Opened in 2017 after 10 years of construction and costing a whopping €789 million, the distinctive Elbphilharmonie has quickly become one of the most iconic buildings in Hamburg.  Locacted in the HafenCity area of the city, on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River, it is one of the largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world.

Designed to resemble a hoisted sail in honour of Hamburg's historic role as one of the world's greatest ports, it sits atop an older, redbrick building from the early 1960s, once a warehouse. At 108 metres, it is the tallest building in the city. Between the old warehouse and the glass structure is the Plaza - a public viewing area that extends around the whole building.

Besides two state-of-the-art concert halls (the acoustics were designed by Yasuhisa Toyota who installed about 10,000 individually microshaped drywall plates to disperse sound waves ) the building is also home to the Westin Hamburg hotel, which offers 244 rooms between the 9th and 20th floors. There are also 45 luxury apartments.