Day Trips from Hamburg: Bremen | One-day itinerary, what to see, do and how to get there

Last updated on July 18, 2026

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Germany, the home of fairy tales, is full of adorable little cobblestone historic old towns (Altstadt) and gothic architecture. The old town of Bremen is an easy day trip from Hamburg, Germany. Find out how you can get there and what you can do in the small town of Bremen.

Table Of Contents

About Bremen
What you can do in Bremen
Itinerary suggestion
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About Bremen

Bremen is a city about half the size of Hamburg and twice the size of Lübeck, all of which are within the state of Schleswig Holstein. Most of the best sightseeing portion is in the main plaza or marketplace in the old town, or the Marktplatz in the Altstadt.

What you can do in Bremen

Bremen Altstadt

The Altstadt has cobblestone paved grounds lined with historic buildings repurposed as cafes and shops, so it’s aesthetically original and modernly functional, all in one.

A portrait oriented photo showing people walking in the street outside the Bremen marketplace, showing half of a brick building on the left and the stone columns of the Bremen Rathaus on the right. A woman on the left hand side looks upwards with her left hand on her head. A couple in the middle walks together. The man is pushing a stroller. His right arm is around the woman, who he is looking at. The woman is in a white shirt and navy skirt, and has a small red bag. — People walking through the Bremen marketplace, with the stone columns of the Bremen Rathaus on the right.

Bremen Chamber of Commerce in Bremen, Germany

The easily walkable small old town is a nice place for a stroll by yourself, with a friend, or even a date trip, with plenty of photo opportunities and things to see for architecture and history lovers.

Getting to Bremen Altstadt

People on the train station at Bremen central train station as seen through a wide gap in a metal screen. — People on the platform at Bremen central Station.

Bremen is roughly one to one and half hour by direct train from Hamburg with 2 cheaper regional trains per hour and extra ICE trains to supplement, and so makes for a good easy day trip from Hamburg. You don’t even need to get up early to catch an early train.

The Altstadt (literally “old town”) is a short 10-15 minute bus or Straßenbahn (tram) ride from the main central train station (Bremen Hauptbahnhof)

The great thing about the Bremen Altstadt is that it is quite compact and almost everything worth seeing in the old town is within a 250m radius, in the old town’s centre.

Use the NAH SH smartphone app to find the daily trains from Hamburg to Bremen. Then use google maps or the local bus stop signs to find the bus to the place you want to go to. It is easy to get to the Altstadt: Just ask how to get to the Altstadt or the Old town. Pretty much all the bus and tram lines go there on the right side of the road from the train station.

Wallanlagen

Wallanlagen is a serene park in the city that has a lake, grassy areas, flowers, and a windmill. You will likely pass it on your way from the station to Bremen Altstadt. If you have time and the whether is nice, you can have a picnic there.

St Petri Cathedral

The St Petri Cathedral (St Petri Dom, in German), is a medieval cathedral that is over 1,200 years old.

Bremen Rathaus

The stone arches of the Bremer Rathaus against a blue sky and clouds. — The stone arches of the Bremer Rathaus.

Every town in Germany has a town hall, or Rathaus, in German, where local government offices are. It is typically an architecturally impressive building and located in the centre of the town. If you ever get lost in an old German town, or need a reference point to find your way, just ask or look for the Rathaus.

The UNESCO world heritage Bremer Rathaus is over 600 years old and the medieval stone arches are intricately carved and decorated.

Bremen Chamber of Commerce

Bremen Rathaus glass reflecting the blue sky

Grand looking enough to be a palace, the Schütting used to serve merchants and trades people of Bremen as a guild house, and became the Bremen Chamber of Commerce in 1849.

The glass windows reflect the blue sky on a clear and sunny day and looks like a brilliant blue gem.

See the Town Musicians of Bremen

The Musicians of Bremen statue in Bremen, Germany during the day. From top to bottom in increasing size: A rooster stands on a cat, which stands on a dog, which stands on a donkey, all of which is on a skewed concrete trapezoidal prism. — The Musicians of Bremen statue in Bremen, Germany.

Time needed: 5 minutes

Bremen is the setting for the whimsical fairy tale story of the “Town Musicians of Bremen”. It’s a story about some farm animals who escape the far, meet each other along the way, then become musicians. There is a small bronze statue by Gerhard Marcks, in the altstadt of Bremen. Once you arrive in open space of the altstadt town square, you’ll see the majestic town hall, or Bremer Rathaus. The Musicians of Bremen (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) statue is on the west wall of the town hall.

Location: The statue is right at the base of the Rathaus wall on the north east corner. If there are no crowds, you can get a photo easily.

Listen to the music played by the town musicians of Bremen at the Bremer Loch (Bremen Hole)

The Bremen hole in Bremen, Germany, looks like a manhole in the ground. When a coin is put in the slot, it plays the music that the Bremen musicians play. — The Bremen hole plays the music that the Bremen musicians play.

Time needed: 1-5 minutes

This is a manhole cover on the ground in the Altstadt Marktplatz (market place or plaza) that has a coin activated music box inside. From the outside, it looks just like an ordinary manhole cover, but there is a coin slot. If you put in a coin, the hole will play music by the Bremen town musicians. Hint: it’s not what you might think.

Location: East side of the Altstadt plaza, in front of the Bremer Rathaus (Town Hall), on the corner of the Bremer (Bürgerschaft) parliament.

Because each piece lasts a few seconds and there are people huddled around it, you might have to wait for your turn. Alternatively, just enjoy the music that has been activated by someone else’s coin.

Note: Some people have said that it does not work. Unless it is broken, it does work. You have to put the coin in the thin, rectangular coin slot in the middle of the manhole cover and not in one of the circular holes along the perimeter.

Böttcherstraße

Watch the changing clock tower every hour at the Haus des Glockenspiels

The red brick Haus des Glockenspiels or Glockenspiel House in Bremen, Germany. The blue and gold clock wall shows approximately 4pm. — Haus des Glockenspiels or Glockenspiel House in Bremen

Time needed:

Haus des Glockenspiels or Glockenspiel House is a medieval red-brick building with timber shutters and a cylindrical brick clock tower. The round brick clock tower has sections that spin around every hour, revealing the colourful relief sculptures in each panel. While the sections turn, 30 porcelain bells ring out, playing folk songs.

The Glockenspiel Haus is located at the Bremen Tourist Information centre in Böttcherstraße. The Bremen Tourist Information is inside the building and the clock tower is part of the building.

When:

The panels turn daily at the following times:

January to March: 12pm, 3pm, 6pm (12, 15, and 18 in 24 hour time).

April to December: hourly from 12pm to 6pm (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 in 24 hour time).

Böttcherstraße (straße meaning street) is a small shopping street with stores selling mostly handicrafts in brick and stone buildings. It’s a nice place to go for a stroll to admire the medieval style architecture.

Itinerary suggestion

The panels at the Glockenspiel House turn hourly from 12pm to 6pm for most of the year from April to December. Trains from Hamburg depart regularly to Bremen, so there’s plenty of time to get breakfast then get a train to Bremen.

If you pack a picnic lunch, you can have the lunch first at the Wallanlagen garden, then head to the Altstadt. if you time your trip to the Glockenspiel House performances, you can do the other things in a leisurely paced 2-3 hours, or 1 hour if you don’t intend on going shopping or browsing. Or, you can have lunch at one of the restaurants in the marketplace and do some people watching. Then, visit the Glockenspiel House first, then avoid the flow of people by making your way back out through Böttcherstraße, browsing all the shops along the way. Back in the Altstadt, visit all the sights there, then finish the day with some coffee or tea or afternoon tea in a cafe in the old town, before you head back to the train station.

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Day Trips from Hamburg: Bremen | One-day itinerary, what to see, do and how to get there

About Bremen