The 10 Best Rooftop Bars in Hamburg

Clouds Heaven's Bar & Kitchen draws a steady local crowd in St Pauli. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the ev. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Tuesday and Wednesday before 9pm, when the regulars haven't filled the room yet. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. Saturday after 10pm gets crowded — book ahead or arrive early.

Elbschlucht draws a steady local crowd in Othmarschen. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: any weeknight between 7pm and 9pm, when the bar settles into its rhythm and the bartender has time to talk. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. Friday from 8pm fills up; reserve a counter seat or a high table.

Elbphilharmonie Plaza Bar draws a steady local crowd in Hafencity. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Sunday from 6pm, when it's the room's quietest premium night and the kitchen is unhurried. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. Avoid post-match nights if the local team is playing — the upstairs gets loud.

Galerie Eins Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in Hafencity. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Thursday late or Friday early, when you'll catch the room building toward its weekend tempo. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. First-Friday traffic in the district can mean a 20-minute wait at the door.

Stockwerk Heisses Reisebureau Rooftop draws a steady local crowd in Hafencity. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the ev. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Tuesday and Wednesday before 9pm, when the regulars haven't filled the room yet. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. Saturday after 10pm gets crowded — book ahead or arrive early.

Cafe Schoene Aussichten draws a steady local crowd in Neustadt. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: any weeknight between 7pm and 9pm, when the bar settles into its rhythm and the bartender has time to talk. Best for sunset drinks or a slow first date. Friday from 8pm fills up; reserve a counter seat or a high table.

20up sits on top of the Empire Riverside Hotel and delivers a panoramic harbour view at a more accessible price point than Tower Bar or Clouds. The 20th-floor c. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Sunday from 6pm, when it's the room's quietest premium night and the kitchen is unhurried. Best for cocktail-curious drinkers who want technique without theatre. Avoid post-match nights if the local team is playing — the upstairs gets loud.

Altes Machwerk Bar draws a steady local crowd in Sternschanze. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Thursday late or Friday early, when you'll catch the room building toward its weekend tempo. Best for cocktail-curious drinkers who want technique without theatre. First-Friday traffic in the district can mean a 20-minute wait at the door.

Bar am Wasser Hafencity draws a steady local crowd in Hafencity. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: Tuesday and Wednesday before 9pm, when the regulars haven't filled the room yet. Best for cocktail-curious drinkers who want technique without theatre. Saturday after 10pm gets crowded — book ahead or arrive early.

Barfly is the Eimsbüttel neighbourhood cocktail bar from a long-running Hamburg bartender — a tight programme of well-built classics in a no-pretensions corner-. Order: the bar's house signature. Best time: any weeknight between 7pm and 9pm, when the bar settles into its rhythm and the bartender has time to talk. Best for cocktail-curious drinkers who want technique without theatre. Friday from 8pm fills up; reserve a counter seat or a high table.

Clouds tops the Tanzende Turme above the Reeperbahn, with a year-round bar and kitchen and the open-air Heaven's Nest terrace on the 24th floor. The list runs to champagne, wine and cocktails over views of the Elbe.