pleasant option especially with a lunch in one of the fish restaurants.

- A zoo is often a good choice and the one in Hamburg is especially child friendly. It is called Hagenbeck’s Tierpark. All the usual interesting animals are there to watch, living in as natural surroundings as possible. But the big plus for children are the many play areas, including a fort to climb on and ponies or even an elephant to ride. A new attraction for Hamburg is the Tropical Aquarium also at the zoo. It is indoors so good for a rainy day outing. The Aquarium specialises in tropical flora as well as tropical fish. Kids give it a high rating.

- Hamburg is a city of parks and all offer interesting activities for both you and the children. Here is a selection of the most popular ones.  Alster Park on Lake Alster is a lovely area for a sunny day outing where the children can run around in green surroundings and there are kiosks and cafés for refreshments.  But a trip on the water is the real attraction here. With boats or pedalos for hire or a trip on a real steamboat from Jungferstieg at the bottom arm of the lake, for a memorable tour of the city from the water. At the Planaten un Blomen park you can enjoy the fabulous flowers in these tranquil Botanical Gardens with a great water playground where the kids can play at mud fights! Entertainment is also on offer here in the summer evenings.  Öjendorfer Park has lots of lawn space for the kids to run around on and a lake they can go swimming in. The Niendorfer Gehege has playgrounds and is also a good place for the youngsters to go pony riding. Nearby there is a lovely game reserve with deer. The Stadtpark has big shady trees, a lake where the children can swim safely and a big open-air swimming pool as well. In the summer there are open-air concerts here. Just check at the tourist office to find out the programme.

- The Hamburg Dungeon is a place the children will really love. Live actors and special effects bring Hamburg’s shady past to life. A real treat, at least for the children, is a spectacular water ride which gives a real feeling, terrifying, for what it was like to experience Hamburg’ s worst flood in the 1700’s.

- If you are a miniature train enthusiast then you probably already know about Miniature Wonderland with its longest, largest set up in the world. Literally hundreds of model trains, cars, lorries and buses are continually on the move through a huge miniature world, populated with an awesome few hundred thousand people. It really is incredibly impressive and guaranteed to enthral children of all ages.

Eating with the kids:  Childfriendly restaurants and cafes in Hamburg
On our search we came across so many that it seems that Hamburg must be the best place in the world to eat out with the children! Some of the best are listed on the Hamburg Tourist Board site

Getting around the city
Like all German cities it is easy to purchase one or three-day travel cards for all inner city public transport. For any family on holiday though, your best option by far is to purchase the HAMBURG CARD which not only gives access to free public transport in and around the city, it also gives great discounts on all major attractions plus other bonuses.