Let's be honest: Hamburg, which is Germany's great port, should have a great Port Museum (Hafenmuseum). But this isn't it -- at least not now (June 2024). Maybe the renovations and expansion will make a BIG difference. But as things are now, this is a surprisingly boring museum. You can look at some old ships, which is the highlight, but there are other opportunities to do that around Hamburg. There are some run-down port locomotives, but no one really bothered with those while I was there. You can tour the "Peking," which could be pretty cool, but I was let down. a) My tour guide was extremely long-winded. As a result, our tour lasted over 2 hours and was way too detailed. b) Much of the ship is under restoration, so you don't see as much as you would want, and it's actually hard to get an idea of the crew's living situation aboard the ship. (And I have toured historic ships all over the world.) There is a large harbor warehouse (called "Schaudepot"). It's completely full of vintage ship repair machines, longshoremen's and port employees' equipment, and random model ships. There are signs explaining _some_ things. (They are also all in German, so if you don't speak German, you're out of luck.) And the signs look like they are 40 years old. There's seeming no reason to why all the items on display are where they are in the warehouse. It looks really random and disorganized. This museum needs a professional refresh from a museological specialist. Finally, it's really hard to get to this museum with public transportation. Generally, you have to take the S-Bahn (commuter rail) and then change to the bus, but the bus that runs to the museum leaves only twice an hour. If you miss it, you're out of luck. Plus, it's *very* hard to find the right bus stop near the S-Bahn station. Alternatively, you can walk from the S-Bahn station. That takes about 15-20 minutes, walking on the sidewalk along a highway or a high-speed boulevard, which is not pleasant.

Remarkably the place holds a lot of memories of a bygone time. A place where you can touch and see. As big fun for kids as for adults. Try to go with a guide and explore a harbours history.