We’re visiting Hamburg again, the north German city made famous by early Beatles gigs on the Reeperbahn, one of Europe’s busiest harbours, and tasty treats such as Scholle Finkenwerder Art and Franz-brötchen.

Suddenly, before our eyes, deep in Hamburg’s UNESCO-listed Speicherstadt district, a major incident develops. Blue lights flashing, police cars and fire engines race through rush hour traffic to a major building fire...

Fortunately, it’s not a real holiday nightmare, just another incident, choreographed in miniature, as part of the world’s largest model railway.
Miniatur Wunderland boasts over 15km of track, myriad roads and more inhabitants than Cheltenham and Gloucester combined! And uncountable enchanting surprises around each corner and in every hall of its ever-expanding cosmos.

Explore the world in minutes

With global travel still restricted and unpredictable, Miniatur Wunderland’s HO (1:87 scale) world – now re-open after Covid – makes it possible to walk between Germany, Switzerland, the USA, Scandinavia, Venice and other iconic locations in minutes.

Meanwhile, tiny trains spiral through two-storey Alpine landscapes; cruise ships navigate Scandinavian ports, and space shuttles rub shoulders with Vegas amid ‘North America’s’ 10,000 miniature trees.

Maybe you admit to a life of anoraks, windy platform ends and flasks of Bovril (or the Teutonic equivalent)? Or perhaps you just want a great day out in one of Europe’s chicest cities? Either way, Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland hits the spot.

The brainchild of entrepreneurs Gerrit and Frederik Braun, and Stephan Hertz, has been a sure-fire winner for kids of all ages since 2001. Guided by two young nephews, we first visited in the late noughties.

Like millions of others we were captivated. Now, 20 years, 7,000 square metres, nearly 300,000 tiny inhabitants, 1,040 trains, 10,000 vehicles and over €35 million later, this is one of Germany’s top visitor attractions.

It’s irresistible

Even without Miniatur Wunderland, stylish, history-packed Hamburg is a fantastic choice for engaging city breaks. And when you’ve roamed its streets and canals, climbed St. Petri’s tower or savoured Brahms – himself a Hamburger – at the ‘Elphi’, do visit nearby Kehrwieder 2/Block D.

Whether with children or not, you might think you left fascination with toy trains behind. But you’re probably wrong, for this Lilliputian world has everything to delight from speeding TEEs to canoodling couples in trackside sunflower fields.

All life is here in a miniature world like no other model railway you’ve ever seen. It’s irresistible, it’s a Guinness World Record breaker and it’s Wunderbar!