Hamburg is an extensive city given its over 700km2, and visitor attractions are not all contained within the city center. Fortunately, getting around is made easy by the extensive public transportation system. Walking is a good way of getting around in the center, as pretty much around every corner is a sight to behold or a scenic lookout you might have missed otherwise. As many Hamburgers do, you may also opt to bike around. Driving is made relatively easy too by the wide thoroughfares intersecting the city in every direction, parking is paid but rates palatable and there is no requirement for your car to have an Umweltplakette.

Public transport

Hamburg's public transportation system, operated by the HVV, consists of:

• six S-Bahn (commuter railway) lines,
• four U-Bahn (subway) lines,
• seven R-lines (regional trains),
• three A-lines (AKN),
• a dense network of bus lines,
• as well as ferries across the Elbe.

Hamburg has The S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines run partly over and underground, in the city, and in the outskirts. Sometimes you might meet the diesel-powered AKN train as well in the northern districts. The only difference is that these are three companies, but there is a unified fare system.

All train platforms have signs showing the next train, where it is headed, and how many minutes until it arrives. Trains are described by a number and the final station. Note that the final station may vary. For example, half of the S1 trains heading west go all the way to Wedel, but the other half go only as far as Blankenese.

Note that train doors do not open automatically. You have to press a button or pull a handle on the door. Wait for the passengers to get off first before you enter. In the cold season, close the door after getting on the train if it looks like a longer stop. Either push the handle or press the closing buttons on the inside until the door is closed. All signs and notifications at stations and in trains are shown in at least two languages (German and English).

S-Bahn

S-Bahn stations are marked with a green "S" and are often colocated with major long-distance railway stations and U-Bahn stations, allowing convenient transfers. While the S-Bahn logo is green, the trains are white-and-red like most German trains, and operated by Deutsche Bahn and feature a DB logo rather than the "S". It is easy to get confused by the variety of similar DB trains, so it is good to make sure you are boarding the S-Bahn you want and not a regional train.

There are six S-Bahn lines in Hamburg, with some confusing numbering and arrangements.

• all S-Bahn trains with single-digit numbers take the south underground route via Jungfernstieg, Landungsbrücken and

  Reeperbahn

  ,
• while all S-Bahn trains with two-digit numbers take the north route via

  Dammtor

  , Sternschanze (Messe) and Holstenstraße.

All of the lines meet at Hauptbahnhof, which is also a station for all U-Bahn lines, and all lines save for the S21 also meet at Hamburg-Altona. From there, the S-Bahn lines radiate in 5 different directions.

• S1 links the far westward Wedel in Schleswig-Holstein and the neighborhood of Blankenese with Poppenbüttel in the far north. In an unusual and potentially confusing arrangement, the first three cars of every train go to Hamburg Airport instead of Poppenbüttel, the division occurs at the station of Ohlsdorf. Note that the train reverses direction in Blankenese, so if you get on the west of Blankenese, you have to take the last three cars to be in the front after the change of direction.

There is, however, an announcement made on the train (also in English) before the trains are separated to let you know if you are in a car going to the airport or not.

• S11 is a truncated version of S1 operated in peak hours only, without the option to go to the Airport. This means that there is no direct link between the Airport and Messe Hamburg.
• S2, confusingly, is a rush-hour-only service that runs between Altona in the west and Bergedorf in the south-east.
• S21, a permanent service, is even more confusingly running along a different route than S2. It reaches farther south-eastwise, down to the suburb of Aumühle, but does not go to Altona and instead to Elbgaustraße in the far northwest.
• S3 serves both sides of the Elbe - in a winding loop, it starts on its southern (left) bank in Stade in Lower Saxony, runs all the way east through Neugraben to cross the river at Hammerbrook and then through the Hauptbahnhof further east to both Altona and Elbgaustrasse.
• S31 is a truncated express version of S3 from Neugraben to Altona, operating permanently but skipping or alternating stations between peak hours and regular daytime.

S-Bahn runs from approximately 5 AM until 1 AM in the central city, but there is often no service past 11 PM in outlying districts. On weekends, it runs all night.

U-Bahn

There are four U-Bahn (subway/underground) lines in Hamburg. They all run through the city center and meet at Hauptbahnhof (although they stop at two separate stations - U1 and U3 at Hauptbahnhof-Süd, while U2 and U4 at Hauptbahnhof-Nord - both at opposite ends of the large Hauptbahnhof complex):

• U1 (blue) forms a huge V with the bottom south in the Altstadt and top northern ends (both actually splitting in two) into residential suburbs. This line may be useful if you want to visit the western bank of 

  Aussenalster

  , as it has stations relatively close to it.
• U2 (red) runs from the east to northwest. One particularly useful feature is that it stops at Messehallen (fairgrounds), allowing one to quickly move there from Jungfernsteig.
• U3 (yellow) is by far the most useful to a tourist, as it forms a loop around the Altstadt and Aussenalster. It can take you to the Rathaus, the old harbor (next to HafenCity), Landungsbrücken, St. Pauli and even to the Stadtpark. It also stops at Sternschanze, the other entrance to the Messe (fairgrounds). While the loop is around the Aussenalster in the broad sense, none of the U3 stations are close to it, so you need to change to a bus line to get to the lake.
• U4 (aqua) shares the eastern branch with the U2, but rather than northwest it loops south to HafenCity.

All U-Bahn lines except U3 meet at Jungfernstieg, though U3 stops at the nearby Rathaus station and is accessible through an underground passage.

Note that none of the lines goes to Altona - you need to take the S-Bahn or a bus to get there. U-Bahn runs from approximately 5 AM until 1 AM in the central city, but there is often no service past 11 PM in outlying districts. On weekends, it runs all night.

Buses

Buses go around the clock. At night, a special "Nachtbus" (night bus) service connects the outlying districts and the city center. These buses depart and arrive at "Rathausmarkt", near the town hall and operate all through the night. Night buses are recognizable by their numbers which reach from 600 to 688.

Apart from regular and nighttime bus lines, there are also Metrobus lines, designed to carry heavy loads on the most popular routes, in a way replacing a tram system that Hamburg does not have (similar arrangement as in Berlin). Metrobuses are designed to serve commuters mostly, and as such are not that useful to the tourists - in fact, most lines do not even reach the core city center. Public transport lovers will be delighted, however, to know that those lines are served by the longest bi-articulated low-floor buses in the world (the Van Hool AGG 300, also used by public transport operators in Utrecht).

Ferries

Six ferry services operate in the harbor and along the River Elbe as part of the regular public transport system.
Tip: take ferry line 62 from "Landungsbrücken" to "Finkenwerder" and then line 64 to "Teufelsbrück" or take ferry line 72 from "Landungsbrücken" in the HafenCity to "Elbphilharmonie." Sit back to enjoy a scenic trip through the harbor on a day ticket.

Jungfernsteig ferries

On the two Alster lakes, a ferry boat travels once every hour from Jungfernstieg in the city center to Winterhuder Fährhaus. These boats are not in the general HVV ticket system, thus more expensive, however, they offer a splendid view to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Hamburg.

By bike

You will see a lot of bicycles on the roads during the warmer months, many of the cities residents will use bicycles as their normal form of transportation. Driveways for bicycles are not available on all roads. In fact, you will have to shift from on the road to a mixed foot/bike strip to a separated bike strip frequently. Drive safely! 

The city itself also offers bike rental services. This service is called StadtRad, and there are several kiosks located around the city. To use this service, customers must register On the Stadtrad website and create an account with a credit card. Once the account has been created, you can go to any one of these terminals and use one of their bikes as long as you want.

Alternatively, there's Hamburg City Cycles (working with the bicycle store next door). The bicycles are large "cruiser" style bikes and the rental includes a lock, air pump, and toolkit if desired.

You can take your bike with you on the harbor ferries (e.g. line 62) free of charge.

By taxi

There is a good supply of taxis in Hamburg 24 hours a day, both at taxi stands and in the streets. You can identify a taxi rank by a green box on a post somewhat like an oversized parking meter or alarm post. You will have to wait there or phone, since the boxes can not be used to call a cab. Almost all vehicles are still in the traditional ivory white color, but even if not, a yellow and black sign on the roof reading "Taxi" indicates a licensed cab. As usual, the sign is switched on to indicate vacancies. Most taxis accept credit card payments.