Hamburg City Hall (Rathaus)

Hamburg's City Hall was built between 1886 and 1897 to replace the old town hall lost in the Great Fire of 1842. A group of seven architects led by Martin Haller designed it in the Neo-Renaissance style, and it is one of the few historicist buildings in the city to survive complete. Its central tower rises 112 metres and the copper roof has weathered to green above the square known as the Rathausmarkt, which was laid out after the fire and modelled on St Mark's Square in Venice. It is still a working building, housing both the state parliament, the Bürgerschaft, and the Senate, Hamburg's government.

The building is said to have 647 rooms. Guided tours take visitors through the representative rooms of the parliament and senate, which show how the merchant city wanted to present itself at the end of the 19th century. According to the city, tours in German run frequently on days when they are offered, English tours run every two hours, and a tour lasts 45 to 60 minutes. Tickets are sold on the day at the counter in the foyer from 20 minutes before the first tour, with no advance reservations, and payment is by card only. Children up to 14 go free.

You can see a good deal without a tour. The grand entrance hall, the Rathausdiele, is usually open and free during opening hours, and the inner courtyard behind the building can generally be explored freely. At its centre is the Hygieia fountain, created in the 1890s in memory of the 1892 cholera epidemic: the goddess of health stands above a dragon representing the disease. The fountain also had a practical job, as its base contains the air intakes for the building's ventilation.

Because the building is used for official business, tours can be cancelled at short notice, so check the day's schedule on the city's website. Strollers, luggage, food and drink are not allowed on tours, there is no cloakroom, and photography is for private use only.

Allow around an hour for a tour and a look at the courtyard. Jungfernstieg U-Bahn station (U2 and U4) is the nearest stop, and the Alsterarkaden arcades and the Binnenalster lake are next door.