Museums, exhibitions & artistic highlights in Hamburg

Of course, a visit to one of Hamburg’s museums involves looking atthe valuable andrare old pieces on display in our magnificent buildings, but there are more than just museums here! You’ll also find a number of smaller, owner-operated galleries, as well as contemporary art, pop up installations in the city centre’s most beautiful spots, street art that adds pizzazz and colour to the walls of buildings and collections aimed specifically at the littlest visitors.

© Dannie Jing / Unsplash

Showcase for artists Galleries

Art exhibitions and galleries can be found in many parts of Hamburg. There, visitors also get access to artists who have not yet made it to world fame, but who nevertheless show exciting formats.

Galleries
© Mediaserver Hamburg / gem. Nutzungsbedingungen des HMG-Mediaserverslicensed for Hamburg Marketing GmbH

Culture in English Cultural highlights for our international guests

Our international guests can fully embrace Hamburg's cultural diversity. From theatre and classical music to museums and exhibitions, our cultural institutions offer a wide range of activities in English.

Cultural highlights for our international guests
© Hamburg Mediaserver Sabina Trojanova

Colorful, eye-catching and expressive Street Art

If you like street art and graffiti, Hamburg is the place to be. Every walk can become an art stroll thanks to colorfully painted facades and large murals.

Street Art
© Ulrich Perrey

Museums & Exhibitions

Hamburg's culture is varied and stimulating! Let yourself be impressed by the works of great painters, abstract art and unique worlds of experience.

Museums & Exhibitions
© Elbe und Flut

Maritime history up close Maritime museums

In Hamburg's maritime museums you can follow the traces of the Hanseatic city. When was the second largest port in Europe founded? What role did the Hanseatic League play in Hamburg's development? How many bricks does the Chilehaus actually consist…

Maritime museums

DISCOVER NOW Current exhibitions

© Fred Dott

25
  • Exhibition

  • 23.10.2024
  • 14:00
  • Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof
© Künstler*innen: Mina Boylu, İdil Öztürk Fotorechte: Pauline Schüler

City Digital Skin Art Festival: Internationales Umwelt-Videokunst Festival auf Medienfassaden und Public Screens
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Elbphilharmonie
© Martin Langer

Deutschland um 1980 - Fotografien aus einem fernen Land
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Altonaer Museum
© SHMH Sinje Hasheider

Die Sammlung des Deutschen Hafenmuseums
  • Permanent Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Deutsches Hafenmuseum
© Heike Schümann und Carola X Matthes

Exhibition and Vernissage "LADIES FIRST"

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Elbschloss Residenz (Residenz Galerie)
© M.Bassy e.V. & Minia Biabiany

Exhibition Opening: »Food, Art & Activism: Nourishing Ourselves and Each Other
  • Exhibition

  • 24.10.2024
  • 14:00
  • M.bassy e.V.
© Gestaltung: Sofarobotnik; © Miguel Chevalier, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

Flowers Forever. Flowers in art and culture
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 11:00
  • Bucerius Kunst Forum
© Patrick Thiede

ICONS AND YOU. Decorative Pop Art.
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 11:00
  • JUPITER (2. OG)
© SHMH, Sinje Hasheider

Jenisch Haus
  • Permanent Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 11:00
  • Jenisch Haus
© Sandra Gebhardt-Höpfner

Kunstausstellung Sandra Gebhardt-Höpfner - Wasser um Hamburg
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Museumsschiff Rickmer Rickmers
© Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen/Astoc/Urban Catalyst

Lifelines of the City: Exhibition on the Masterplan Magistralen 2040+
  • Exhibition

  • 21.10.2024
  • 08:00
  • Hamburger Rathaus (Rathausdiele)
© MicArt63

Lips & Love

  • 22.10.2024
  • 12:00
  • Galerie popstreet.shop
© Panoptikum

Panoptikum - Wax Museum

  • 21.10.2024
  • 10:00
  • Panoptikum
© SHMH, Sinje Hasheider

PEKING-Führung
  • Guided Tour

  • 21.10.2024
  • 12:00
  • Deutsches Hafenmuseum
© Invite: In and Out of Place. Land after Information 1992 – 2024 Image: Emmanuel Van der Auwera, VideoSculpture XXX (The Gospel), 2024 Courtesy the artist, Harlan Levey Projects and Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève-Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement 2024

Public Tour
  • Guided Tour

  • 24.10.2024
  • 17:00
  • Kunstverein in Hamburg
© SHMH - Sinje Hasheider

Technik an Bord der PEKING
  • Guided Tour

  • 27.10.2024
  • 12:00
  • Deutsches Hafenmuseum

Must see museums, galleries exhibitions in Hamburg

Over 100 renowned museums and exhibition houses

Hamburg is a city of museums, in which many impressive collections can be found that tell stories and recount our history vividly. The art museums, six of which have joined together to form the Kunstmeile Hamburg, can be considered the heart of the museum district. The Hamburger Kunsthalle, one of Germany’s most important art museums, has an extensive collection that ranges from the Middle Ages to the present day. It is also the ‘home’ of Caspar David Friedrich’s iconic painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. In addition, the Deichtorhallen not only showcase contemporary art and photography, the buildings themselves are also impressive to look at thanks to their open steel and glass architecture.

One of the largest urban history museums in Europe

The Museum of Hamburg History is proud to be able to trace Hamburg’s journey from being a small and humble settlement to becoming the gateway to the world. Of course, there is a lot to tell, which has made the establishment one of Europe’s largest museums of urban history. The museum is currently being modernised and is closed; the special exhibition, library, gastronomy and museum shop continue to welcome visitors. The reopening is planned for 2027.

Modern art, street art and art festivals – colourful, social and versatile

While the collections in most Hamburg museums are very extensive, the Millerntor Gallery’s focus is the works’ ephemeral nature. Each year, artists paint new wall and ceiling murals on the main and south stands of the FC St. Pauli football stadium. A large part of the proceeds from the art festival, which lasts several days, goes to the Viva con Agua charitable project.

By the way, open-air art and the city of Hamburg go hand in hand – large graffiti artworks dominate the cityscape, and the open-air gallery in Harburg bears the apt name Walls Can Dance.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS Art & Exhibitions in Hamburg

© Ralf Sürbaum

From antique to contemporary to modern. Hamburger Kunsthalle

The Hamburger Kunsthalle is one of the most important and largest art museums in Germany. Its first-class collection takes visitors through 8…

Hamburger Kunsthalle
Hamburg CARD reduced
© Fred Dott

from 35 € p.P.

Kunstmeile: 3-day ticket

The Kunstmeile Hamburg are the six renowned art institutions in the center of Hamburg. The Bucerius Kunst Forum, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the…

Kunstmeile: 3-day ticket
© ThisIsJulia Photography

Everything but ordinary! Exceptional Museums

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Unusual museum experiences that you can only make in Hamburg.

Exceptional Museums
© ThisIsJulia Photography

One of the largest museums of urban history in Germany Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte

Why Hamburg is what it is. If you want to know how the mission fort Hammaburg became the proud Hanseatic city and the proverbial gateway to the world,…

Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte
© ThisIsJulia Photography

International Maritime Museum

Kaispeicher B in Hamburg's Speicherstadt is home to the world's largest private collection of maritime treasures from 3000 years of shipping and naval…

International Maritime Museum
© Urban Art Institute / Jérome Gerull

Walls can Dance Open air gallery for urban art in the south of Hamburg

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Under the motto "Walls Can Dance", an impressive open-air gallery has been created in Harburg, where colourful murals provide a lot of movement in the…

Open air gallery for urban art in the south of Hamburg
© Bucerius Kunst Forum / Ulrich Perrey

Art in new contexts Bucerius Kunst Forum

The Bucerius Kunst Forum, located on the street "Alter Wall", invites its guests to enjoy an exclusive encounter with the classics of art. Four…

Bucerius Kunst Forum
© ThisIsJulia Photography

Three of the most beautiful exhibition halls in Europe Deichtorhallen

The Deichtorhallen Hamburg is one of Europe's largest art exhibition halls. There art and photography enthusiasts will find a wide variety of…

Deichtorhallen
© ThisIsJulia Photography

Composers Quarter

The Hamburg Composers' Quarter is an association of various museums that offer exciting and interactive insights into the biographies of world-famous…

Composers Quarter
© Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe

One of the most important museums of design in Europe Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe

Opened in 1877, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg (MK&G) is one of Europe's leading museums of design.

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe

BOOK NOW Tickets for art & exhibitions in Hamburg

Hamburg CARD reduced
© Fred Dott

Kunstmeile: 3-day ticket

  • Historical and modern Art
  • Perfect location between Alster & Elbe
  • Everything reachable by foot
  • Six renowned art institutions
Kunstmeile: 3-day ticket
To offer
from 35.00 €*
Hamburg CARD reduced
© ThisIsJulia Photography

Admission to the Hamburger Kunsthalle

  • Important public art collections
  • Works from seven centuries
  • Changing art presentations
  • 700 constantly exhibited works
Admission to the Hamburger Kunsthalle
To offer
from 16.00 €*
Hamburg CARD reduced
© Ulrich Perrey

Admission to the Composers' Quarter

  • the history of Hamburg's music
  • six museums in one place
  • world famous composers
Admission to the Composers' Quarter
To offer
from 11.00 €*
© Miron Schmückle

Admission to the Bucerius Art Forum

  • Always changing exhibitions
  • Works from antiquity to the present
  • All aspects of the fine arts
Admission to the Bucerius Art Forum
To offer
from 6.00 €*
© Thomas Hampel

Admission to the International Maritime Museum

  • 3000 years of seafaring history
  • Over 40,000 miniature models
  • Queen Mary 2 out of a million Legos
  • Real ship simulator
Admission to the International Maritime Museum
To offer
from 18.00 €*
© ThisIsJulia-Photography

Admission to the "BallinStadt" emigrant museum

  • Exciting im- & emigration history
  • 4 epochs interesting presented
  • Free Family Research Area
  • Interactive game "Simmigrant"
Admission to the "BallinStadt" emigrant museum
To offer
from 13.90 €*
© Henning Rogge

Admission to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe

  • important house for design in Germany
  • Collection ranges from antiquity to the present
  • House for discourses and current issues of the time
Admission to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe
To offer
from 14.00 €*

DISCOVER NOW Culture & Music in Hamburg

© Stefan Malzkorn

Great freedom for music Concerts & Live Music

From classical music to electro festivals, from music history to a thriving live music scene and vibrant nightlife… Hamburg’s got it all!

Concerts & Live Music
© Manuel Harlan

Great productions Theater & Stage Arts

In addition to famous theaters, the stage landscape offers a state opera, raunchy cabaret, impressive dance performances, open-air shows and plays specifically designed for kids.

Theater & Stage Arts
© ThisIsJulia Photography

Speicherstadt & Kontorhausviertel UNESCO World Heritage

In 2015, the "Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel with Chilehaus" ensemble was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This makes it one of the world's 1200 "masterpieces of human creativity of universal value".

UNESCO World Heritage

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