Treppenviertel Blankenese

The Treppenviertel in Blankenese is Hamburg's most unusual residential quarter and the only one in the city that is essentially a hillside. A former fishermen's, pilots' and captains' village, it has clung to the 60-meter-high Elbe slope since the 17th century - thatched cottages, patrician villas and narrow stairways that are officially registered as addresses (Strandweg, Sülldorfer Kirchenweg, but also 'Hessestieg' and 'Plumpenstieg' are real postal addresses). Around 5,000 individual steps are scattered across the quarter. There are three classic walking routes: from the S-Bahn stop Blankenese (S1), either down the Strandweg to the landing stage and then along the Elbe westward to the Strandperle, or up the Sülldorfer Kirchenweg into the upper section with the highest viewpoints (the 'Süllberg-Treppe' and the Süllberg itself, home to Karlheinz Hauser's Michelin-starred restaurant), or from the Teufelsbrück landing stage on HADAG ferry 62 to Blankenese and slowly up the Strandweg from there. The finest view: the Klein-Holland steps platform. A highlight for the bold: sunset on the Strandweg, followed by a fish sandwich at the Strandperle or a panoramic aperitivo at Café Schöne Aussichten. Getting there: S1 Blankenese, then on foot; or HADAG ferry 62 from the Landungsbrücken (about 90 minutes). In winter it really is slippery.