Hamburg metro map 2026 – Timetable, Tickets & Prices

The subway network in Hamburg was put into operation in 1912, making it the second oldest in Germany after Berlin. Compared to typical subway networks in other major cities, the Hamburg variant differs in one key respect: The majority of the 105.8-kilometer network runs around 61 kilometers above ground, including on embankments and viaducts. Furthermore, only 45 of the 93 stations are tunnel stations. This is why the subway network operated by Hamburger Hochbahn AG is also known as the elevated and subway rail system.

The current four lines are marked with the capital letter “U” so that the subway lines can be easily distinguished from other means of transport. The route network extends radially from the city center, through the districts of Hamburg and into neighboring communities. Around 291.2 million passengers were transported on the subway in 2025 alone. The U3 line between Barmbek and Wandsbek-Gartenstadt, which runs in a ring around the city center, is particularly popular with tourists.

The Hamburg subway lines at a glance

• U1 (Norderstedt Mitte – Ohlstedt / Großhansdorf)
• U2 (Niendorf Nord – Mümmelmannsberg)
• U3 (Barmbek – Wandsbek-Gartenstadt)
• U4 (Billstedt – Elbbrücken)

The Hanseatic city of Hamburg has always been Germany’s gateway to the world. Today, however, it is no longer just sailors that arrive at the Landungsbrücken, as Hamburg is becoming a magnet for tourists thanks to its sights such as the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Between 2006 and 2025 alone, the number of overnight stays in hotels and vacation accommodation climbed from around 7.2 million to around 16.5 million annually.

As overnight guests also travel around Hamburg by subway, the number of passengers is rising too: around 291.2 million in 2025 after around 290.0 million in 2024. Due to the radial alignment of the subway network, sights outside the city center, such as Tierpark Hagenbeck, can also be easily reached by subway. However, travelers must first familiarize themselves with the subway map in Hamburg and the fare structures that determine the price of a subway ticket.

Similar to other major German cities, Hamburg also relies on a standardized ticket system for all local public transport. In practice, this means that one ticket entitles the holder to use buses and the S-Bahn as well as the subway. The subway map in Hamburg is part of the entire hvv network, which consists of a total of eight fare rings, labeled A to H starting from the center near the Alster. This means that the price of a subway ticket in Hamburg depends on the number of fare rings that are traveled through to the terminus.

For example, if you only want to use the subway in the inner city area, you can buy a ticket for the two inner fare rings (Hamburg AB). If, on the other hand, you want to travel from your destination station to towns in the surrounding area such as Lüneburg by other means of transport, you have to buy a ticket valid for the entire journey to Lüneburg as soon as you board the subway.

The typical one-way tickets entitle the holder to travel directly to the destination station as well as to change trains in the same direction, as long as this is done on the direct route to the destination. However, round trips or return trips in the direction of the departure station are not permitted. In addition to one-way tickets and discounted subway tickets for children between the ages of 6 and 14, day tickets and group tickets are also available in the Hamburg Transport Association’s ticket system. Group tickets are always valid until 6 a.m. on the following day.

Visitors to concerts, theaters, musicals and other events should take a look at their ticket before buying a subway ticket. If it bears a notice such as “incl. hvv” or the hvv logo, it may be a combined ticket. This is also a ticket for return journeys in fare rings A to F. However, the Hamburg CARD is particularly interesting for tourists. This is an individually customizable ticket, available as an individual or group ticket with local transport for one to five days, and it also offers attractive discounts on over 150 tourist offers.

Tickets for travel on the Hamburg subway can be purchased online on a computer, via the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV) smartphone app or directly from a ticket machine. These machines are usually located at every subway station in Hamburg.

Unlike in cities such as Berlin, a subway ticket bought from a machine or digitally in Hamburg does not have to be validated separately; it must already be valid when you enter the ticket-only area. Print and mobile tickets, on the other hand, are only valid in conjunction with a passport, ID card or driver’s license.

In Hamburg, the subway timetable is very tightly timed during the day. The basic frequency on all four subway lines is 10 minutes. On the particularly busy sections of the U2 and U3 lines in the city center, the interval between trains drops to every 5 minutes during the day from Monday to Friday. At rush hour, the frequency is even reduced to 2 to 3 minutes on some sections of the route. From 11 p.m., however, most lines run every 10 minutes; only the U3 continues to run every 5 minutes from Barmbek around the ring until shortly after midnight.

To the timetables of the Hamburg subway lines:

U1, U2, U3, U4

In contrast to other cities, the subway schedule in Hamburg is designed in such a way that there is a continuous night service both on the nights before public holidays and on the nights leading into Saturday and Sunday. The U3 night route includes the ring and the branch to Wandsbek-Gartenstadt, while the U4 runs between Billstedt and Elbbrücken. On the other days, the trains stand still between about 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. If you want to be mobile in the Hanseatic city at night during the week, you can use Hamburg’s night buses. They run every half hour or hour and cover large parts of the Hamburg city area; NightBus line 609, for example, runs every half hour from U Billstedt between 1 and 4 a.m. from Monday to Friday.

Although the subway network in Hamburg is comparatively small, it still holds one or two interesting secrets. For example, few people know that the first sections of the Hamburg subway were built from 1906. Six years after construction began, it went into operation in 1912; in Berlin, construction had already begun in 1896 and service started in 1902.

The subway also proves that Hamburg is still a modern city today. Since 2017, the stations Mönckebergstraße, Rathaus, Rödingsmarkt, Baumwall, Landungsbrücken, St. Pauli, Feldstraße and Sternschanze along the U3 line have been equipped with free WiFi. After free WiFi was extended to all 92 subway stops at the time in 2018, construction of a further line (U5) from Bramfeld through the city center to Osdorf is now also under way. Construction of the first section began in 2022; the first passengers are expected to travel between City Nord and Sengelmannstraße in 2029; service to Bramfeld is planned for 2033.

You might also be interested in these metro maps – for comparison or for your next trip:

• Dortmund Metro Map
• Frankfurt Metro
• Munich Metro Map
• Nuremberg Metro Map
• Rome Metro Map
• all metro maps