Alsterhaus

The Alsterhaus is Hamburg's best-known luxury department store, and its address is half the appeal: it sits directly on the Jungfernstieg, the promenade along the southern edge of the Binnenalster lake. Several floors bring international fashion, beauty, design and a much-praised gourmet food hall under one roof. American visitors will recognize the model from the store's Berlin sibling, the KaDeWe, which belongs to the same group. The Alsterhaus has occupied this spot for generations and has long since become a fixture of the downtown streetscape rather than simply a place to shop. For travelers, the practical reason to walk in is the view. The upper floors, where the food hall and the restaurants are, look out over the water, and it is one of the easiest free Alster panoramas in the city, no ticket and no reservation required. It also makes an obvious starting point for an afternoon downtown: from the front door you can stroll the length of the Jungfernstieg, duck into the Alsterarkaden, the white arcaded walkway that runs along a canal toward the city hall, and continue through the covered shopping passages threading the inner city. Getting there: the U1, U2 and U4 plus several S-Bahn lines all stop at Jungfernstieg, and the station exit is right outside the door.