Germany, Hamburg: Free city tour takes in some of the more unusual sights

I have no real plans for Hamburg. Germany's second city is meant to be a side dish, not a main course. A stopover, not a destination. I leave the hotel to simply take a stroll and enjoy what is a beautiful 6 degree October blue-sky morning. I makee my way to the Rathaus, the city hall, in the Altstadt quarter when I notice a man holding a yellow umbrella with a Union Jack flag attached and a sign that reads: "free walking tour".

His colleagues, with German, Spanish and French flags, have nearly 30 people each surrounding them. He has 10 ... 11 when I join guide Matej for his Historic City Centre tour which promises to trace the rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again of Hamburg, in the northern region of Germany.

Matej, a Slovakian with a masters in urban planning, starts by explaining that about a third of Hamburg's Altstadt buildings were destroyed by the Great Fire of 1842. The fire burned, unable to be controlled, for three days tearing apart most of the city's timber buildings.

Hamburg, a crucial trading port, was rebuilt bigger and much stronger. The timber buildings were replaced with stone. They lasted well and Hamburg prospered until the early hours of July 25, 1943 when nearly 800 RAF Halifaxes and Lancasters launched a 50-minute raid on the city using the imposing neo-gothic spire of St Nikolai's church as their target. Some 1500 people died that night.

Three nights later Hamburg felt the full force of Operation Gomorrah and by the time it had finished 40,000 people had perished. According to Matej, up until that point the people of Hamburg, believing Hitler's propaganda, had thought Germany was winning the war.

The spire of St Nikolai's still stands but not much else survived. In the church's crypt there is a museum well worth visiting, that tells the brutal story of the 10-day assault on Hamburg from the German perspective. You can ride the spire's glass elevator up 76 metres to take in the city and its intricate waterways of rivers and canals.

Matej tells us that after the war the inner city was re-built again, this time as mostly offices. Few people lived in the centre of Hamburg but that is now changing, slowly. Like Dallas, in America, the city centre is a work hub and falls silent at night.

The city's decision makers have realised that to attract tourists it needs a vibrant centre with hotels, restaurants and residents. Matej, perhaps with his urban planning hat on, predicts that in two decades Hamburg's city centre will be alive with people 24 hours a day.