Duration: approx. 4 hours

Get to know the vibrant city of Hamburg on this entertaining tour, which begins with a short sightseeing leg of the key attractions such as the artificially created Alster Lakes in downtown Hamburg and the city’s exclusive residential areas, the Jungfernstieg boulevard flanking the southern banks of the inner Alster Lake with its luxury retailers and shopping malls as well as the Renaissance-style city hall. Then it’s on to the wonderful “Miniatur Wunderland”, the world’s largest permanent model railway exhibition that covers an area of 1,300 square metres. Impressive in scale, meticulously and finely detailed, replete with humorous little scenes and sometimes even a little whimsical, this is the pinnacle of model building and huge fun to explore. The exhibition includes various multimedia presentations that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about model railways. Look forward to an almost round-the-world trip as you make your way from Scandinavia to America on an effortless journey that will take you from coastal regions, through flat land right up to the high mountains – and this miniature world continues to grow year on year. The Wunderland experience makes a perfect outing for the whole family. A second sightseeing leg of lovely Hamburg will then follow, after which you will return to the pier and your ship.

As Germany’s only permanently inhabited North Sea island, Heligoland rises out of the water as a mass of red sandstone that provides a habitat for a unique flora and fauna. Famed for its mild climate, this lovely little island is ideal to explore on foot. Starting in the little lanes of the so-called Lower Land along with its typical lobster booths, art galleries and antiques’ stores, the tour then proceeds to the so-called Upper Land for a brief stop at the “Lummenfelsen” (Birds’ Rock), located about 70 metres above sea level. The Rock is named after the thousands of birds that come to nest here every year. Your knowledgeable guide will explain the local flora and fauna, and show you the area in which the birds breed.

Due to its ideal strategic North Sea location, the island of Heligoland was developed as a sea fortification during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. As part of these activities, a bunker was created for the purpose of accommodating 3,500 people during WWII. After the war, the British used the island as a detonation site for seized ammunition. The 6,700 tonnes of explosives detonated by the British in 1947 – known as the “Big Bang” – has gone down in history as the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever. It also changed the topology of the island and created the so-called Middle Land. The remaining parts of the bunker are open to the public today. Its history is brought to life with illustrations, pictures and stories.