Planten un Blomen

The park occupies part of the ring of seventeenth-century fortifications that once enclosed Hamburg, cleared in the nineteenth century and laid out as green space; the name is Low German for plants and flowers, from a plane tree planted in 1821 on the site of the old walls. It holds the largest Japanese garden in Europe designed by a Japanese landscape architect, a tropical greenhouse complex and a large rose garden. From May to early September the Wasserlichtkonzerte are staged nightly on the lake, water jets choreographed to music with coloured lighting, free to watch from the banks, a tradition running since 1953.

What you actually see

• The water light concerts - nightly choreographed fountains from May to September.
• The Japanese garden - the largest of its kind in Europe.
• The greenhouses - tropical and subtropical houses open year-round.
• The old fortification line - a park on the ring of demolished walls.

When to go

May to early September for the evening water concerts, staged at dusk and free. The greenhouses and gardens are open year-round with shorter winter hours.

Honest expectations

The water concerts run only in season and are cancelled in storms. The park is a city park, busy at lunchtime and on weekends. Some sections are ticketed.

Nearby

The Alster lakes lie east; St Pauli is south.