Hamburg Fischmarkt

The Fischmarkt has been held on the Elbe bank at Altona since 1703 and still runs to the old rules: Sunday morning only, and everything stops at half past nine. It starts around five in summer and seven in the darker months, and the character of it depends on who you end up standing next to. Fishmongers, plant sellers and fruit traders work the crowd as Marktschreier, piling baskets ever higher while shouting the price down, and beside them stand people who have not yet been to bed. The brick Fischauktionshalle behind the stalls holds live bands and breakfast under its iron roof. Eels, smoked fish and fish rolls are what you eat standing up.

What you actually see

• The Marktschreier - criers loading baskets higher and higher as they talk the price down.
• The Fischauktionshalle - the old auction hall with live bands and breakfast under its iron roof.
• Fischbrotchen - a bread roll with pickled herring, raw onion and sometimes remoulade.
• The Elbe frontage - container ships sliding past while the stalls pack up around you.

When to go

Sundays only. Summer trading starts at five, winter at seven, and the whole thing ends at half past nine sharp, so a late arrival gets a clearing site rather than a market. The final hour is when the criers dump stock cheapest. Dress for wind off the Elbe in any month, and expect the ground to be wet underfoot.

Honest expectations

It is a tourist set piece as much as a market now, and prices reflect that; the bargain baskets are usually far more of one thing than anyone needs. The early hours mean sharing the pavement with the tail end of the nightlife, and it can get raucous. Seating is scarce, the cobbles are slippery, and you will smell of fish for hours.

Nearby

The Landungsbrucken piers, the warehouse district of Speicherstadt and the Altona balcony above the river.