Hamburg has many faces. A walk down the neon-lit Reeperbahn at night will revive those old memories of "Sin-City Europe." A ride around Alster Lake in the center city will reveal the elegance of its finest parks and buildings. A stroll along one of Hamburg's many canals will show you why this city has been called the "Venice of the North." Contrasts are evident wherever you look in Hamburg. Amid the steel-and-glass structures of the modern city is the old baroque Hauptkirche St. Michaelis. A Sunday-morning visit to the Altona fish market will give you a good look at early shoppers mingling with late-night partyers.

Hamburg has had to be flexible to recover from the many disasters of its 1,200-year history. This North Sea port was almost totally destroyed during World War II. But out of the rubble of the old, the industrious Hamburgers rebuilt a larger and more beautiful city, with huge parks, impressive buildings, and important cultural institutions. Hamburg is today the greenest city in Europe, with nearly 50% of its surface area marked with water, woodlands, farmland, and some 1,400 parks and gardens. Green is, in fact, the city's official color.

Hamburg, the second-largest city of Germany, lies on the Elbe River, 109km (68 miles) from the North Sea, 285km (177 miles) northwest of Berlin, 119km (74 miles) northeast of Bremen, and 150km (93 miles) north of Hannover.