Hamburg City Beach Club, St. Pauli, Hamburg

On the beach-bar rating scale I have to give it a 3, but on a overall scale I’m giving it a 4. Is it strange that I felt a tad cramped at this place? The layout is nice, but at the same time it seemed whenever I turned my head -- someones feet were in my face or I was getting a look for lighting a smoke.

On the other hand though, the crowd seemed a bit more “upscale” at other beach bar experiences…a lot less shouting and actual enjoyment of downtempo with a cocktail. (But, you also have to pay for this.)

View of the harbor is great, I’m kind of a large machines dork so I really liked being able to soak that in for the afternoon. Towards the end it was getting quite packed, show up earlier than normal to hold the fort and secure your sunset.

I think the HCBC is a great thing. I was kind of surprised that is actually really close to my place. Well the prices are high, but the sand ist great and the fruitsmoothies, too. During the EM they’ve got like a hundreds of flatscreens to watch the games. The crowd is mixed, from young to old, but they all looked like really rich Hamburg people.

Great beach club! Distinctly more upmarket than Strand Pauli - mainly because the sand is really clean here, and people use ashtrays. It’s got a nice dipping pool of water near the riverside, a smoothie bar, and a kitchen serving up meat-based treats. They also have around 7 plasmas dedicated to Euro 2008 - although they can be a bit hard to see in the all the sunshine.

Highly recommended - but take a few quid with you, it’s not the cheapest place in Hamburg!

Awesome place. Went here on Sunday and had a fantastic time. When the sun is shining in Hamburg, this is the place to be. Loads of cocktails bars and comfortable seats, cushions and hammocks. Fantastic views of the harbour and a great atmosphere.

Get here early because seats go very quickly!